If you’re reading this article then you have been browsing the Predator Nutrition website and I think it is safe to say that you are interested in developing or maintaining an aesthetically pleasing physique.
Both the female and male fans of our site are mainly looking to become healthy, shed some extra fat and looking to develop muscular mass. In the male population, there seems to be an increasing determination to achieve large muscle gains. The motivation behind this is not black and white and there are many reasons, both professional and personal, that affect the amount of muscle that a man wishes to gain.
It is clear however that attracting a mate is one of the main reasons for training, but do women really want a muscular man? This article hopes to answer this question.
Through scientific research and studies, the main findings suggest that women are both attracted to men with larger muscles but also that a man with too muscular a physique can be off-putting.
If we go back in time to our hunter-gatherer roots, it is easy to understand why it makes sense that women should be attracted to more muscular men.
Large muscles are a sign of general good health and strength and perhaps on a subconscious level, a woman will always want to procreate with a strong partner to ensure successful and strong offspring. As larger muscles give the impression of strength, a man with larger muscles could provide for his family by hunting larger game and defending his family.
How do women today think?
A study by David Frederick investigated the mindset of the modern day woman when it comes to which physiques they find most attractive on a man. Frederick, of the University of California in Los Angeles, showed both drawings and images of male bodies with varying degrees of musculature spanning from slender to brawny, to 125 female students. Then Frederick asked the students how attractive they found the individual male builds.
The graph below shows the scores: the higher point on the curve, the higher the score.
Good news for fitness models, bad news for hardcore bodybuilders
The experiment spanned over 6 studies and, as predicted, the sample groups of women rated the more muscular men as more physically attractive than the less muscular men on the scale, they also rated the very muscular figures as unattractive as the skinny ones.
Interestingly, the participants noted that they perceived the men with more muscular definition as more physically dominant, volatile and promiscuous after noting that generally their past short term sex partners were more muscular than their longer term committed relationships and that this would lessen their trust in a very muscular man on the higher end of Frederick’s scale.
The men with greater muscle mass involved in the studies also indicated that they had had more short term sex partners than their less muscular counterparts. This study concluded with the results that men with moderate muscularity were deemed as the most attractive partners.
As far as the average 2012 bodybuilder goes however this study does not focus on this kind of physique, a study to investigate this would prove very interesting. If the pattern continues as it has in these previous investigations it is fair to expect that the bodybuilder physique is likely to generate the same results as that of the physiques already included on the higher end of the muscular scale.
Bibliography
Frederick, D. and Haselton, M.. (2007). Why Is Muscularity Sexy? Tests of the Fitness Indicator Hypothesis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 38 (7)
Author: Rosie Smith, Health and Fitness Enthusiast.
Rosie has a keen interest in health and fitness and hopes to get more women into the world of training.
Both the female and male fans of our site are mainly looking to become healthy, shed some extra fat and looking to develop muscular mass. In the male population, there seems to be an increasing determination to achieve large muscle gains. The motivation behind this is not black and white and there are many reasons, both professional and personal, that affect the amount of muscle that a man wishes to gain.
It is clear however that attracting a mate is one of the main reasons for training, but do women really want a muscular man? This article hopes to answer this question.
Through scientific research and studies, the main findings suggest that women are both attracted to men with larger muscles but also that a man with too muscular a physique can be off-putting.
If we go back in time to our hunter-gatherer roots, it is easy to understand why it makes sense that women should be attracted to more muscular men.
How do women today think?
A study by David Frederick investigated the mindset of the modern day woman when it comes to which physiques they find most attractive on a man. Frederick, of the University of California in Los Angeles, showed both drawings and images of male bodies with varying degrees of musculature spanning from slender to brawny, to 125 female students. Then Frederick asked the students how attractive they found the individual male builds.
Good news for fitness models, bad news for hardcore bodybuilders
The experiment spanned over 6 studies and, as predicted, the sample groups of women rated the more muscular men as more physically attractive than the less muscular men on the scale, they also rated the very muscular figures as unattractive as the skinny ones.
Interestingly, the participants noted that they perceived the men with more muscular definition as more physically dominant, volatile and promiscuous after noting that generally their past short term sex partners were more muscular than their longer term committed relationships and that this would lessen their trust in a very muscular man on the higher end of Frederick’s scale.
The men with greater muscle mass involved in the studies also indicated that they had had more short term sex partners than their less muscular counterparts. This study concluded with the results that men with moderate muscularity were deemed as the most attractive partners.
As far as the average 2012 bodybuilder goes however this study does not focus on this kind of physique, a study to investigate this would prove very interesting. If the pattern continues as it has in these previous investigations it is fair to expect that the bodybuilder physique is likely to generate the same results as that of the physiques already included on the higher end of the muscular scale.
Bibliography
Frederick, D. and Haselton, M.. (2007). Why Is Muscularity Sexy? Tests of the Fitness Indicator Hypothesis. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 38 (7)
Author: Rosie Smith, Health and Fitness Enthusiast.
Rosie has a keen interest in health and fitness and hopes to get more women into the world of training.
