Powerlifting Vs Weightlifting: Key Differences Explained

Powerlifting — What it is & Who Does it?

In a nutshell, powerlifting is a strength sport designed to find out how strong you are. The main idea of powerlifting involves three barbell lifts: the bench press, the squat, and the deadlift.

Each of these three distinct lifts are judged separately; the competitors have three attempts at each one. The final score of a powerlifting competition includes the single best scores for each of the three lifts.

While powerlifting has its roots in Ancient Greece and with notable strongmen like Angus MacAskill, the more modern powerlifting we know today came out of the United States and the United Kingdom. 

As Olympic Weightlifting fizzled out in the United States during the 1950s, powerlifting started to gain popularity. Although it’s not an Olympic Sport, powerlifting is a World Games Sport and Paralympic Sport (only the bench press).

Powerlifting is a sport for almost any age group. There are some exceptions, but kids younger than the age of 7 or 8 years old are not physically ready for any kind of serious weightlifting. Kids older than 8 and young adults can start powerlifting under the guidance of a trainer or knowledgeable adult. 

As a grownup, the sky's the limit. Both men and women are competing in powerlifting though in separate classes.

There are different weight classes for men and women. For women, there are 11 weight classes with 12 lifters competing.  Women’s weight classes start at 97.6 lbs. and top out at 242.6 and SHW (over 242.6.)

For men, there are 12 weight classes also with 12 lifters competing. The weight classes for men start at 114.6 lbs and go up to 308.6 lbs, and SHW (over 308.6.)

If you want to start powerlifting, you’ll need a weight bench, barbell bar, squat rack, and weight plates for training at the gym or at home. There is other equipment out there for strength training, but these four pieces of equipment are the minimum requirements if you want to train and execute the three powerlifting moves.

There are also accessories that you can use to reduce the chances of injury and others that increase the effectiveness of your workout, like chalk, belts, powerlifting shoes, and singlets.

The three powerlifting moves are the bench press, squat, and deadlift. To do the bench press, lie on your back on the bench, hold the bar, then lower it to your chest and then press the bar back up again. For the squat, stand up straight, hold the bar on your back and keep your chest up and your weight on your heels, then lower and push the bar back up to start.

For the deadlift, you’ll hoist the bar off the ground until you are standing, then you can either reverse the movement back to start or, if the weight is really heavy, you can gently drop the bar to the ground.

Can Powerlifting Build Muscle?

The main goal of powerlifting is to gain strength. That being said, one of the positive side effects of powerlifting is building muscle. You can gain strength and effectively build muscle if you train correctly. 

To build the most muscle, work on doing 6-10 reps of squats, bench presses, and deadlifts to the maximum weight you can lift while still maintaining the correct form.

Pros and Cons of Powerlifting

Weightlifting — What it is & Who Does it?

Weightlifting is also a sport that measures strength but also concentrates on speed and technique. Unlike powerlifting, weightlifting involves two main lifts instead of three; the clean and jerk and the snatch.

Just like powerlifting competitions, weightlifting competitions allow athletes three attempts at each lift and taking the highest score lift in each to determine your rank.

Weightlifting is the oldest and most universally practiced sport that uses barbells and tests the athlete's strength. It evolved as an international sport in the 19th century but was also one of the few sports at the first Olympic Games in Athens back in 1896.

Winners of Olympic weightlifting competitions can claim the title of strongest man and strongest woman in the world.

As with powerlifting, weightlifting is not recommended for children younger than 7 years old. There’s no age limit on the top end if you consider weightlifters like Paul Stone, who was still competing in his upper 70s. Weightlifting is available for both men and women as a competitive sport.

At a minimum, you are going to need a barbell and weights if you’re thinking of getting into weightlifting. There are belts, shoes, and singlets that are also recommended, especially if you plan on competing.

The idea of the Snatch lift is to get the barbell from the floor to arm’s length overhead in one single motion. You have to use the muscles of your legs, hips, and back to raise the barbell from the floor while you quickly lower your body underneath the barbell.

The clean and jerk is a two-part lift. First, you need to lift the barbell to your shoulders; that's the first move, and then lift the barbell overhead for the second part.

Pros and Cons of Weightlifting

Powerlifting vs Weightlifting (Key Differences Compared)

Weight training is steadily growing in popularity at both the home and public gyms.  Athletes are realizing that weight training is a great workout and starting to get curious. Most people at the gym who don’t do Olympic-style weightlifting or powerlifting likely don't know the difference.

This comparison of powerlifting vs. weightlifting can help you decide which training is right for you.

Types of moves

This is the most obvious difference when considering Olympic weightlifting vs. powerlifting. Weightlifting only uses the Clean and Jerk and the Snatch moves, both of which differ from the three powerlifting moves: the bench press, the squat, and the deadlift. Powerlifting and weightlifting moves are not interchangeable and have specific parameters.

Focus of the sport

Powerlifters are only focused on strength, while weightlifters are focused on speed and technique. This should be one of your first considerations when you’re deciding which of the two sports best suit you. These two athletic sports may look the same to someone new to the gym or weight training scene, but each has an entirely different focus.

Physique

Hopefully, physique isn't the reason you want to get into weight training. Most powerlifters and bodybuilders don't nurture the way they look as much as you think they would. That being said, powerlifters tend to be bulkier than weight lifters.

Weightlifters tend to have less body fat since their training usually requires more reps. For both powerlifters and weightlifters, physique is not nearly as much of a concern as strength, speed, and technique.

Olympic weightlifting vs powerlifting training

A notable difference between the training involved with powerlifting vs. bodybuilding is the main focus. Both powerlifting and weightlifting focus on building strength, but with weightlifting, it takes many years of practice to perfect the form and technique necessary to compete. This should also be a consideration when deciding which of the two is right for you.

Using belts

Many people doing weight training end up purchasing a belt for safety reasons or to enhance their performance. Powerlifters and weightlifters have distinctly different belts. A powerlifting belt is the same width all the way around, and weightlifting belts are narrower in the front.

If you plan on getting into competitive weightlifting, many of the federations and competitions have guidelines for belts that plan on being worn during competitions. 

People Also Ask (FAQs)

Are powerlifters stronger than weightlifters?

Yes!  When comparing powerlifters vs. weightlifters, powerlifters take the cake. They are stronger because they lift heavier weights. Weightlifters still have a pretty solid amount of body mass.

Do powerlifters train every day?

No, most powerlifters train between 3-5 days a week, with 6 days usually being the max. There is no benefit to training certain muscle groups more than a few times a week.

Is Olympic weightlifting better than powerlifting?

One sport is really no better than the other when it comes to Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting. It all depends on what each individual is looking for in a sport.

Olympic weightlifting is definitely more complicated than powerlifting and requires a certain level of skill to perfect technique with the amount of speed required.

Conclusion

Weightlifting and powerlifting have more in common than not, and it ultimately depends on what you want to get out of the sport. Whether you’re looking solely to build strength or focus on speed and technique, both weightlifting and powerlifting have a lot to offer as a sport!