Why powerlifting doesn’t help you gain muscle?

Ever since I lost weight, I haven’t been happy with my physique, which has made me insecure and crushed all the confidence I had. My O level days were horrible because of that. After completing my O levels, I started going to the gym. The first few months were the toughest; constant muscle soreness and tiredness made me want to quit every day. Even after going to the gym for a year or so, my improvements were insignificant when it came to muscle gain. However, I did manage to improve endurance and stamina.

Everyone at the gym didn’t take long to bash me with their suggestions, which I didn’t ask for. I thought their advice might be useful, but it mostly turned out to be misleading. After a while, I started having an existential crisis. I began to wonder if maybe the gym isn’t for me and if I should quit after all. Then I discovered Jeff Nippard on YouTube. He’s a science-based gym coach in Canada.

After watching some of his videos and buying a $30 workout plan, it helped me gain the correct perspective on fitness, genetics, and powerlifting. I finally understood why it’s hard for me to gain muscle because of my bad genetics. Jeff recommended that people with bad genetics should try out powerlifting and find out whether it works for them or not. Jeff’s claim was that someone who doesn’t really care about ‘Aesthetics’ (a combination of size, conditioning, muscle shape, and symmetry) should stick to powerlifting, which will keep them in shape and compensate for aesthetics with strength. Powerlifting basically focuses on lifting heavy weights for fewer repetitions compared to other forms of weightlifting, which increases muscle strength instead of volume. 

I started implementing Jeff’s workouts into my routine and right after 3 months, I saw significant improvements. As of now, I can deadlift 150kg, bench 100kg, and squat 135kg. Instead of sitting at home depressed, I go to the gym and try to exceed my own expectations while tracking my progress.