Does Powerlifting Build Muscle? The Science and Real-World Results

Powerlifting is a sport that is centered around strength building while bodybuilding focuses on muscles. So, it is natural to wonder if you are building muscles at all. The main focus of a powerlifter is hardly to build aesthetic muscles but rather to get strong enough to lift heavy weights and perform in the three big exercises which are the Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift.

But does a focus on building strength automatically mean that powerlifters are doomed to sport a body that looks fat and non-muscular? More importantly, is it possible for powerlifters to build a ripped physique that earns them admiration and envy?

Put simply, powerlifting definitely grows muscles. It just wouldn’t make sense for someone who consistently does compound exercises not to have muscles. But there is also the fact that powerlifters often consume insane amounts of calories to fuel their training as well as to maintain their heavyweight class. In doing so, their body may sometimes look fat and large.

Key Takeaways

• Powerlifting training focuses on strength gains, rather than muscle growth.
• Some powerlifting routines promote muscle hypertrophy through Hypertrophy blocks.
• Powerlifters can have a good physique and visible muscles with low body fat percentage.
• Muscle growth is not precluded by a focus on strength training, and it is possible to balance both goals to achieve optimal results.
• Gradually, as an experienced lifter, you will reach the limit of how much muscle mass your body can amass naturally, and this is where most will shift to strength exercises.

Does Powerlifting Build Muscle?

Yes, powerlifting does build muscle. Although the main goal of powerlifting is to build maximum strength, you can build muscles with powerlifting. Rather, you are bound to build muscles with powerlifting because strength training and hypertrophy are not separate and go hand in hand.

The first couple of years of starting powerlifting training is when you will see the maximum growth in your muscles after which you will start to reach the limit of natural muscle gain for your body.

However, powerlifters gain muscle at a different speed than bodybuilders because as mentioned, their focus is not on being muscular but rather being strong. That is why, muscular powerlifers have a slightly different look than traditional bodybuilders in the sense that powerlifters may lack the muscle definition that is often the very goal of the bodybuilders.

 This disparity arises from the fundamental differences in their training methodologies. Powerlifters emphasize compound lifts like the squat, bench press, and deadlift, prioritizing heavy weights for low repetitions to enhance maximal strength.

This approach is designed to optimize the central nervous system and neuromuscular adaptations, yielding significant strength gains. However, it typically involves a lower volume of repetitions and sets.

Bodybuilders, in contrast, focus on muscle hypertrophy and definition. They engage in workouts with higher volume, including a variety of isolation exercises. These exercises target specific muscle groups with lighter weights and more repetitions, promoting muscle growth and enhancing definition.

Bodybuilders also place a strong emphasis on their diet and nutrition to achieve low body fat levels and showcase their muscular detail. Powerlifters, on the other hand, may concentrate more on caloric intake to support their strength gains, which can result in a higher body fat percentage.

In summary, the difference in muscle definition between powerlifters and bodybuilders is primarily due to their distinct training methods. Powerlifters prioritize strength with compound lifts and lower volume, while bodybuilders focus on muscle hypertrophy and definition through higher volume and isolation exercises, alongside meticulous attention to nutrition and body composition.

Powerlifters often have strong, well-developed muscles, particularly in the muscles used during their primary lifts, but they may not exhibit the same level of muscle definition as bodybuilders.

How Does Powerlifting Build Muscle?

The simple answer to this is that powerlifters undergo intense and rigorous training that includes multiple compound exercises. Compound exercises target multiple muscle groups at the same time. A repetition of such regimens over a long time builds and tones muscles. After all, a powerlifter needs strong muscles in order to adjust to the stress that it has to undergo while lifting insanely heavy weights.

Powerlifting routines also include training blocks that promote hypertrophy. If you look at the top global powerlifters, apart from the super heavyweight or open-weight categories, you will notice that these athletes are either incredibly ripped or relatively lean and with physiques that are packed with well-defined muscles.

It can be safely said that the gain of muscle mass is almost a by-product of the strength training that powerlifters have to do on a daily basis.

Apart from the lifters in lighter weight classes, heavyweight powerlifters also have muscles but it is less visible and not well-defined under their fatuous body.

Do Powerlifters Have A Good Physique?

Yes, most powerlifters have a very good physique. When people refer to powerlifters, the physique that comes to mind is hardly that of a ripped and jacked muscular athlete who commands awe and envy. Rather, what people think of powerlifters are huge and bulky athletes who can even be termed obese.

This is because of the media exposure that the SHWs ( super heavy weights)  get as only they can make world records for lifting weights as heavy as 594.7 kilograms / 1,311 pounds ( All time world record). But these SHWs are actually fewer in number.

The majority of powerlifters in fact have an aesthetic frame with visible muscles. They have a very low body fat percentage and look really great. This is not so much for the sake of having a ripped body but more because the hypertrophy training that powerlifters undergo promotes muscle mass alongside strength gain.

