The reason why powerlifters’ abdomen appears large instead of muscular is due to a high carbohydrate and calorie intake. This dietary strategy is essential to provide the energy needed to lift very heavy weights throughout their training routine.
It all depends on the calories burned
I think it’s pretty clear that “getting bigger” when it comes to the body usually happens through the burning of calories.
You have to If you want to get bigger and stronger, eat a calorie surplus.
So if you’re wondering why you’re not gaining muscle even though you’re training hard, it’s because of your diet and nutrition.
Powerlifters are all about muscle and strength, so it makes sense they need to consume a ton of calories.
In fact, they are almost always in a state of bulk.
Athletes who compete in powerlifting, Olympic heavyweight weightlifting and World’s Strongest Man competitions typically bare very large bellies.
What is the difference between a powerlifter and a bodybuilder?
For bodybuilders, they too will go through a bulking phase initially.
This involves high intensity training and eating large amounts of food.
Basically, you want to do everything in your power to grow as much muscle as possible.
Unfortunately, those extra calories also contain fat.
But bodybuilders will usually go through a cutting phase afterwards.
This involves following a very strict diet to eliminate fat.
In fact, I’m sure you’ve all heard of it. Bodybuilders live on chicken, broccoli and rice.
But when a bodybuilder is cutting weight, even ingredients like rice are likely to take a back seat.
They also train less, but still train enough to maintain as much muscle mass as possible.
That being said, the cutting phase also takes a lot of physical energy out of the athlete.
In essence, they become much weaker.
Now, looking at things from a powerlifter’s perspective, the last thing they want is to lose strength and become weaker.
Powerlifting is about developing as much pure strength as possible.
This allows you to lift the heaviest loads within your capabilities.
Therefore, powerlifters never go through a cutting phase, especially when they are training for a competition.
Sure, moving a lot of weight burns a lot of calories.
The solution, again, is to eat more calories.
Remember, you can eat as “clean” as you want.
But extra calories are just that: extra calories: if they’re not burned through normal daily activity, they’re stored as fat.
But for powerlifters, this isn’t much of an issue.
The more weight you put on, the more mass you will be able to move on the barbell.
Powerlifters train with low volume
Another thing to consider is the overall amount of work a powerlifter does during a session.
Now, as we’ve already mentioned, moving your body weight a lot will burn a lot of calories.
However, this doesn’t work the same way as high volume training.
In addition, remember that it is impossible to spot reduce body fat.
However, the same cannot be said when it comes to gaining body fat.
For the majority of us, the extra calories usually go straight into our stomachs.
If you’ve ever made changes to your training protocol, you’ve probably noticed the same thing.
Let’s say you’ve been working seriously on muscle hypertrophy and conditioning for a few months.
You then decide to shift your focus to pure strength training.
Despite lifting weights with the same intensity, or even more, you will usually find yourself gaining weight.
You will likely eat more calories because you will feel your energy levels drop significantly from training.
Plus, despite moving a much heavier load, the overall volume is significantly reduced.
Exercises to build a bigger belly
Now, when we talk about the “type of training” that powerlifters do, this is not about a lack of cardio or abdominal exercises.
In fact, powerlifters always train their abdominal muscles and core.
Nearly every movement we make begins with the core, so having a really strong core is essential for powerlifters.
In fact, abdominal exercises using heavy weights are part of the powerlifter’s training program.
Ah, powerlifters continue to build abs even though they’re constantly building muscle.
But this is no ordinary weighted crunches.
Depending on the athlete, this might mean performing sets of 15 with weights between 300-500 pounds.
Yes, this will not only train your abs but also get you bigger abs.
You also need to consider how these athletes are using their weight belts.
Most of us use belts to stabilize our core and protect our lower back, but powerlifters also use belts to focus their breathing.
During a very heavy squatIn deadlifts and bench presses, athletes literally push their stomachs out as hard as they can.
The aim here is to push your stomach as hard as possible against the belt to provide additional support.
Doing this multiple times a day for weeks, months, or years can result in a bloated belly.
Former powerlifter and current strength coach Louis Simmonsonce said, “If you want a smaller waist, powerlifting is not the sport for you.”
The role of steroids
Steroids may play a role in making your belly grow.
In fact, there are terms like “Lloyd Gut”However, this is more common in bodybuilders than powerlifters.
It’s actually known as Palumboism.
This is when the obliques thicken and actually push the rectus abdominis outwards.
In fact, it is not steroids that cause this “big belly” but other performance enhancing drugs.
These include insulin, human growth hormone, and various anabolic peptide hormones.
That being said, the opposite is also true for certain steroids.
In fact, some steroids can boost your metabolism and increase your total daily energy expenditure.
This actually burns calories and body fat and improves recovery so you can train harder and longer.
So, from a powerlifter’s perspective, the obvious solution to combat this “calorie burn” is to eat more.
And so we are back to where we started: as your calorie intake increases, so does your body fat.
Key learning points
- Powerlifters need to consume a huge amount of calories to support their training.
- It’s not uncommon for powerlifters to eat while training.
- Powerlifting training requires a lot of belly pushing, and typically the belly is “pushed” against the weightlifting belt so the lifter can focus on breathing.
- Powerlifting abdominal training involves lifting large weights, which builds larger abdominal muscle mass, resulting in a larger looking belly.
- Steroids may play a role, whether that’s due to palumbosis or the need to take in more calories.
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Hi, I’m Partha, the owner and founder of My Bodyweight Exercises. I’m a Level 3 Personal Trainer with the British Register of Exercise Professionals and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. I’ve been going to the gym regularly since 2000 and training clients since 2012. My goal is to help you achieve your body composition goals.
