In a weird turn of events, there has been lots of overlap between the anime and weightlifting communities over the past few years. Perhaps no character better embodies this than Baki Hanma. Many lifters use Baki and his “demon back” as a focal point for their own physiques.
But if you actually wanted to look like Baki, what would the Baki workout routine look like? In this guide, I as both a personal trainer and a Baki fan, will design the ultimate Baki workout routine using real training principles.
BONUS: Download The FREE Baki Workout Routine PDF
Why Would You Want A Baki Workout Routine?
If you go anywhere on TikTok or Youtube, you will see that people often describe wanting to be “built like Baki.” While this may sound cool, what does this actually mean in terms of a real-life physique?
To make things simpler, let’s start off by identifying some of the key features that make Baki’s physique so desirable:
Key Baki Features:
Wide Shoulders
Narrow Waist
Very Large Forearms
3-D Pop To Muscles
Vascular
Low Body Fat
Great Neck Development
Deep Abs
Baki Stats
Height: 5’5
Weight: 156 lbs.
Real Name: Baki Hanma
Age: Seen as 13-15-17-18 (Netflix Series: 17)
If you come from the world of bodybuilding or weightlifting as I do, it is not hard to see that many of these attributes could also be used to describe an aesthetic physique. So it really is no wonder why so many young guys want to strive to look like Baki.
Baki Workout Routine: The Key Principles
Exercise Selection
If you look at Baki, the first thing you will notice is that he has tons of muscles all around his body. To best translate this into real life, it means that we are going to want to stick to compound lifts for most of our sets.
This way you get the most bang for your buck and build a solid base of muscle.
Next, we are going to want to focus our isolation exercises on the areas that really stand out for Baki. This will mean lots of specialized forearms, shoulder, and core work.
Volume
If you look at the muscles in most animes, they have a clear pop and 3-D effect on them. Even more so with Baki, he has a more muscular body than other popular physiques such as that of Toji Fushiguro. This can be a hard look to replicate in real life, but clearly, we are going to want to design our Baki workout routine to be more hypertrophy-focused.
So we are gonna stick to the 8-15 rep range and be in the gym most days.
Calisthenics
Another way we can emulate this 3-D that Baki has is by doing calisthenics. Not only do many anime characters actually do calisthenics, but there is actually some scientific reasoning for why they may be your best bet for getting anime-like muscles.
If you look for examples in real life. the closest thing you get to see a Baki physique in real life is with male gymnasts. They have all the features we described earlier: huge arms, bulging muscles, and great shoulders.
One of the key reasons for this is that many of the exercises involve lots of time under tension. Time under tension is one of the keys to muscle hypertrophy. Also, to actually do the movement you have to stay in pretty good shape as any amount of excess weight will make the exercises that much harder.
Baki Workout Routine Research
Aside from the science-based training principles, we also want to draw some inspiration from the series to make things more fun and accurate.
In the series we see Baki doing lots of bodyweight movements both during gym class and his own personal training. Some crazy things we saw Baki do are:
10 pull-ups in 2 seconds (Breaking the pull-up bar in the process)
Jump 20 feet in the air
Push-ups in various challenging variations
So clearly, bodyweight training will have a role to play here.
Then by looking at the Baki wiki page, we can get a better idea of what kind of weight training Baki does:
“Baki’s strength is constantly growing throughout the series. Baki’s initial introduction at the very beginning of the series, 17-year-old Baki was already the champion of the Tokyo Underground Dome. In the beginning, Baki was shown to bench press over 320 lbs when training. At first, Baki was shown to be on the same level as Mount Toba, a wrestler who was shown to be strong enough to easily defeat Junichi Hanada and crush his bike in the process. 17-year-old Baki’s strength grew more, until he was strong enough to face Kureha Shinogi, and defeat him. As Baki’s never stops getting stronger throughout the series, it is difficult to set a definitive level to his strength. At the start of the anime, Baki at age 13, was able to defeat 37 of 100 thugs by himself. When he confronted Kaoru Hanayama, he was shown to effortlessly overpower several men trying to hold him back, and kick Hanayama’s 250 lb desk out the window with ease. He was shown fast enough to catch a knife thrown at him from 15 feet away.”
