Strongman vs Bodybuilding are two well-known training styles that have existed for many years. Although both demand dedication and effort, their goals and training methods are different.
Strongman involves lifting, carrying, pulling, and throwing heavy objects to build strength and endurance. Exercises like deadlifts and Atlas stones create a bulky, powerful physique and boost overall fitness.
Bodybuilding focuses on making muscles bigger and more defined through weight lifting and a balanced diet. Competitions judge muscle size, definition, and posing, aiming for a lean, well-defined physique to enhance muscle growth and bone strength.
What Is Strongman?
Strongman training focuses on building overall strength and conditioning through functional exercises. Strongman events challenge athletes to lift, carry, pull, and throw heavy items. The goal is to develop muscle mass, power, and endurance.
A typical Strongman workout includes traditional lifts like deadlifts, squats, and presses, along with specific movements such as Atlas stones, Farmer’s carry, log press, car walk, and keg toss. These exercises demand strength, power, movement coordination, core stability, and grip strength.
Strongman training helps the body get stronger and better at different movements. It builds muscle mass, core strength, and power, while also improving endurance, agility, and grip strength.
This type of training boosts self-confidence, resilience, and overall fitness. It helps athletes reach their strength goals and succeed in sports.
What Is Bodybuilding?
Bodybuilding is a form of training that shapes the body by growing and strengthening muscles. Resistance training and weight lifting make bones stronger.
A good diet with carbohydrates, protein, and fats is crucial for performance and development. These nutrients improve health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases.
Bodybuilding focuses on muscle symmetry and low body fat. In competition, the goal is a well-defined physique with the right size and leanness. Judges decide the winner based on muscle definition and posing skills.
Strongman vs Bodybuilding
1: Nutrition and Diet
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Strongmen
Athletes aiming for weight gain and increased muscle size need a specific meal plan. Depending on their body size, certain athletes might need to intake between 8,000 and 10,000 calories each day.
There are two states for the body anabolic and catabolic. To stay anabolic and build muscles, an athlete should eat more calories than they burn each day. This creates a net-positive caloric surplus, which helps muscles grow.
This supports muscle growth and strength. A balanced diet ensures the right nutrients for optimal muscle size and overall body development.
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Bodybuilders
Bodybuilders need good nutrition to reach their fitness goals. Their diet usually consists of 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat.
Protein helps build and repair muscles, while carbs give them energy and refill glycogen in their muscles. The right amount, or ratio, of these nutrients depends on each individual and their body mass.
2: Training Program Selection
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Strongmen
Strongmen should work on both strength and explosiveness. Adding power moves like the clean and jerk and snatch helps build body explosiveness and increases strength.
Strongman exercises usually involve compound movements that target many muscle groups at once. These include the deadlift, squat, and overhead press.
Strongman events also feature non-barbell exercises like tire flips and farmer’s carries that challenge the whole body.
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Bodybuilders
Bodybuilders work hard to achieve impressive muscle definition and increase size. They focus on various muscle groups like abs, back, biceps, chest, and triceps.
To target these areas, they use a mix of compound and isolation exercises. These exercises help each body part grow and become more defined. By isolating specific muscle groups, bodybuilders can sculpt their body to highlight their muscle definition.
3: Training Methods and Tools Used
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Strongmen
Strongman athletes engage in Strongman training to build strength, power, and endurance. Strongman drills involve lifting large, bulky objects like logs, stones, kegs, and tires. They do exercises like the deadlift and squat to get stronger.
Power training and speed repetitions help improve their strength. Hypertrophy training helps them lift heavy loads and grow muscles. This balanced approach prepares them for competitions.
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Bodybuilding
Bodybuilding focuses on achieving muscle definition and hypertrophy through a variety of workouts. These often include back squats and deadlifts, using barbells and dumbbells.
Squats build leg strength and improve overall muscle definition. Training machines also help isolate muscles for maximum hypertrophy. This mix of free weights and machines ensures a balanced bodybuilding routine.
4: Physique
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Strongmen
Strongmen focus on their physique by improving body composition. These athletes aim to reduce body fat, although six-pack abs don’t matter to them. Instead, strongmen look much taller, wider, and dense.
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Bodybuilders
Bodybuilders work hard to get a balanced physique. They focus on building up their muscles first and then losing body fat to become lean.
By doing this, they maximize muscular development and achieve a well-defined look. This combination of muscle growth and fat loss helps them get the balanced physique they aim for.
5: Cardio
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Strongmen
Well-trained strongmen develop great cardio for their events. They condition themselves for strongman tasks. Carrying multiple 100-300 lb sandbags over 20 m in a race is no easy feat.
However, their size makes everyday tasks challenging. Moving over 400 lbs of mass up a flight of stairs can be tough.
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Bodybuilders
Bodybuilders might do low-intensity, steady-state cardio when they are cutting fat, but not when they want to maximize muscle growth.
On the other hand, a strongman usually has a well-developed cardiovascular system due to their training, but their large size can make everyday activities harder.
Are Strongmen Bigger Than Bodybuilders?
Strongmen are generally larger than bodybuilders. They are naturally big and tall, with strong bone structures that support a lot of muscle mass. Even though the biggest pro bodybuilders look very muscular, they are usually shorter than pro strongmen.
Choosing between these sports depends on what you enjoy doing. Strongman training can be hard to find and may be niche. If there aren’t competitions nearby, it might stay a hobby where you collect equipment to train in your garage.
Bodybuilding is popular and available almost everywhere, with many local competitions. But bodybuilding is more than just working out; it’s a way of life. You need to follow a strict diet every day to build muscle without gaining too much fat and to lose body fat without losing muscle.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Do you Do in a Strongman Competition?
The strongman sport involves lifting heavy weights, carrying large objects, and competing in various events. It tests a person’s strength, endurance, movement skills, and mental toughness.
Are Powerlifters Stronger Than Bodybuilders?
Bodybuilders usually handle more work and have better endurance, while powerlifters show higher peak strength in short bursts. However, both types of athletes often use similar exercises like the deadlift, bench press, and squat.