There's a huge rift between bodybuilders and powerlifters.
While the muscle men are quick to call the strong ones 'fat and ugly', the latter laughs at those shredded wimps because they can't deadlift 800 pounds.
The truth is that you can mix a lot of each discipline's techniques to get the benefits of both worlds.
1.
The Holy Grail Of 5 Sets Powerlifters do very few exercises but perform them for 5 sets.
The reason for this is that they're training their central nervous system, more than their muscles, to be as efficient as possible in lifting the weight.
The result is immense power and strength rivaled by no other discipline.
I'm not saying that you throw away all your other exercises and start lifting only the 'Big Three'.
What I'm pointing out is that it would be wise to cycle some powerlifting routines at specific times during the year in order to increase your poundage and strength significantly.
This is the absolute best way to get over any plateau.
Make sure that you perform each set for a maximum of 6 reps.
Only increase your poundage if you have completed 5 sets of 6 reps - at least 10 pounds on compound movements and at least by 5 on isolation ones.
2.
To Be Invincible, Lockout! This is a staple training technique of elite powerlifters.
Take note, locking out at the top of the movement is a technique - not a trivial habit or an annoying disturbance.
It serves a huge purpose of strengthening your tendons and ligaments - those precious links that spell the difference between huge and moderate lifts.
Bodybuilders usually gain more muscle before their tendons and ligaments get strengthened.
Powerlifters are usually the opposite.
It's not impossible to realize why bodybuilders plateau much more often than powerlifters.
Oftentimes, it's not that your muscles aren't strong enough to take heavier loads.
You simply haven't trained your joints to match your muscles.
By locking out at the topmost portion of any exercise, you'll be having more joint strength than your muscles will ever need.
This means you'll have the license to increase the weights whenever you want - without ever hitting a plateau.
3.
Strength And Nothing Else But isn't having more muscles equivalent to getting stronger in the process? Not exactly.
Although more muscles represent more 'strength capacity', the actual output of power is based on so many things.
Probably the most important factor is how attuned your central nervous system is to handling heavier and heavier loads.
By constantly training like a bodybuilder, you're missing out on this huge benefit.
You never let your mind and body feel the stress of lifting a heavy set of weights for a few reps - and completely adapt from it.
Strength athletes put this goal above everything else because they know that the muscles, although not their objective, will automatically follow.
Don't ever wait to hit a plateau before cycling in a strength-focused program.
Execute even a simple workout every 4-6 weeks that focuses purely on strength so your muscles will remain on growth mode.