Integrated Strength: Beyond Size and Aesthetics

Most of us guys, including yours truly, start lifting weights to be more sexually appealing to women (at the surface level), which then transcends into a healthy, overall expression of the male Eros. I think a man should be able to look at himself objectively and take it for what it is. Not being able to admit to yourself that a big part of the reason you are lifting weights is because you want to appeal to women, is weak. I don't respect this kind of coping—I respect a man who can look at himself for what he truly is. This kind of honest self-reflection demonstrates a healthy, integrated masculine mind.

As mentioned above, for most of us, the drive to rack up romantic encounters eventually slips into the background—like a primal current running behind the stage curtains. Taking center stage instead is a more general and wholesome expression of Eros—or, in Nietzschean terms, the 'will to power': the deeper drive to overcome, to assert oneself, and to shape one's life with purpose and strength.

Mindshift and Integration

Some men already start with a pretty shifted state of mind; others transition more gradually, but most of us will make that shift—internally—at some point. However, for a lot of us, that shift stays internal and unfinished.

Many guys remain stuck chasing size and aesthetics alone, which in most cases is a waste of your time. The only situations in which you'd build more muscle that way, compared to a program focused on overall athletic capabilities and supplemented with hypertrophy work, are when you're approaching advanced territory—where someone needs to be stage-ready and is clearly shifting towards bodybuilding for its own sake—or when using steroids.

Outside of these situations, I don't see why you'd stick to just chasing size. For the same amount of time spent in the gym—or even less, with intelligent programming—you can build the same amount of muscle on top of a highly functional and strong body.

Any significant size that couldn’t be achieved through an athletic program supplemented with hypertrophy work will start approaching that “too much” territory, where it just doesn’t look good anymore and begins to come across as shallow. That said, I am partially biased here—I’m not a fan of bodybuilding; to me, it’s shallow, and I don’t see the beauty in it.

Forget About your Curls

I think quite a large portion of gym-goers are unaware of the different lifting disciplines that exist. I’d like to briefly go over them.

Bodybuilding:

Bodybuilding is all about developing size and symmetry, with an almost obsessive focus on aesthetics. It’s not just about lifting heavy, but sculpting every muscle to look as impressive and balanced as possible. Competitions are all about presentation: tanned competitors pose on stage in revealing trunks, showing off their hard-earned physiques under bright lights. There are weight classes and various subdivisions—like classic, physique, or open—each with their own style and judging criteria.

Powerlifting:

Powerlifting is the relentless pursuit of maximum strength in the big three lifts: deadlift, squat, and bench press. Every session is focused on moving heavier and heavier weights, with technique and grit at the forefront. The goal isn’t how you look, but how much you can move in a single, all-out rep. Competitions are straightforward: each lifter gets three attempts at each lift, with the heaviest successful lift counting towards their total. Everything is divided by weight class, so it’s strength-to-weight ratio that matters most.

Olympic Weightlifting:

This is the sport of explosive strength and technique, with two classic lifts: the snatch and the clean & jerk. It’s not just about brute power, but about moving heavy weight fast and with precision. Olympic lifters are some of the most powerful athletes on earth, generating peak force in split seconds. Competitions are based on the heaviest successful lifts in each category, divided by weight class. Think speed, mobility, and absolute full-body coordination.

Strongman:

Strongman is about raw, awkward, real-world strength—think flipping giant tires, carrying massive stones, pulling trucks, and lifting odd objects. Athletes here train to be able to move anything, anywhere, anyhow. There are weight classes, but the top tier is always the “open” division: the world’s biggest and baddest moving superhuman weights. It’s less about how pretty your muscles look and more about what you can actually pick up, carry, drag, or throw.

CrossFit:

CrossFit is the sport of being “ready for anything”—a blend of strength, endurance, speed, and skill. Workouts mix Olympic lifts, powerlifting, gymnastics, and cardio in constantly varied, high-intensity challenges. Athletes are tested on how well they can lift, run, jump, climb, and recover under fatigue. Competitions (“the Games”) seek to find the world’s “fittest” athlete, not just the strongest or fastest in a single domain.

Calisthenics:

Calisthenics is all about mastering your own body weight—pull-ups, dips, muscle-ups, planches, levers, and handstands. It’s the art of control, mobility, and functional strength. The best calisthenics athletes have crazy strong cores and joints, and make high-level moves look effortless. Competitions often feature routines or “freestyle” displays on bars and the ground, testing both strength and body control.

Optimal Training for the Busy, Everyday Guy

So, let’s say you’re not a specialized athlete making a lot of money from your sport, and your schedule is busy—which it should be—then what’s the most optimal way to train? As discussed before, it would be a balanced program that maxes out both size and aesthetics AND athletic prowess.

Combine Weights and Combat Sports

I'm a big advocate—for multiple reasons (which I won’t get into now)—of combining weightlifting with combat sports. I find this to be the most efficient use of your time. Full-body weightlifting sessions twice per week, combined with one to three combat sport sessions per week, will get you 90% of the way there. The key is to structure your workouts so that the strength and size you build in the weight room translate directly to your performance in combat sports—which I’ll write about in detail in the future.

Setting Strength Standards

The overall approach you should take is to select exercises, sets, and rep schemes from all weightlifting disciplines. I’d start by basing your weightlifting goals on the big three, just like in powerlifting: 2.5 times your bodyweight in the deadlift, 2 times your bodyweight in the squat, and 1.5 times your bodyweight in the flat bench. This will set the foundation for your athletic prowess and a desirable physique, as well as keep you grounded, with goals that are simple and consistent until you reach advanced levels.

Supplement for Hypertrophy

Supplement your training with unilateral hypertrophy exercises—such as dumbbell rows, dumbbell presses, lunges, and Bulgarian split squats—alongside bilateral lifts like Romanian deadlifts, deficit deadlifts, sumo deadlifts, overhead presses, squats, and calisthenics movements like (weighted) pull-ups and dips. As you reach early advanced levels, start adding Olympic lifts and banded/chained speed work, including banded bench presses and deadlifts.

In future blog posts, I’ll go deep into exercise selection—what determines if an exercise will transfer strength to combat sports (and athleticism as a whole), as well as set and rep schemes. Stay tuned if you’re interested!