Powerlifters are probably not the best people to go to for form, especially not as a newbie, they tend to have a "whatever works" philosophy. You do what they do, you'll get hurt. Some will have great form of course, but as as newbie, how would you know? Also powerlifters tend to have very unbalanced physiques. You might see some dude who can bench 500lbs but can't do chin-ups. He's well-adapted for his sport, he's not an all-round athlete (nor does he want to be).<p>Bodybuilders do tend to have good form, but probably aren't doing the exercises that you want to do. A lot of gym equipment is specifically for bodybuilders. They use leg extensions and cable crossovers specifically to build symmetry and definition, for example. Bodybuilders typically aren't interested in "functional strength" (e.g. they are training <i>for bodybuilding</i>, not to be better at some other sport). Again they are not, nor are they interested in being, all-round athletes.<p>Basically, what I'm saying is, if you want gym advice, first you have to find people with the same goals as you. If it's just "get fit" you'll need to be more specific in order to ask the right people the right questions.