Powerlifting > Bodybuilding

1. SafetyCon claims that bodybuilding is safer than powerlifting because powerlifting focuses on 3 big lifts; Squat, bench and deadlift. Con also brings up the "clean snatch" (which, by the way, doesn't exist. He's either talking about the power snatch or the clean and jerk). Firstly, Powerlifters don't power-snatch or clean-and-jerk. These are lifts performed in Olympic lifting, not powerlifting. You will rarely see a powerlifter doing these lifts. Secondly, Con provides absolutely no evidence that powerlifting is dangerous, we're just supposed to take his word for it. Obviously if you perform the lift incorrectly, you're putting yourself at risk for injury. The same is true for literally any sport. The idea is to join your local powerlifting team and get coaching (usually free) on how to perform the lifts competitively and safely. Thirdly, there's a reason why the IPF has a 70+ age division (Masters IV) [1]. If you take the time to learn the sport, as any athlete would with their chosen sport there's no reason why you couldn't safely compete well into your 70's as Ernie Parks did when he, at 72 years of age, deadlifted a world-record winning 460lbs [2].Or Svend Stensgaard who, at 92 years of age, can still deadlift over 285lbs with perfect form [3]. Most men this age can't perform these movements with no weight, let alone several hundreds of pounds. They're only able to do what they do thanks to their powerlifting training. Thirdly, bodybuilders still squat and deadlift. This is because, as it's famously known, heavy compound movements (like the deadlift) add more muscle than light concentrated movements (like curls) [4]. Also, hypertrophy (the process that builds muscle in your body) isn't localized, it's systemic. Meaning heavy deadlifts will add more size to your arms than curls [5]. Therefore, if you want to be an accomplished bodybuilder, you're going to have to learn how to squat and deadlift anyway.And finally, there's evidence showing that powerlifting is actually safer than bodybuilding. One study found that powerlifters sustain injuries at a rate of 0.84 injuries per 1000 hours of training [6], while bodybuilders sustain injuries ta a rate of 1.00 per 1000 hours of training [7]. Bottom Line: There's no reason in the world why powerlifting should be a dangerous sport. If you take the time to learn your craft, you can be doing this well into your twilight years. You'll have to learn how to do it if you want to be a bodybuilder anyway, and they get injurd more than we do. It's a clear choice from here.2. MoneyCon is right that the best paid bodybuilder is paid more than the best paid powerlifter, but this is irrelevant to everyone who isn't one of the top 10 best bodybuilders in the world. The top prize for the Mr. Olympia is $250,000, but as soon as you drop 1 place (2nd), you're only getting half that ($125,000). By the time you reach 10th place, the prize money is only $15,000 [8]. Keep in mind what I said last round; Bodybuilding competitions are judged on vague and arbitrary guidelines, so even the best bodybuilders in the world can't ever count on actually making any money off the sport. It's worth noting that these top-level bodybuilders also spend a ton of money of their steroids. A top-level bodybuilder will spend $2000-$8000 a month just on growth-hormone [9]. Forget about all the other steroids you need to take, just that one will cost you literally thousands of dollars a month. So let's say you're only the 10th best bodybuilder in the world (God forbid, I know...). Your grand prize probably wouldn't even cover 1 month of steroids, let alone put food on the table and a roof over your head. The richest people in the fitness industry got that way by marketing themselves or their products, not from actually competing. If you want to make money in this industry, your discipline is irrelevant. It comes down to your business sense. Bottom Line: If your goal is to make money, competing in either discipline is a waste of time. Make your choice based on factors like health and training philosophy, because you won't get rich lifting weights either way.3. FatCon claims that powerlifters are just fat. This is only true with super-heavyweight powerlifters where it stops mattering how lean they are. Most powerlifters have to stay lean in order to be competitive in their weightclasses. Take Konstantīns Konstantinovs. He competes in the 275lb weightclass. Literally just 1 weightclass below the super-heavyweight class, and he's lean enough ot have abs [10]. Or how about Dan Green? He's the strongest 240lb man in the world [11]. Can Con say he's fat? I don't think anyone can. Besides, if the biggest powerlifters are guilty of being too fat, then bodybuilders are guilty of just the opposite -- They get too lean. Once your bodyfat levels dip below 5%, you're cutting into your essential fatty stores, which is dangerous to your health."Essential fat is the level below which physical and physiological health would be negatively affected... The leanest athletes typically compete at levels of about 6–13% for men or 14–20% for women. Bodybuilders may compete at ranges even lower than these levels. Certified personal trainers will suggest to male bodybuilders that they aim for a body fat percentage between 2% and 4% by contest time." [12]If health is your main concern, you're better off being as strong as a powerlifter at 10% bodyfat than be a 4% bodyfat bodybuilder halfway in the grave by the time you step on stage. Bottom Line: Powerlifters are only fat if you ignore literally all of them under 300lbs. Most powerlifters are lean, but not sickly lean as bodybuilders will get when they compete. 4. KhaosCon claims that powerlifting is disorganized because 10 people claim to be the best in the world. This is utter nonsense. The best lifters in the world are catalogued by weight class at powerliftingwatch.com, which I sourced last round [13]. 5. Dropped ArgumentsCon dropped every single one of my R2 arguments. As such, I extend them all. ConclusionPowerlifting is a perfectly safe sport anyone can do for decades, even ino their 90's if they take care of themselves. In fact, there's evidence showing the powerlifting can actually be safer than bodybuilding. There is no money in weightlifting regardless of if you're a powerlifter or a bodybuilder. Powerlifters have the potential to win more money, but that money is only barely enough to cover the steroids you'll have to buy to win it in the first place, at best. You might as well be a powerlifter -- you'll be just as broke, but you won't have to pump your body full of drugs to be that broke. Powerlifters are typically lean, as they have to be in order to have a competitive amount of strength for their weightclass. Unless you want to compete as a super-heavyweight, you can expect to get lean with powerlifting too. Bodybuilding will make you lean as well, but if you want to compete, you'll have to get dangerously lean to do so. Finally, as none of my R2 arguments were addressed, they all still currently stand. VOTE PROSources1. http://en.wikipedia.org...2. 3. 4. http://www.t-nation.com...5. http://www.t-nation.com...6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...7. http://bmsi.ru...8. http://bmsi.ru...9. 10. http://en.wikipedia.org...11. 12. http://en.wikipedia.org...13. http://www.powerliftingwatch.com...