100% I experienced what Sal is saying. Training like a power lifter changed my physique and mentality for the better. I finally have that solid muscle look, and was able to finally quit the chronic 1400kcal diet and reverse diet successfully. I’ve gained muscle, finally seen gains, transformed my body, and freedom from dieting. It changed my life.
Powerlifting gives you more bang for your buck and is better for your health. It doesn't emphasize extreme body changes, but rather progression in strength and power. You can get good aesthetics with a powerlifting or powerbuilding approach as long as you pay attention to your diet. My first experiences with lifting weights was via a powerlifting approach and I loved it.
Not always- often powerlifters don’t look cut or muscular even though they are stronger at one rep. You need to lift at more like 8-12 reps for a lot of your sets to get muscular- it’s surprising how unfit some powerlifters can look.
@@Christ.Called There is a channel on youtube called Anatoly- he is a competitive powerlifter who goes into gyms pretending that he is a cleaner and he lifts much heavier weights than huge bodybuilders twice his size in the gym- he does amazing feats of strength like lifting 225 lbs over his head with one arm and he walks around cleaning while carrying the weight and acting like it is nothing- if tiu see him without a shirt he doesn’t hav fat that is noticeable but he doesn’t look cut or muscular either- if he wanted to have cut and built up muscles so that he looked muscular he would need to do some bodybuilding style training, more sets of 8 - 12 reps, but he obviously doesn’t want this. So diet is not the only factor for why powerlifters don’t look muscular, the main factor is the lower rep sets.
@HerbSterbermerbler A lot of powerlifters don't look fit because they're not. They are super specific in training for strength which doesn't always carry over athleticism or health. There are PL who look good in the non super heavy or heavy weight classes.
I am a 52 year old powerlifter and I have learned a ton over the years about what works for me in training, health, nutrition, and mentality. Bodybuilding is cool I am throwing no shade but I like being strong 💪 more than being super ripped. Added bonus with powerlifting is focusing on form if you are going to last in powerlifting.
Guys I read between the lines in your podcasts months ago. Having done primarily hypertrophy training for a decade, down to maintaining single digit body fat at 2000 calories, I picked my MAPS POWERLIFT and have reverse dieted up to 4000 calories gaining strength and maintaining conditioning. Also following your advice on focusing on whole foods, eating protein first and focus on getting stronger has made my lifting process stress free. Thank you for your awesome content!!! You guys rock!!
My journey into fitness started from depression and at that time I couldn't afford psychotherapy (funny enough I was a psychology student). Got into strength training and it wired my brain to think of the internal positive states I was experiencing; my strength increases, my increased dopamine, having something to look forward to. Strength training became my therapy and I'm in far better place now
Problem is lack of gyms that allows powerlifting or does not have proper spaces for powerlifting so bodybuilding becomes inevitable especially with how social media is skewed.
Strength should be prioritized. Aesthetics is achieved mostly through diet and your discipline vascilates through out your life. Strength and size are more permanent and is better for older people.
I started to a body builder mentality wanting to look good for females.. but as my journey progressed I wanted to be functional and more about form especially now I have kids I want to be strong for them so we can do things together and can get up and play anytime they want..
I started training consistently in 2002-2021...then my mom passed away sept 20, 2021 and then my dad passed on oct 1st (11 days later)...it threw me off and i just started again December 22, 2023...I've trained several styles over the years, bodybuilding, powerlifting, high rep low rep short rest, long rest, etc. One thing i noticed is that both helped each other. I feel that strength is great long term. Love this episode. Keep up the great work guys!
I would LOVE to get into a powerlifting competition and MAPS Powerlift seems just the thing to help get me there. I've chased aesthetics before and it always led to me overthinking and adding unnecessary stress. Keep it simple. Get strong. Love your show guys!
I don't see me ever doing either competition, but it was fun to hear all of you go through the differences. Especially given your different experiences. Thanks!
When I started listening to this podcast I was purely aesthetics, and as the time passed I’m now looking for powerlifting events to watch and maybe compete in. Thanks for the opportunity! And thanks for the great podcast!
I started doing Mind Pump programs in August of 2022 with Anabolic. I then moved on to Performance, Symmetry, MAPS 15, and Aesthetic. I am currently on Phase 2 Week 2 of Powerlift and I’m loving it! I started incorporating sprint intervals 3 x/wk with Powerlift and it seems to be helping my gains. Thanks for all of the great programs!
Hey mind pump 💪🏻 mom of three here wanting to switch my training to a powerlifting program and train for my first meet. Would love to use your powerlifting program to train for that. I’ve been a listener for about 5 years. I’ve loved seeing how far your business has come. I feel like I’ve known yall forever now.
When you try for aesthetics, you'll most likely have too big of a cal deficit, do too much cardio, and feel like shit. But if you train for strength, you'll feed yourself better, have more gym intensity, recover better, have higher testosterone, and sleep better. Plus you'll have more energy and wind up doing more NEAT and daily general movement by default. So all the extra activity helps to create more of a deficit without the cortisol spike from hours of formal cardio per week.
