Building a General Badass

Training
21

[quote]kollak95 wrote:
Alright so this might be a bit of an odd question, but I was wondering about this today and thought I’d see what you all thought.

Suppose a guy were to build a training program for someone with no intention of competing in powerlifting OR bodybuilding; in other words, just going for “don’t f**k with that guy” build. What exercises, reps, days, etc. would you use and how would structure the training week? Or would you simply use a system like 5/3/1? I think this is an interesting idea and it’d be cool to see everyone’s opinions.
[/quote]

How about instead of training for the “look,” you train to be the guy you don’t fuck with? As have said, strongman is the way to go. Nothing builds confidence like knowing you can press the guy next to you over your head.

22

I feel like I should clarify that I don’t have an inferiority complex and feel the need to be a badass by big and strong or however it may sound lol. Reading through that again kind of gives that impression. I’ll check out Pavel’s book though, I’ve always enjoyed reading his stuff but I’ve never read that book.

I apologize for a poorly worded opening question all, but the “powerbuilding” stuff has always been my favorite and thought I’d see if anyone wanting to share ideas on it.

23

[quote]kollak95 wrote:
I’ll check out Pavel’s book though, I’ve always enjoyed reading his stuff but I’ve never read that book.
[/quote]

It’s just a collection of articles and Q&As. It’s a great one stop shop for his thoughts.

24

I think someone who’s never trained ever and just dumped the potato chips for a gym membership would consider the great John Basedow (remember him, anyone) intimidating as fuck while anyone who’s been lifting for a decade and/or been in fights would begin wheezing.

The rationale for the “power look” is you can’t fake the yoke (neck, traps, upper back). Bodybuilding is about looking GOOD with balanced development everywhere. Intimidating is about looking freaky big in the right places.

You can look good heck “great” by moving a toothpick with two olives using 10-second eccentrics, and occlusions and burnout sets yada yada while tracking macros using “intelligent nutrition” or whatever the selfie-loving crowd seems to be touting these days. Bodybuilding based training will only make you look intimidating if you’re moving some serious weight OR have moved some weight in the past. Remember that IFBB pros are/used to be strong as fuck.

[quote]TheKraken wrote:

[quote]kollak95 wrote:
Alright so this might be a bit of an odd question, but I was wondering about this today and thought I’d see what you all thought.

Suppose a guy were to build a training program for someone with no intention of competing in powerlifting OR bodybuilding; in other words, just going for “don’t f**k with that guy” build. What exercises, reps, days, etc. would you use and how would structure the training week? Or would you simply use a system like 5/3/1? I think this is an interesting idea and it’d be cool to see everyone’s opinions.
[/quote]

How about instead of training for the “look,” you train to be the guy you don’t fuck with? As have said, strongman is the way to go. Nothing builds confidence like knowing you can press the guy next to you over your head. [/quote]

25

[quote]Ripsaw3689 wrote:
Bodybuilding style training would make you look the most badass as others have said.

I, for one, would not fuck with this guy. [/quote]

I wouldn’t fuck with him either, but since we’re talking about what constitutes “badass”, I’ll say I don’t think the professional bodybuilder look is it.

You see a guy like that on the street, you know he’s a bodybuilder – i.e., he’s on AAS, his training focus is 100% aesthetic, he probably has relatively shitty functionality and cardiovascular fitness. If he’s shredded, his diet has taken a toll too, and his overall health probably isn’t great.

In my experience, really tough, strong, athletic (and dangerous) guys do not care that much about aesthetics or symmetry. They aren’t going to look like pro bodybuilders, they’re going to look almost “accidentally” big and strong, as if they got that way doing intense shit (which they probably did, to some extent).

To me a heavyweight MMA guy (or even a powerlifter) will generally look more “badass” than a bodybuilder, even if their muscular development or bodyfat levels are light years apart.

26

[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:

[quote]Ripsaw3689 wrote:
I, for one, would not fuck with this guy. [/quote]
To be fair, I wouldn’t fuck with this guy either. He’s like 80 pounds smaller, but a thick neck and cauliflower ears do give off a certain vibe and woe be unto those who ignore the warning.

