Muscles attract attention. Both women and men take greater notice of men who look strong. Researchers have found that, with all else equal, people spend more time looking at individuals who look more formidable (strong, able to impose physical costs).
Their study, published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, suggests muscles in men are akin to elaborate tail feathers in male peacocks: They attract females looking for a virile mate.
Research shows most women are attracted to men who are more muscular, stronger, and leaner than men who are smaller, weaker, and fatter. Research also shows that to maximize your attractiveness to women, guys only need to gain about 20 to 30 pounds of muscle and reduce their body fat percentage to 8 to 12%.
Studies show that women generally rate muscular men as sexier, physically dominant, volatile, and less committed to a long-term relationship compared to non-muscular men.
Muscles are indicators of health and fitness.
They found that overall, men and women think bigger muscles are more attractive than smaller ones.
"No one will be surprised by the idea that strong men are more attractive," Aaron Lukaszewski, an evolutionary psychologist at California State University at Fullerton and an author of the study, told The Washington Post. "It's no secret that women like strong, muscular guys."
Researchers suggest, "women prefer muscles that are hard to build to be larger than muscles that are easier to build." Interestingly, men's ratings of size preferences were larger than women's. In other words, men thought bigger muscles were better, while women didn't have quite the same preferences.
Surprisingly, the same study also states that 45 per cent of women prefer men with a little chubbiness or simply the average male body over an extremely muscular one. Many might argue that some do like the latter and so, only 2.5 per cent of women had favoured the lean, muscular type.
In a (not-so-surprising) study conducted by Western Illinois University, women rated abs as the sexiest muscle on a man's body, ThePostGame.com reports.
According to a 2017 study by online health provider Dr Felix, 24 percent of women found the chest to be the most attractive part of a man, and 13 percent opted for the stomach area, meaning that combined, the torso had more pulling power than any other appendage.
Summary. Women tend to prefer men with fit, athletic bodies. These ideal male bodies are significantly leaner and stronger than average, but not as lean and strong as most men wish to be, and certainly not as muscular as most bodybuilders. Think of the bodies of soccer players, rugby players, and mixed martial artists.
Male-specific factors. Women, on average, tend to be more attracted to men who have a relatively narrow waist, a V-shaped torso, and broad shoulders. Women also tend to be more attracted to men who are taller than they are, and display a high degree of facial symmetry, as well as relatively masculine facial dimorphism.
Nevertheless, Lean Pockets do claim, at least by name alone, to be somewhat easy on the waistline. Which is a good thing, because, according to a new trending study, heterosexual women may be more attracted to men who are thin. Not surprisingly, 9 out of 10 belts agree.
Apologies to all men who do not look like they've been cut from marble – it turns out that women are most attracted to men who look strong, with muscular arms, and toned torsos, preferring these bodies to those that look slimmer and weaker.
The theory was that women like athletes because women want to be involved with healthy men. Athletes also show motivation, strength, determination, and teamwork. Also, because of the “halo effect,” men who prove themselves in sports are assumed to be more competent and have better qualities in other areas as well.
Yes, most girls appreciate the look of toned muscles and a healthy body - aesthetically or otherwise - I've never met one that didn't!
That being said, men (and women) that work out tend to be more sexually satisfying because they can thrust harder, last longer, and have an athletic ability that unfit people do not have. So I would say that a muscular and athletic person has a better chance of being great at sex.
In a HerCampus.com survey of over 100 college women across the country, a majority ranked arms as the biggest turn on. Women feel it's a sign that you take good care of your body and admitted they love to see a hint of a man's biceps through his t-shirt or sweater.
They found that faces account for more of the variation among ratings than do bodies; in other words, faces are more important. For women rating men, 52 per cent of the attractiveness score was made up by the face rating, while for bodies it was 24 per cent.
A Big Chest
"Women treasure your chest as much as you do theirs," says Emily Dubberley, a sex expert based in the UK. "Touching, kissing, and licking a man's chest is undoubtedly a turn-on for most women."
Breaking news for all dads with a little "extra" around the middle: Your body is actually the definition of "sexy" for more than half of the female population! In fact, seven out of ten women think that the "dad bod" is attractive, according to a recent Planet Fitness study.
There are several possible answers to this question as everyone has different preferences. However, many women do find bodybuilders attractive due to their muscular physiques and dedication to fitness. Bodybuilders often have a healthy lifestyle and take care of their bodies, which can be appealing to some women.
Researchers at Griffith University in Queensland examined what factors most influenced female attraction to males and found that physical strength reigned supreme.