Top Tips for Powerbuilding Beginners

The Origins of Powerbuilding

In the world of strength, athletes associate building strength with powerlifting and building lean size with bodybuilding. But what if you want both? Many athletes have come around to the idea of powerbuilding, which allows you to train like a powerlifter and bodybuilder simultaneously.

Why not look the part and act it, too?

But what is the technical definition of powerbuilding? Powerbuilding is a blend of the three main powerlifting lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift, combined with bodybuilding accessories and volume to evoke more muscle growth and development.

There wasn’t an exact moment when athletes began powerbuilding, but there are two iconic athletes who performed powerbuilding-styled workouts to give their performance an edge — Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ronnie Coleman.

Arnold is known as one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time. He won the Mr. Olympia title seven times in his career, a huge accomplishment. Did you know, though, that Arnold did a lot of powerlifting before bodybuilding? Ronnie Coleman, eight-time Mr. Olympia champion, was a previous powerlifter as well.

Besides the fact they are some of the top bodybuilders of all time, Ronnie and Arnold loved to lift heavy. Lifting heavy generally comes from the principles of powerlifting. But as bodybuilders, they also had to focus on hypertrophy accessories for maximizing their musculature. So by merging both powerlifting and bodybuilding, “powerbuilding” training came onto the scene.

The Basic Principles of Powerbuilding

Powerbuilding is a unique training strategy that harmoniously merges powerlifting and bodybuilding tactics to build both size and strength. Striving for a balance of functional strength and aesthetic appeal, powerbuilders incorporate heavy compound movements like the squat, bench press, and deadlift to target multiple muscle groups simultaneously. Compound movements trigger growth in muscular strength and density.

Powerbuilders use traditional movements and variations of these lifts, such as pause squats or deficit deadlifts, to address specific weaknesses. They then use accessory exercises to help target specific muscle groups for hypertrophy. The beauty of powerbuilding is that if you get stronger, you get bigger. And if you get bigger, you have the potential to become stronger. These two concepts can coexist and help build upon each other in a program.

How do you implement a powerbuilding program correctly? The goal of this article is to help discuss the top tips of a powerbuilding program while also including a sample program to teach you how to take action and perform your next successful powerbuilding workout.

Overall, powerbuilding is a versatile and effective training methodology, catering to those seeking both functional strength and aesthetic progress. By combining the principles of powerlifting and bodybuilding, powerbuilders can attain a robust, muscular body while consistently pushing their raw numbers boundaries.

Our Top Tips for Powerbuilding Programming

How do you create a solid powerbuilding program? Before we get to that, we need to discuss some of the top tips for your next powerbuilding workout:

1. Powerlifting Compound Movements are Primary
2. Bodybuilding Movements are Secondary (but necessary)
3. Manipulate Rest Rates
4. Time Under Tension or Volume – Spare Your Joints
5. Incorporate Deload Weeks

Powerlifting Compound Movements are Primary

Every powerbuilding program must start with a compound movement like squat, bench, or deadlift. This is what makes it a powerbuilding program. Depending on the athlete, the lift could be either a traditional powerlifting movement or a variation lift instead. Using a variation could help prioritize a weak point of a lifter’s strength.

For example, a pause squat could be the variation of choice used to either grow the bottom of their squat or to grow the size of their hips. Either way, the squat is the overall compound movement of choice and needs to be prioritized in a powerbuilding routine.

For context, I recommend that the compound movements be prescribed as so: