Sorry not sorry. Bodybuilding is not self-defence. Confusing the two can get you hurt.
Let’s say it loud for the guys flexing in the mirror right now:
Having a big chest, 20-inch arms, and visible abs does NOT make you good at self-defence.
In fact, it can sometimes make things worse.
Every week at SGS Krav Maga we get the same guy walk through the door: 5’10”, 115 kg, been lifting heavy for years, veins popping, looks like he could bench-press a car.
Ten minutes into his first real contact drill, he’s breathing out of his ears, eyes wide, getting rag-dolled by a 60 kg female instructor who’s been training Krav for over 48 months.
He’s not weak.
He’s not slow.
He’s just never been punched in the face while someone is trying to take his head off… and it shows.
The uncomfortable truth?
Being big and muscular is NOT the same as being able to defend yourself. In fact, it can sometimes make you a bigger target — or give you dangerous overconfidence.
Here are the cold, hard truths most “big guys” don’t want to hear:
1. Muscles don’t block punches
A haymaker to the jaw travels at roughly 25–35 km/h.
Your 50 cm bicep doesn’t slow it down if you don’t know how to move your head or put your hands up properly.
2. Muscles don’t teach you how to hit properly
A massive bicep looks impressive, but if you’ve never thrown a punch with proper hip rotation, weight transfer, and clenched fist, you’ll probably break your own hand on someone’s skull long before you drop them.’
3. Size is a target, not a shield
Predators don’t pick the biggest guy in the car park because they’re scared.
They pick him because ego + muscles = predictable reactions and a high chance he’ll square up instead of disengaging.
4. Bodybuilding cardio is not fighting cardio
Cardio for 60 seconds of terror is different from cardio for mirror selfies
Body-building cardio is usually steady-state or HIIT on machines. Real violence is an all-out anaerobic explosion — heart rate 180+, adrenaline dump, tunnel vision. Most big lifters that we’ve seen gas out in under 30 seconds of frantic struggle.
5. Strength without technique is just slow
You can deadlift 250 kg, but if you’ve never trained how to control distance, clinch, or strike while off-balance, that strength is useless when you’re being driven into a wall or taken to the ground.
6. Big muscles can make you slower to react
Hypertrophy-focused training often shortens muscle bellies and tightens joints. Many heavyweight body-builders move like robots when they’re cold.
Real self-defence requires explosive, loose, ugly movement — not posing symmetry.
7. Looking strong makes you feel safe — until it doesn’t
This psychological trap is brutal.
The moment you’re grabbed, taken to the ground, or attacked with a weapon or without a weapon, raw size becomes almost irrelevant.
A 65 kg trained person who knows footwork, striking, leverage, clinch work, and ground survival will control or disable a 110 kg gym beast who only knows bench press.
You’ve spent years building a physique that makes people move out of your way in bars.
Then one night someone who doesn’t care pulls a knife or swings a bottle and you realize intimidation only works on sober, rational people.
Guess what? Violent criminals usually aren’t either.
8. Intimidation only works on rational people
Drunk, high, desperate, or psychotic attackers are not doing threat assessments in their prefrontal cortex. They will still stab, shoot, or swing a bottle at the biggest guy in the room if they’ve decided you’re the target.
9. Overconfidence is a killer
The bigger and stronger you look, the more you tend to believe “I can handle myself.” That belief stops a lot of strong guys from ever seeking proper training — right up until the night they learn the hard way.
10. You don’t get to choose the starting distance
In the gym you control every variable. On the street, the first punch usually comes from talking range while you’re distracted. All that muscle doesn’t help if you never see the sucker punch coming
11. The bigger you are, the harder you fall (literally)
Large muscle mass + poor balance training + concrete floor = shattered elbows, torn pecs, and serious head trauma when you finally go down.
Real case from a few years ago – watch it for yourself.
Massive powerlifter, 130 kg, national-level competitor.
Got into a minor push-and-shove outside a club.
One punch from a skinny 80 kg guy who had boxed for three years.
Powerlifter went straight backwards, occipital head impact, died two days later in hospital.
The punch wasn’t even that hard.
He just didn’t know how to take one.
12. Real fights are chaotic, messy, and unfair
Multiple attackers, slippery surfaces, obstacles, bystanders, legal consequences, weapons, and zero rules.
The controlled environment of a posing stage or gym floor has exactly zero overlap with that reality.
Self-defence training is exactly this. Chaotic. Real. Unpredictable.
So does lifting have any place at all?
Of course it does. Being stronger is always better than being weaker.
A strong body can absolutely help you hit harder, control someone, or fight your way off the bottom. But strength is a force multiplier — not the foundation.
Krav Maga + functional strength training beats bodybuilding alone every single time in a real fight.
Think of it like this:
- Bodybuilding = building a V8 engine
- Krav Maga = teaching you how to drive the car in a demolition derby
You need both eventually, but if you can only choose one to start with, pick the driving lessons.
The engine is useless if you don’t know how to turn the wheel when someone’s trying to run you off the road.
Bottom line:
If your goal is to look intimidating in a T-shirt — keep hitting the gym. If your goal is to go home safe to your family after the worst night of your life — you need to train self-defence.
Looking like Thor won’t stop a bullet, a blade, or a sucker punch.
Training like you understand violence just might.
See you on the mats.
(And yes, we’ll still let you lift afterwards.)
STOP READING. START TRAINING.
BOOK YOUR FREE TRIAL SELF DEFENCE CLASS TODAY
SGS KRAV MAGA BLOG POSTS
12 Reasons Why Bodybuilding Is Not Self-Defence
The Vital Importance of Self-Defence: Lessons from Nature’s Predators for Modern Realities
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Grappling Isn’t Self-Defence: BJJ Black Belts Killed or Seriously Injured in Street Attacks
What Are The Best Shoes For Krav Maga? Top 7 Mens and Womens Shoes for Krav Maga
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Why Some Kids Quit Training Too Early – And How to Help Them Persevere
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4 Everyday Carry Essentials For Self-Defence