Not competing in powerlifting, but using this tool of focus on how strong I am instead of my weight or how I look has been a game changer for me! Apprecite your helpful content and priceless after more than 6 years listenning to you.
I totally get where youre coming from, professional bodybuilding can totally attract the wrong people and exacerbate EDs. However, personally I, and seemingly plenty of people here truly do value aesthetics over strength. Moreover I think that specifically bodybuilding style training helped me deal with my disordered eating. I started starving myself, eating only one meal a day, 1200-1400kcal a day in hopes of looking better, but once i started going to the gym and eating a LOT more (current maintenance is at ~3300) I gained a whole lot of confidence in myself
Hey could you guys consider making an episode on Lipadema. (Not Lymphadema) You can starve to death and be super fat with this condition. I know this is not a medical program but I tried doing everything “right” for two years following your program and spot on with diet. No results. Actually became ill and joints went nuts. I have big muscles but they are getting constricted and started dying because the swelling that happened with this condition. My body looks fat so I was “fixing”it. I was told I had to for my arthritis which was caused because of this disease. Five years of trying healthy things till I found you!! Loved you guys healed eating disorder. Buuut: I’ve had all symptoms of Lypadema “thick legs” Painful joints Unexplained weight gain. Etc etc. Didn’t know this was real heard of it didn’t believe it was me. But I can get help now and then use your program But I hope to get the word out girls who have thick legs and may be overweight or have painful fat need to know this Healthy people can follow you but there’s a percentage of people that need medical help and they all look like me.
I honestly don't have any desire to enter a body building out power lifting competition. But I'd like to gain more lean skeletal muscle, which I'm assuming is really more gained from the power lifting programming that you refer to. Unfortunately, a past job negatively affected my back. Now I'm afraid of the "big 3" compound lifts that keep getting thrown around.
Exactly what our prophet said: Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: A strong believer is better and is more lovable to Allah than a weak believer, and there is good in everyone, (but) cherish that which gives you benefit (in the Hereafter) and seek help from Allah and do not lose heart, and if anything (in the form of trouble) comes to you, don't say: If I had not done that, it would not have happened so and so, but say: Allah did that what He had ordained to do and your" if" opens the (gate) for the Satan. Be strong to be more loveable..
unrelated note but today was my first day of MAPS Anabolic phase2 and I did 3x12 bodyweight dips, last time I tried which was right before starting the pre-phase, could barely do 1 set of 6 and another set for 2 😅
Hey guys! Curious if you have ever thought about bringing on a fourth, a woman, who is also knowledgeable, and that you would consider to be a good role model. I have been listening for years, and I know from experience talking with other women in fitness that they get “intimidated” and “cautious” when it’s information coming only from men. I love that your programs have the option of a woman demonstrating exercises, and think it would have a great impact on followers to have a reputable woman on the show consistently along with you guys to join in all the discussions and give her thoughts from a different perspective. Appreciate you guys always!
I change my mesocycles to maximize both hypertrophy and strength. My primary focus overall is hypertrophy, but I am currently on an eight week strength mesocycle so I can go back to hypertrophy stronger. I feel like it helps me add more volume to my hypertrophy workouts. Thus more growth. So many of the comments act like it's a dichotomy. You can use both for better gains.
💯!!! I competed in a lot of bodybuilding bikini shows. Here’s a perfect example of politics. I placed higher than another competitor in the open but she placed better than me in the master class of the same show. Makes no sense.
I feel like they took too much of a one-sided approach to "bodybuilding" as a negative and didn't address any of the benefits. You can train like a bodybuilder for much better fitness than powerlifting without the negatives they mention by simply not going to the extremes of a cut/diet. Body building builds much more muscle than powerlifting as a modality. The negative aspects of body building are the extremes in the dieting. Take moderate approaches to bulking and cutting and you will build more muscle than powerlifting without the wreckage on the body. They know this but for some reason left out this very important caveat.
I’m a veteran. All I do is fictional strength and running. I’m lean and athletic. But most importantly I feel like I’m in my 20’s and I can run around with my kids
I started training for powerlifting always with the intention of competing which never happened, over time my body is kind of broken, injuries over time and some genetically passed along knee issues so I haven't yet competed, goal now was to compete in Men's Physique, though I would still love to do at least one powerlifting meet just to satisfy the bug I was bit with some 42ish years ago.
What's the best program for powerlifting if I can only get to gym 2 days but also some equipment at home? I'd like to compete in a push/pull event in June
Been watching for a few months now. What’s the best way to submit a question for either the Q&A portion of your videos or at least getting some advice on a handful of items I was curious about? Love what you all do!
