[quote author="ScottMiele" date="1248934651"]I heard that body builders usually do 1-3 for pure muscle building, but they are not as strong of people their size should be because of this. I believe 3-4 however was the best way to gain strength
You have this backwards. Bodybuilders rarely do anything less than 5 reps unless they are trying to develop strength. More strength, heavier weights, more potential for growth. The reason that bodybuilders are not as strong as powerlifters, even if they are much more massive, is because they train for hypertrophy in the 6-10 rep/set range. Even if they go to failure and use higher volumes, the strength gains are not as great because they rarely do sets with 3 reps or less. The CNS is not challenged in the same way, among other things.
In recent years, bodybuilders have been catching onto this and moved to powerbuilding, which has two training goals…size AND strength. The additional strength is gained from doing sets in the 2-5 reps/set range which will improve strength much faster, and farther, than the higher rep sets. The additional strength allows them to use heavier weights on their higher rep sets leading to more mass.
This is why I would disagree with Davan’s twin theory. I believe that if both twins train equally hard, the twin using a rep scheme with higher reps per set will be bigger, but weaker, than the twin using the lower rep scheme. My evidence would be to compare elite bodybuilders with elite powerlifters of the same weight class. When comparing by weightclass, bodybuilders, who use predominantly a high (6-10 reps/set) rep scheme, are much more massive, while powerlifters, who predominantly use a lower (1-5 reps per set) rep scheme, are much stronger.[/quote]
Even when taken to the absolute extreme, if we took natural bodybuilders and compared them to natural, RAW powerlifters using normal stances (so everything is equal), the strength differences would not be much at all. When you factor in the amount of drugs and training gear they use and the fact that powerlifters, even those who compete raw, are willing to squat and bench wide enough to destroy their shoulder and hip girdles… well it makes it a different story to say the least. Make it all the same and let’s see the strength differences.
It goes without saying that Coleman and some others could be quite competitive in the absolute highest levels of powerlifting right out of bodybuilding despite the vast majority of their training being in the 10+ rep range.