Aesthetics vs. Strength

I happened upon this video earlier today and it got me thinking...

For starters, I totally agree with everything he said. You should care about something because it's important to you, not because someone told you to do it.  In the fitness industry, there's always this "Us vs. Them" foolery:  powerlifting vs. bodybuilding.  Although to the naked eye you wouldn't be able to tell the difference...both spend entirely too much time in the gym to non-gym goers...there are some fundamental differences between the two.

Powerlifting

Team Lilliebridge, aka the first family of powerlifting:
From left to right:  Ernie Jr., Ernie Sr., & Eric

Powerlifters (such as myself) are all about strength, in all it's forms:  neuro-muscular and mental.  The basis of powerlifting is to be the strongest version of yourself.  Our workouts are designed to test, challenge, and strengthen the central nervous system through 3 central lifts:  bench press, squat, and deadlift.  Hence the reason I talk about squatting all the time.  Everything else is essentially classified as "accessory" lifts, designed to build the muscles necessary to complete the aforementioned 3 central lifts.

Physically speaking, a powerlifter won't be as muscularly lumpy as a bodybuilder, but they can probably lift as much weight if not more than them, since strength isn't always determined by lumpiness.  In other words, you don't have to have 22" biceps to be able to bench press 300 lbs.  As you can see, the fella in the video is actually quite small (you can see the rest of his body in his other videos).  He's a small dude...less than 200 lbs (probably 165?), but he squats 500 lbs. And benches almost 300 lbs.

Instead of running around in tiny little speedos, powerlifters where adult onsies.  Frankly, IDK which one is worse; they both show entirely too much man junk for anyone's comfort level.  And instead of having shows they have "meets".  You go in there, you lift heavy ish, then you leave.  And the best part is, you get to be fully dressed.  You ain't oiled and lumpy; you're clothed and chalky.  Because it's not as popular as bodybuilding, there tends to not be as much prize money and notoriety involved.  To become a "pro" you have to get endorsed by someone, which means theoretically you could lift for years and never be considered a "pro".  Becoming elite is a little different in the bodybuilding world.

Bodybuilding

Bodybuilding is like the "face of fitness".  All the girlies think if they lift weights they're going to end up looking like a bodybuilder.  Matter of fact, men think that too.  Both are wrong, for the most part.

Bodybuilders are strictly focused on physique; the more muscles the better.  They're typically strong because having large muscles makes you stronger, but strength only becomes a focus in case of muscle development.

Paul Dillet.  How bout these arms are 27"
and this pic is NOT photoshopped...

For a bodybuilder, the body is eeeverything.  You're literally sculpting your body.  Because of this, diet is also eeeverything.  They have seasons:  "in-season" is when they look best because it's when contests take place.  "Off season" is when they bulk, meaning they gain a bunch of weight so they can "cut" later and get shredded.  Essentially bodybuilding is 80% diet 20% workout, which makes sense because you are what you eat.  If you eat crap, you'll look like crap.  If you eat healthy, you'll look good 'n' healthy.

To become a "pro" you have to place either 1st or 2nd in the major contests of the season.  Mr. Olympia is the major event in bodybuilding.  The winner wins $250,000 and all he has to do is oil up, severely dehydrate, diet like crazy, and parade around in front of hundreds of thousands of people while wearing nothing but a speedo and a smile.  Seems legit.

Why I Like Powerlifting

I have A LOT of respect for bodybuilders.  A lot.  That's A LOT of hard work and dedication to sculpt your body into a something that looks like it belongs in an anatomy book.  But it's also craaazy expensive and complicated to do so.

• Coins:  You need $18247675/mo. for supplements and just as much for food because of the quantity and quality you have to eat.  None of that cheap Wal-Mart meat; gotta get that expensive ish.  Good luck having coins for bills and non fitness stuff afterwards.
• Supplements:   Craaazy expensive and dangerous.  On top of that, finding the right concoction of supplements to give you the results you want is HARD and dangerous.  That stuff has a lot of side effects, some of them life threatening.  Some of them you won't even see until years after you've stopped taking them, i.e. steroids.  It's so rare to see a bodybuilder over 60 because they usually game over well before that from heart problems stemming from years of steroid use.  One guy died just before Thanksgiving 2013 from a heart attack.  He was only 44 yrs old.
• Motivation:  I lack the motivation and dedication to restrict my diet to bodybuilding levels.   I likes to EAT.  Granted, I don't eat fast food often, but I will throw down if the occasion calls for it.  I also can't count calories/macro-nutrients.  That's a lot of work to keep track of carbs and proteins and whatnot.  Just keep your calories down, eat balanced meals, and you'll be fine.  On top of that, the way my coins is set up...well, let's just say I wouldn't be able to financially sustain that lifestyle for too long.
• Strength:  I like being a strong mo fo.  It's part of my napoleon complex.  I'm more concerned with being strong than being pretty.  I'd much rather be the strongest girl in the room than being the most aesthetically pleasing.
• Functionality:  300 lbs. is 300 lbs., regardless of whether it's muscle or fat.  In both cases, that's a lot of body to move around.  After a certain point, bodybuilders lose their ability to perform certain movements.  Touching your back becomes impossible after your lats and shoulders get to be a certain size.  The 44 yr old guy I mentioned earlier...he was so big that he couldn't even wipe his own butt.  He had to bring his wife with him everywhere and she had to do it for him.  I ain't going out like that.
• Aesthetics:  I don't find female bodybuilding the least bit attractive.  I don't think women were designed to be big 'n' lumpy like that.  I think the additional/new hormones do a number on our bodies biologically.  Physique models look nice though.  But again, that's too much work to look that way.

Which is Better for You?

That depends who you are and what you want to achieve.  If you're an athlete, powerlifting is probably going to be better for you because overall strength is central to every sport.  But if you're overweight and want to slim down, you might want to take the bodybuilding approach to slimming down.  Of course you don't need to take all of the supplements and whatnot, but when it comes to designing your training, you probably want to go the high volume route.  But all this is just a suggestion.  You should whichever makes you happy.  There really shouldn't be this "us vs. them" mentality, but it is what it is.