I've been trying to decide what will follow anesthetics training, old time or power lifting. I might have to try to power lift and try a competition. I'll be 46. It would be fun to see how I do
I like the idea of getting very skilled at a core set of lifts, especially for newer lifters. It doesn’t even need to be the big 3, particularly if they don’t feel right for you. It’s something I wish I would of done when I began lifting. Now I’m branching out to other novel lifts, but only after having mastery of basic movement patterns that give me the most return on investment.
I run a power lifting phase that I make up. Lots of free programs out there after running maps anabolic, I think I'm going to run one. I have 6 weeks of anabolic left
Its good to not only look strong, its good to actually be strong too. Focussing on strength is so badass, I feel okay to still have a bit of a belly but be very strong. I just need to eat better to get leaner, but I have a performance mindset so it doesn't bother me as much. I wonder if "powerbuilding" is a good combo of both worlds?
I find it much easier to lose weight than to gain weight, you do nothing and you lose weight, you have to do stuff to gain weight. Would strongman competition come in ahead of powerlifting?
I mean I want both strength and aesthetic’s but definitely my main aim at the start is aesthetic’s but my route to get there is now via strength training is slow progress but I’m definitely getting stringing hit my bench PR 175lbs today it’s not that heavy but for me it’s an accomplishment.
Been working on my journey for about a year and have had pretty good recomp gains. Now I'd like to get more into powerlifting so I can do a competition within the next year
I think people are missing the point of this video, you can train for strenth and the gains will come with it that is a healthier mind set than training purley for gains
Love this podcast but not feeling this episode. Weak arguments for both powerlifting and bodybuilding. Lots of generalized statements also made about both sports. Generalized statements minimize facts and promote that we are all the same. We are not all the same. We are as different to each other as our fingerprints are to each others. Bodybuilding is best for some. Powerlifting is best for some. Neither is best for some. A mix of both is best for some. I know plenty of peeps who powerlift out of insecurity and I know plenty of bodybuilders who love the art and don’t compare themselves in an unhealthy way to other bodybuilders. As far as politics in bodybuilding it happens in every sport. I used to fight and the same politics were found at those fights behind the scenes and fighting is highly regulated. There are also a lot of shit powerlifting programs and powerlifters who live incredibly unhealthy and unbalanced lives, just as there is for bodybuilding.
I discovered you guys just a few weeks ago and I've found your podcast so helpful! A huge thank you for putting this out there. I keep looking at your different MAPS programs and can't decide where to begin. I'd really love to win one! I've never had a structured program. Today I just bounce between different lifts without much of a plan.
Have recently started anabolic and after 2 weeks of phase 1 have beat so many PR including my first 135 bench. Lifting heavy weights is definitely more enjoyable to me.
Great information, gentlemen! I'm trying to gain maximum strength over the next few years. I'm on the last week of Anabolic phase 2. I have overcame doubt and pushed myself beyond measures! I appreciate you guys!
Seems like answering Anthony’s question last episode sparked an interesting topic! Wish I would have started with powerlifting for the reasons Sal mentioned: honing technique and form. After years of lifting I still feel like my squat and deadlift form could be improved.
This was a valuable message for me in particular, because I'm starting a fat loss journey and this time I want to do it right. Focused on quality food and building strength as opposed to what I did in the past --- super restricted eating and fasting to lose weight. I really want to get this right for the long term. Thanks so much for all you do!
It’s crazy, this is another great episode. I like the reminders that it’s not all about weight loss. Strength gains make me feel great because I know something is happening. This last week I was finally able to hold myself on a pull up bar for 10 seconds. When I started in November I couldn’t even imagine hanging deadweight for any amount of time. I hope I can get one of these programs soon 🎉
I left the Army after 9 years and most of my fitness was based around body weight exercises (push ups, pull ups, sit ups, etc.). I was in great shape and could run miles upon miles, and whatever else the Army needed. Now im trying to move into more physique aesthetics and looking great naked. Im learning a lot from these podcasts and i appreciate all of the open information! I look forward to growing mentally and physically with the knowledge from you guys 💪
I really think that it all comes down to the person, how much he/she prioritizes health. Definitely one day, if all things go right, I will compete in powerlifting!
Love your guys' advice! After listening to your last podcast and this one, I kind of want to try powerlifting. Between MAPS Anabolic and reverse dieting, my body hasn't changed weight but is re-comping like crazy!
This one hit home! I have tried to get into the gym at least 6 times over the last 15 years, I failed every time. It was always to improve the way I looked. Finally at the age of 40, I wanted to feel better and get stronger. I had a 1 year old daughter, I knew I would be doing a lot of picking up and running around with her. I got in the gym and have never looked back. I am 19 months in now. My success is definitely due to focusing on how I felt and how much more I could lift. Those results come super fast as opposed to changes in physical appearance. If I had only focused on those things when I failed each time, oh what could have been.
I doin powerlifting now. And maybe a light. Shoulders day. Or a arms. Day. If I. Just want a smaller workout. But yes. Two weeks ago. I change diet and lifting.
