Powerbuilding For Dummies - Strength And Size
Powerbuilding is the act of combining powerlifting and bodybuilding training - both size and strength - in order to have a good mix of the two. While there’s some natural affinity between these pursuits, there are also ways that you can easily mess it up, resulting in loss of progress. In particular, diet is a point of weakness, and requires a lot of care in order to pull off properly, especially if you have competitive goals. If you do it right - you can certainly get the best of both worlds.
Fitness for 'Anti-Aging'
“Health” is an often overlooked aspect of the health and fitness industry, which tends to prioritize young fit individuals over the actual needs of older individuals training for health. As we age, the normal process is for aging to undo a lot of our hard earned gains, but we can age gracefully by keeping up the right routine. To optimize for health, you probably need to work out a lot less than you think.
You Probably Don't Need To Lose Weight
For most people, weight loss should be a consequence, not a goal, of getting in shape. The emphasize should be on developing new habits which are healthy for you, regardless of whether or not this impacts your weight in the short or long term. Most people face serious barriers to weight loss which render it not worthwhile as a primary goal.
There's No Magic Bullet: The Truth About Getting in Shape
There are no magic bullets to success in getting in shape. Crash diets, 30 day fitness challenges, and new supplements generally make strong promises and completely fail to deliver. If there’s anything close to a magic bullet, it’s seeking out a support system and learning to think long term, buckling down for the sustainable process of habit change.
Why Strength Fluctuates
Strength fluxuations are a natural part of training and aren’t necessarily a sign that you’re not getting stronger or something is wrong with your training program. As long as there remains an upward trend over time, you’re good! Stress, sleep schedule, recovery time, and how much you’re eating can all effect how strong - or not - you are on any given day. Disrupted training, like going on vacation or being sick, can also cause a dip in strength, but these setbacks are usually minor and getting back to your pre-break levels happens relatively quickly. The changes in strength can often be small numbers, too small to be noticed when the minimum weight you add is at least 5 pounds. The use of smaller fractional plates help make the flucuations in strength more clear.