Relationships between body dimensions and strength abilities in experienced Olympic weightlifters, powerlifters and bodybuilders

V. Panayotov

Abstract: In this article, the author studies the differences in absolute and explosive strength in competitive athletes of the three most popular strength sports – bodybuilding, Olympic weightlifting, and powerlifting. Relationships between body dimensions and strength abilities are also presented and analysed. 42 athletes in total participate in the study, all of them competitors at the national level. We found that powerlifters are the strongest among the three groups, followed by Olympic weightlifters (which are the most explosive) and bodybuilders. Strong relationships were found between body dimensions and strength in bodybuilders and weightlifters (regarding only the absolute strength for weightlifters) but not in powerlifters. Although athletes of the studied strength sports do not differ in their body dimensions, differences in their training methodologies determine adaptations and morphological and biomechanical changes in their bodies, which in turn, beget their sport-specific strength specializations.

Series on Biomechanics, Vol.34, No.4 (2020), 52-58

Keywords: absolute strength; bodybuilders; explosive strength; Olympic weightlifters; powerlifters

Date published: 2020-12-11