As far as the badass look, definitely the “yoke” area (shoulders, upper back, traps, and neck) would be a priority. Plenty of routines have discussed building it - CT’s power look, McCallum’s progressive pulls back in the '60s, Wendler’s classic yoke article, etc.

But also, in terms of looking badass on first impression, I think forearms are underrated. You notice when a dude has significant forearms, and they generally don’t get that way by accident. Time and effort went into building big, strong forearms either with serious lifting or years and years of manual labor, or both.[/quote]

Yup, absolutely nothing says “badass” like cauliflower ears. That’s because you can only get them by giving and receiving beatings for years. Definitely not something you can fake. If I had a dollar for every time I saw a meathead come into the boxing gym and think he was going to clean house, only to walk away with his tail between his legs after being whooped by a middleweight, I’d be a rich man. Forget working on your bis and work on your ears instead.

27

The “dont fuck with me” badass may not necessarily have awesome cardiovascular fitness. Ive known beer swilling guys who work construction on the side, who got big and strong and powerful without having any kind of “physique” focus.

IMO your objectives are simply to conform to say, Dan John’s “game changer” strength standards while maintaining a sufficiently high level of cardiovascular fitness? That should be achievable

[quote]craze9 wrote:

[quote]Ripsaw3689 wrote:
Bodybuilding style training would make you look the most badass as others have said.

I, for one, would not fuck with this guy. [/quote]

I wouldn’t fuck with him either, but since we’re talking about what constitutes “badass”, I’ll say I don’t think the professional bodybuilder look is it.

You see a guy like that on the street, you know he’s a bodybuilder – i.e., he’s on AAS, his training focus is 100% aesthetic, he probably has relatively shitty functionality and cardiovascular fitness. If he’s shredded, his diet has taken a toll too, and his overall health probably isn’t great.

In my experience, really tough, strong, athletic (and dangerous) guys do not care that much about aesthetics or symmetry. They aren’t going to look like pro bodybuilders, they’re going to look almost “accidentally” big and strong, as if they got that way doing intense shit (which they probably did, to some extent).

To me a heavyweight MMA guy (or even a powerlifter) will generally look more “badass” than a bodybuilder, even if their muscular development or bodyfat levels are light years apart.
[/quote]

28

[quote]craze9 wrote:

[quote]Ripsaw3689 wrote:
Bodybuilding style training would make you look the most badass as others have said.

I, for one, would not fuck with this guy. [/quote]

I wouldn’t fuck with him either, but since we’re talking about what constitutes “badass”, I’ll say I don’t think the professional bodybuilder look is it.

You see a guy like that on the street, you know he’s a bodybuilder – i.e., he’s on AAS, his training focus is 100% aesthetic, he probably has relatively shitty functionality and cardiovascular fitness. If he’s shredded, his diet has taken a toll too, and his overall health probably isn’t great.

In my experience, really tough, strong, athletic (and dangerous) guys do not care that much about aesthetics or symmetry. They aren’t going to look like pro bodybuilders, they’re going to look almost “accidentally” big and strong, as if they got that way doing intense shit (which they probably did, to some extent).

To me a heavyweight MMA guy (or even a powerlifter) will generally look more “badass” than a bodybuilder, even if their muscular development or bodyfat levels are light years apart.
[/quote]

Agree with this totally. Put me up against a 300 lb bodybuilder and even at 200 lb I think I’d have a chance. A 250 lb mma fighter or linebacker however would be a different story. It’s not just about size, it’s the build, the physical look, athleticism, how a dude carries himself etc. pro bbers are great - just not badasses in my book.

29

[quote]justrob wrote:

[quote]craze9 wrote:

[quote]Ripsaw3689 wrote:
Bodybuilding style training would make you look the most badass as others have said.

I, for one, would not fuck with this guy. [/quote]

I wouldn’t fuck with him either, but since we’re talking about what constitutes “badass”, I’ll say I don’t think the professional bodybuilder look is it.

