The Powerlifting/Bodybuilding Crossover.

When it comes to bodybuilding you really have to look outside the box for some alternatives to get your gains. Whether it’s a new training program, heavier weight, or increasing your volume, bodybuilding is a sport that is about differentiating your training in order to see more gains. When you first start out lifting weights, building muscle can be the simplest thing in the world, mostly because the body isn’t used to being under any kind of stress of tension from resistance training. For an experienced lifter however, growing new muscle is a tall task and can nearly seem impossible to accomplish. At times like these, it means trying some new methods in order to stimulate growth.

Powerlifting has become a crossover sport over the years. Many methods of training found in powerlfting have been adopted into bodybuilding training and visa versa. These days bodybuilders don’t want to just simply look the part, but they want to have functional strength to go along with their massive forms. There’s nothing worse than a bodybuilder who may be jacked, but can’t lift any substantial weight. It just doesn’t look right. So rather than focus on hypertrophy alone, bodybuilders are now focusing on building strength to go along with their muscle. But what elements of powerlifting have improved or hindered bodybuilding development?
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1. Lower Body Training

There’s a reason that the saying don’t skip leg day caught on so quickly. Back in the day, bodybuilders were more concerned about building up their upper bodies more than their lower half. It meant massive arms, chests, and backs, but meant that the legs would pale in comparison. Thanks to the emphasis on building functional strength with squats and deadlifts, the powerlifting ideology took hold, making lifting heavy on leg day a priority. Ever since it took hold, leg day has become a necessity to every bodybuilder’s workout plan.