As you might have already expected, expect to do lots of benching to get that massive Baki chest.
The Baki Workout Routine
BONUS: Download The FREE Baki Workout Routine PDF
Here is the full Baki Workout Routine:
Frequency: We have a higher volume routine due to the fact that we are trying to pack on lots of mass
Day 1: Chest and Triceps
Weightlifting:
Bench press: 4 sets x 8-12 reps
Incline bench press: 4 sets x 8-12 reps
Dips: 4 sets x 8-12 reps
Skull crushers: 4 sets x 8-12 reps
Calisthenics:
Push-ups: 4 sets x max reps
Diamond push-ups: 4 sets x max reps
Day 2: Back and Biceps
Weightlifting:
Deadlift: 4 sets x 6-8 reps
Bent-over rows: 4 sets x 8-12 reps
Pull-ups: 4 sets x max reps
Bicep curls: 4 sets x 8-12 reps
Calisthenics:
Chin-ups: 4 sets x max reps
Inverted rows: 4 sets x max reps
Day 3: Legs and Abs
Weightlifting:
Squats: 4 sets x 8-12 reps
Leg press: 4 sets x 8-12 reps
Calf raises: 4 sets x 15-20 reps
Calisthenics:
Jump squats: 4 sets x 15 reps
Plank: 4 sets x 60-90 seconds
Leg raises: 4 sets x 15 reps
Day 4: Shoulders and Traps
Weightlifting:
Overhead press: 4 sets x 8-12 reps
Lateral raises: 4 sets x 10-15 reps
Shrugs: 4 sets x 10-15 reps
Calisthenics:
Handstand push-ups (against a wall): 4 sets x max reps
Pike push-ups: 4 sets x max reps
Day 5: Full-body Workout
Weightlifting:
Clean and press: 4 sets x 6-8 reps
Weighted lunges: 4 sets x 10 reps per leg
Farmer’s walk: 4 sets x 60 seconds
Calisthenics:
Burpees: 4 sets x 15 reps
Pull-ups: 4 sets x max reps
Dips: 4 sets x max reps
Day 6: Active Rest
On this day, engage in activities that help with recovery and maintain your cardiovascular fitness. Consider activities such as yoga, swimming, or light jogging.
Baki Combat Training
Of course, we cannot do all of the things that Baki does in the series, but we can still work on our combat skills. If you just want to look like Baki you can skip the combat training but if you want the full Baki experience to consider, add some combat training to your routine. In fact some grapplers in real life such as Gordon Ryan actually have a look similar to Baki.
The other upside to combat training is that it can serve as your cardio and can help you stay in a lean state like Baki.
Here are some great combat sports that you can use to better yourself at mixed martial arts (MMA):
Boxing
Jiu Jitsu
Muy Thai
Kick Boxing
Wrestling
Judo
Baki Diet And Nutrition
Without getting too complicated, you are going to want to be in a calorie surplus and eat plenty of protein to get as big as Baki. The same will apply to almost any superhero workout routine.
Once you have achieved this size, you can then cut down to reveal some of those deep cuts and abs that Baki has.
That being said, as long as you eat whole foods and train hard, you should see some great improvements.
Bottom Line
Of course, the thing we have not mentioned yet is that genetics will play a large role in actually looking like Baki. But you can still work within your parameters and follow our routine or any other anime workout routine to get great results.
You may not end up looking exactly like Baki, but you will still big jumps in your physique and be closer to looking like real life anime character.If you enjoyed this article be sure to check out our best anime weightlifting belts lists.
If you really want to get down to the root of things, you can also read our Yujiro Hanma Workout Routine (Baki’s Father).
Daniel Mesa, CPT, is a trusted fitness expert and founder of FitDominium. With his extensive experience and commitment to helping others, Daniel is the go-to source for reliable fitness advice and recommendations.