You see a guy like that on the street, you know he’s a bodybuilder – i.e., he’s on AAS, his training focus is 100% aesthetic, he probably has relatively shitty functionality and cardiovascular fitness. If he’s shredded, his diet has taken a toll too, and his overall health probably isn’t great.

In my experience, really tough, strong, athletic (and dangerous) guys do not care that much about aesthetics or symmetry. They aren’t going to look like pro bodybuilders, they’re going to look almost “accidentally” big and strong, as if they got that way doing intense shit (which they probably did, to some extent).

To me a heavyweight MMA guy (or even a powerlifter) will generally look more “badass” than a bodybuilder, even if their muscular development or bodyfat levels are light years apart.
[/quote]

Agree with this totally. Put me up against a 300 lb bodybuilder and even at 200 lb I think I’d have a chance. A 250 lb mma fighter or linebacker however would be a different story. It’s not just about size, it’s the build, the physical look, athleticism, how a dude carries himself etc. pro bbers are great - just not badasses in my book.
[/quote]

This is more where I meant to go with this thread. That combination of size, strength and power, for me personally, is much more desirable/attainable than a typical bodybuilder or even powerlifter.

30

cauliflower ears

thread/

Seriously, never fuck with someone with cauliflower ears, even you have 100lbs on them.

31

[quote]kollak95 wrote:

[quote]justrob wrote:

[quote]craze9 wrote:

[quote]Ripsaw3689 wrote:
Bodybuilding style training would make you look the most badass as others have said.

I, for one, would not fuck with this guy. [/quote]

I wouldn’t fuck with him either, but since we’re talking about what constitutes “badass”, I’ll say I don’t think the professional bodybuilder look is it.

You see a guy like that on the street, you know he’s a bodybuilder – i.e., he’s on AAS, his training focus is 100% aesthetic, he probably has relatively shitty functionality and cardiovascular fitness. If he’s shredded, his diet has taken a toll too, and his overall health probably isn’t great.

In my experience, really tough, strong, athletic (and dangerous) guys do not care that much about aesthetics or symmetry. They aren’t going to look like pro bodybuilders, they’re going to look almost “accidentally” big and strong, as if they got that way doing intense shit (which they probably did, to some extent).

To me a heavyweight MMA guy (or even a powerlifter) will generally look more “badass” than a bodybuilder, even if their muscular development or bodyfat levels are light years apart.
[/quote]

Agree with this totally. Put me up against a 300 lb bodybuilder and even at 200 lb I think I’d have a chance. A 250 lb mma fighter or linebacker however would be a different story. It’s not just about size, it’s the build, the physical look, athleticism, how a dude carries himself etc. pro bbers are great - just not badasses in my book.
[/quote]

This is more where I meant to go with this thread. That combination of size, strength and power, for me personally, is much more desirable/attainable than a typical bodybuilder or even powerlifter.[/quote]

I think it’s worth pointing out, though, that the badass “look” is about more than just muscular development. Cauliflower ears or fucked-up knuckles and hands and shins are not something you train for.

So, while Jim Wendler may look way more badass than Jeff Seid, it isn’t really because of muscular development or training methods. If Seid had to “transform” for a movie role, you could give him a haircut, some tattoos, scars, a hoodie, etc and change his “look,” without changing his training at all.

I mention this because when it comes to training to look like a badass in terms of muscular development, you are still basically “bodybuilding,” and you might have to incorporate bodybuilding techniques to reach full potential. I think 5/3/1 would be a great program for someone who wants to train with this goal, but some guys (like me) are not going to get particularly big arms just from pressing and pulling. Isolation work may be needed, and for some people way more volume than the recommended 3 sets of curls in 5/3/1 may be necessary for growth. Similarly, there may be guys whose traps don’t grow that much from just deadlifts and cleans. Or guys with naturally narrow shoulders who need to really focus on delts and lats. And that is basically bodybuilding.