Why do powerlifters have big bellies? (Here are the reasons why)

The appearance of larger stomachs in powerlifters as opposed to a more muscular appearance may be attributed to their high intake of carbohydrates and calories. This nutritional strategy is critical to providing the energy needed to lift exceptionally heavy weights during exercise.

It’s about calorie consumption

I think it’s pretty obvious that “big” relative to your body typically comes from calorie consumption.

You need to Eat an excess of calories if you want to get bigger and stronger.

So if you’re wondering why you’re not gaining muscle even though you’re training like a demon, it’s because of your diet and nutrition.

Powerlifting is all about muscle and strength, so it makes sense that they need to consume large amounts of calories.

The truth is that they are in an almost constant state of massing.

The heavyweight classes of powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting, as well as World’s Strongest Man competitors, typically display some very big bellies.

The difference between powerlifters and bodybuilders

If you are considering a bodybuilder, they too go through the bulking phase first.

This includes intensive training and lots of food.

Basically, it’s about doing everything you can to build as much muscle as possible.

Unfortunately, with all those extra calories comes fat.

However, a bodybuilder then typically goes through a cutting phase.

A very strict diet must be followed to eliminate fat.

In fact, I’m sure you’ve heard many of them Bodybuilders eat chicken, broccoli and rice.

However, even an ingredient like rice is likely to take a back seat during a bodybuilder’s dieting phase.

They will also scale back their training, but still do just enough to maintain as much muscle mass as possible.

However, the athlete will also lose a lot of strength during the cutting phase.

Essentially, they become much weaker.

Now if we look at things from a powerlifter’s perspective, the last thing he wants is to lose strength and become weaker.

Powerlifting is all about building as much raw strength as possible.

This allows you to lift the heaviest loads within your means.

So a powerlifter does not go through a cutting phase, especially when training for a competition.

Admittedly, shifting weight burns enormous amounts of calories.

The solution, again, is to consume even more calories.

You have to remember that you can eat as “clean” as you want.

But excess calories are just that. If they are not burned through your normal daily activities, they are stored as fat.

However, for a powerlifter this is of little importance.

More body mass means you can lift more weight.

Powerlifters train with lower volume

Something else that needs to be considered is the total volume of work a powerlifter does during a session.

Okay, I already mentioned that shifting your weight a lot burns a lot of calories.

However, this doesn’t work in the same way as high volume training.

In addition, let’s not forget that it is impossible to reduce body fat selectively.

However, the same cannot be said for gaining body fat.

For most of us, excess calories typically go straight to the stomach.

If you’ve ever changed your training protocols, you’ve probably noticed this yourself.

Let’s say you’ve been focusing heavily on hypertrophy and conditioning for a few months.

Then you decide to shift your focus to pure strength training.

Even if you exercise with just as much intensity, if not more intensity, you will usually notice that you are getting fatter.

You’ll likely end up consuming more calories because your energy levels will feel severely depleted from the workout.

And even when moving much heavier loads, the overall noise level has dropped significantly.

The type of exercise can produce a big belly

Now, when I talk about a powerlifter’s “type of training,” it’s not so much about a lack of cardio and abdominal training.

In fact, powerlifters definitely train their abdominal and core muscles.

Almost every movement we perform originates in the core, so it is important for a powerlifter to have an extremely strong core.

In fact, sit-ups with heavy weights are part of a powerlifter’s training regimen.

Oh yes, even though powerlifters are constantly bulking up, they are still training their abs.

But these aren’t your average weighted sit-ups.

Depending on the athlete, this could be sets of 15 reps and 300-500 pounds.

Yes, it works the abs, but it also builds big abs.

You also need to consider how these athletes use their weight belt.

While most of us use a belt to stabilize the core and protect the lower back, a powerlifter also uses it to train his breathing.

For extremely heavy squatsWhen doing deadlifts and bench presses, athletes literally push their stomach out as hard as possible.

The goal is to press your stomach against the belt as hard as possible to provide additional support.

If you do this multiple times a day for weeks, months, and years, you will end up with a bigger belly.

Former powerlifter and current strength coach, Louie Simmonsonce said, “If you want a small waist, powerlifting is not your sport.”

The role of steroids

Steroids can play a role in causing a big belly.

Actually there is a term called “roid good”although this is more common among bodybuilders than powerlifters.

It is actually known as Palumboism.

This causes the oblique muscles to thicken and actually pushes the rectus abdominis muscles outwards.

In fact, it is not the steroids that cause this “big belly,” but rather other performance-enhancing drugs.

These include insulin, human growth hormone and various anabolic peptide hormones.

However, the opposite can also be said about certain steroids.

In fact, there are some steroids that boost metabolism and increase your overall daily energy expenditure.

This means you’ll actually burn calories and body fat while improving recovery so you can train harder and longer.

From a powerlifter’s perspective, the obvious solution to combating this “calorie burn” is to eat more.

And then we’re back where we started – higher calorie consumption means more body fat.

Key learning points

• Powerlifters must consume a large amount of calories to support their training.
• It’s not uncommon for powerlifters to eat DURING their workouts.
• During powerlifting training, the stomach is strongly pushed out. The stomach is typically “forced” into a weightlifting belt so that the athlete can breathe purposefully.
• Abs training for powerlifters uses large weights that build large abdominal muscles, making the stomach appear larger.
• Steroids may play a role, whether due to palumboism or the need to consume more calories.

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