To fit into the lightweight categories while being strong enough, they cannot afford to have any wasted weight or weight due to body fat as SHWs can. Therefore, they have to fill the required weight with mostly muscle mass.

That being said, it also has to be stated that even lightweight lifters do not have physiques that are as impressive as that of a bodybuilder. The reason for this is probably their training patterns. While bodybuilders tend to train with medium to high repetitions, powerlifters do so with low reps. This has a very significant effect on muscle hypertrophy.

Also, the fact that powerlifters generally do not focus on isolation exercises could be a possible reason behind them being not as muscular as bodybuilders. There are always exceptions though.

What Does the Physique of a Powerlifter Look Like?

To prove that powerlifting can co-exist with a great physique, here is a list of 5 acclaimed powerlifters who certainly have some enviable muscles:

Jessica Buettner

A professional powerlifter from Canada, Jessica Buettner currently holds the International Powerlifting Federation record for raw squats, deadlifts, and total world records for the 76 kg weight class.

Despite, being diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes in her early childhood, the 28-year-old powerlifter has been associated with various types of sports from a very little age. She is still early in her career as a lifter and hopes to accomplish many more accolades.

Hunter Henderson

Widely regarded as one of the best powerlifters right now, Hunter Henderson accomplished a remarkable feat by breaking the all-time-world record twice in the same event, raw with wraps.

She set new records in Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, and Total. Her Squat record is 295kg/650lb ATWR, her Bench Press record is 147.5kg/325lb, her Deadlift record is 260kg/573lb, and her Total record is 702.5kg/1,548lb ATWR. Apart from her Squat record, Hunter also set a new ATWR for the total weight lifted, which was an amazing 702.5kg/1,548lb.

Panagiotis Tarindis

This French powerlifter is quite a big deal when it comes to breaking records. Panagiotis has been putting in a lot of effort into his training over the past few months. As per his recent Instagram update, he decided to test his maximum lifts in all three events during a recent training session.

The total weight lifted by him in all three events came out to be 720 kilograms (1,587.3 pounds), which is 9.5 kilograms (20.9 pounds) more than the current U66KG IPF World Record Total, although it is unofficial as of now. You can watch the video of this epic moment on his Instagram.

Austin Perkins

During the P3 Grand Prix of 2023 USA Powerlifting (USAPL) on May 20, Austin Perkins, the renowned American powerlifter, achieved a new all-time raw World Record in his competitive weight class of 75-kilogram by performing a raw back squat of 305-kilogram (672.4-pound), surpassing his peer Taylor Atwood’s record by two kilograms (4.4 pounds).

His USAPL 2023 stats are as follows:

Squat — 305-kilogram (672.4-pound) –  All-Time Raw World Record

Bench Press — 195 kilograms (429.9 pounds) – All-Time Raw Competition Best

Deadlift — 325 kilograms (716.5 pounds) –  All-Time Raw Competition Best

Total — 825 kilograms (1,818.8 pounds) – All-Time Raw Competition Best

Brett Gibbs

Brett Gibbs, hailing from New Zealand, has made a name for himself as a powerlifter. He previously held the world record in the classic (raw without knee wraps) 83 kg weight class, as recognized by the International Powerlifting Federation.

In addition, he has won titles such as the IPF Junior Classic World Champion in 2014 and the Classic World Champion in 2015.

Don’t miss:

Why Do Powerlifters Have Big Bellies
Why Are Powerlifters Fat
Why Are Powerlifters Stronger Than Bodybuilders
Benefits of Using RPE/RIR in Training

7 Tips For Building Muscle With Powerlifting

As already mentioned, powerlifting in itself is a very high-intensity activity that is going to push your body into shedding body fat and increasing the quantity of muscle mass. But there is a limit to how much muscle you can gain. Keeping that in mind, some tried and tested tips to gain maximum muscle mass, have been provided below:

Track the Volume

The significance of volume in hypertrophy, i.e. muscle building, cannot be overstated. Irrespective of the frequency of workouts, or intensity of the training, the primary factor responsible for muscle gain is the total volume of work done week after week.

Volume is the product of reps, sets, and load. Although specific phases of powerlifting may require lower volume training, such as when tapering ( reducing training volume) for a meet, it is recommended to gradually increase volume during the off-season to promote hypertrophy.

Elevate the Intensity of Lifting

The concept of intensity in weightlifting pertains to the heaviness of the weights lifted in relation to one’s capabilities. Maintaining higher intensity levels is crucial for powerlifters to sustain their strength and excel in their sport.

While the pursuit of muscle building is a legitimate goal, it should not come at the expense of heavy lifting unless the athlete requires a temporary hiatus from powerlifting. It is recommended to maintain higher relative intensities to achieve optimal outcomes.

The approach of performing sets of 12-15 repetitions for squatting and deadlifting exercises in the hope of building muscle and retaining strength is not a sustainable strategy.

