eli5: Why do people who are actually strong look different than bodybuilders who train all week?

Question

eli5: Why do people who are actually strong look different than bodybuilders who train all week?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Since I’m not seeing it explicitly mentioned, bodybuilders are extremely strong. Beyond a year or two of resistance training, every bit of strength gain will necessarily come with hypertrophy (muscle growth). Per unit of body mass, bodybuilders aren’t the strongest because they focus on “show muscles” like biceps, triceps, pecs, and medial delts, whereas strongmen and power lifters tend to have disproportionate quads, traps, and backs. You may be seeing some selection bias as well, where people whose bodies respond to resistance training with hypertrophy stay with bodybuilding, whereas guys/girls who just get stronger don’t.