Instead, a more effective tactic is to augment the total training volume by incorporating more exercises into the training regimen while retaining the compound movements as “heavy” lifts within low to moderate rep schemes.

Include Exercises Other Than the Three Big Ones

To maximize intensity with compound movements while simultaneously increasing training volume, it is imperative to go beyond the conventional squat, bench press, and deadlift exercises. Many powerlifting programs tend to treat accessory exercises as mere afterthoughts, often relying on a limited set of 5-8 exercises.

However, careful consideration should be given to the selection of accessory exercises based on individual weaknesses and desired areas of muscle development. Moreover, including more than a couple of additional movements can significantly enhance the challenge and effectiveness of the training program.

Implement Periodization

Implementing a periodization strategy is crucial in powerlifting for muscle development. Periodization involves breaking your training into distinct phases with varying levels of intensity, volume, and focus.

This approach helps prevent training plateaus and overtraining, which can hinder muscle growth. A typical periodization cycle includes phases like the accumulation phase, where volume is high, and the intensification phase, where intensity and weight increase.

This systematic variation challenges your muscles differently over time, allowing them to adapt and grow while minimizing the risk of burnout or injury.

Periodization also enables you to peak for competitions, which is especially important for powerlifters looking to perform at their best while still building muscle throughout their training cycle.

By strategically planning your training phases, you can achieve long-term muscle gains while continuously progressing in your powerlifting endeavors.

Consistency and Effort Goes a Long Way

It is imperative to invest considerable effort into one’s workout regimen for optimal results and continue doing that until the desired results appear. This includes focusing on executing accessory exercises with good technique and proper mind-muscle connection, as well as exerting oneself to the limit during reps or appropriately increasing weights.

Recent research ^[3] indicates that muscular swelling, commonly known as “having a pump,” is actually linked to muscle gains. Therefore, giving one’s all and pushing oneself to the limits can make a significant difference in gaining muscle mass, and one should not rush through workout sets.

To ensure optimal training intensity, it is advisable to monitor one’s training with the use of Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and Reps in Reserve (RIR) methods.

Focus On Hypertrophy Training Blocks from Time to Time

If a powerlifter is experiencing difficulty in achieving desired results through their traditional training protocols, it may be advantageous to adopt a block periodization approach in their training regimen. This approach allows for a dedicated “off-season” period where emphasis is placed on building muscle. This could involve a temporary shift towards bodybuilder-style training, providing a reprieve from the standard squat, bench, and deadlift exercises.

Alternatively, the focus could remain on the main lifts while reducing the volume of compound exercises and increasing the total volume for specific muscle groups targeted for development. These hypertrophy blocks may come before or after strength blocks, providing a means to rest one system while building another.

They also allow for experimentation with new exercises, adding excitement to the training regimen. Ultimately, this approach results in a well-rounded athlete with optimal muscular development.

Calorie Surplus Protein Rich Diet

Proper nutrition is a cornerstone of muscle development in powerlifting. To build and maintain muscle effectively, you should consume a balanced diet that supports your training regimen.

One of the most critical aspects is ensuring an adequate protein intake, as proteins are the building blocks of muscle. Aim for lean sources of protein such as chicken, fish, lean beef, and plant-based options like tofu and legumes. It’s also crucial to monitor your calorie intake, as a slight calorie surplus can facilitate muscle growth.

A well-rounded diet rich in complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and micronutrients is essential for overall health and energy.

Don’t miss:

Why are Powerlifters Smaller Than Bodybuilders
Why Do Powerlifters Sniff Ammonia
Not Feeling Bench Press in Chest
RPE vs. Percentage Based Training

Finally

In conclusion, muscles are as much as important to powerlifters as strength is. The two are not mutually exclusive and it is physically and biologically impossible to build strength with exercises and not develop muscles.

Muscle gain is quite important for lightweight powerlifters as they cannot afford to have as much wasted weight as is normal for powerlifters belonging to the Super heavyweight or open classes.

Reference

1. Schoenfeld, Brad J.1,2; Ratamess, Nicholas A.3; Peterson, Mark D.5; Contreras, Bret4; Sonmez, G. T.1; Alvar, Brent A.2. Effects of Different Volume-Equated Resistance Training Loading Strategies on Muscular Adaptations in Well-Trained Men. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 28(10):p 2909-2918, October 2014. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000480
2. Schoenfeld, B. J., Grgic, J., Ogborn, D., & Krieger, J. W. (2017). Strength and Hypertrophy Adaptations Between Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 31(12), 3508–3523. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000002200
3. Hirono, T., Ikezoe, T., Taniguchi, M., Tanaka, H., Saeki, J., Yagi, M., Umehara, J., & Ichihashi, N. (2022). Relationship Between Muscle Swelling and Hypertrophy Induced by Resistance Training. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 36(2), 359–364. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003478