Attractive Male Body Shape

What's the most attractive male body shape? There have been a number of studies, social experiments and surveys on this very specific topic and most of the times the findings point to the lean and toned body that doesn't look too muscular as the winner.

So if you are going to start working out in hopes of increasing your physical attractiveness to women (like 99% of guys do) this is the body shape you should be aiming for. You should lose fat and build muscle, but stick with an average amount of muscle to avoid getting big and bulky.

The Body Shape That Some Guys Falsely Believe Women Like

First of, while the majority of men who get into fitness are focused on looking attractive, not all men who build muscle do it for impressing women. There are a number of bodybuilders who build muscle for the industry and a number of fitness enthusiast who build muscle for themselves.

But there are some guys who believe that having a lot of muscle and looking huge with their gains is the ideal look to attract women. But the truth is women are turned off by bulging, massive muscles. A lot of guys are disconnected from this reality because they choose to mentally stick in the past (during the 70s and 80s) when the big muscle look was the admired male body at the time. Those were the days when actors like Arnold Schwarzenegger were hot in Hollywood and influenced the fascination of the big muscular shape. But the trend of the attractive male body shape has changed since the 90s which is often credited to Brad Pitt in Fight Club.

The Lean Muscular Body Shape

It is believed that Brad Pitt was the first actor in Hollywood to show the masses of guys out there that being really lean with a normal build is more attractive-looking than being huge and bulky.

Pitt's character, Tyler Durden, was able to get a hip look, but had amazing muscle definition when he took his shirt off. This was a winning combination with the ladies and still is to this day. All actors strive for this look when they are required to get in shape for a movie role.

When surveyed, across the board, women were attracted to lean muscular men. They were clear to say that they prefer “normal” rather than "gym rat". The bodybuilder physique was generally unpopular and even laughed at.

Lean Muscle Building Tips

Building lean muscle is a fitness and body composition goal that many people want to accomplish. You can get better health and improve the way that you look if you succeed at building lean muscle. The problem is many people who want to learn how to gain lean muscle are confused by conflicting information. But you should not allow this to discourage you.

The reason there are so many different advises and debates about lean muscle building out there is due to the fact that there are many different approaches to gaining muscle that works. There is no one best method for gaining lean muscle that'll work for everyone. Different people may take different nutrition and training routes and get satisfactory results. The best way to approach building muscle however is to use the methods that'll allow you to gain muscle effectively, prevent harm to your body and avoid gaining excess body fat.

When it comes to lifting weights for lean muscle building you need to do it properly to cause maximum muscle tear in each workout you perform. You must lift heavy and use the right reps and sets range. You also need to aim for progressive overload to see your muscles grow bigger overtime. This means increasing the size of the weights as you go along your weight training program.

You should start with as much as you can lift, but after a period of time you'll need to add more weights to continue gaining strength and build more muscles. You should use compound exercises that'll stimulate a large number of muscle fibers in one movement, such as squats and deadlifts. You must also give each muscle group adequate recovery time after hitting them hard in a workout session. Muscles actually recover and grow during the time you're resting them.

If you do not allow enough time between workouts for your muscles to repair and grow properly, this will lead to overtraining which is not good for the muscle and will ultimately hinder your progress.

Proper nutrition is also a key input for building muscle. Although weight training induces muscle growth from the high level of resistance and stress, if you do not have a quality nutrition plan to work along with it you may not get any good results. Having a quality nutrition plan in place is undoubtedly essential for gaining muscle fast and effectively.

You need to be consuming the right nutrients, and the right amount of calories that's needed by your body during your bodybuilding efforts. At this time you need to concentrate on eating lots of protein and carbohydrates, because these are key components of a bodybuilding diet for getting the essential nutrients and energy needed by the body. Protein is the main source of amino acids which is needed for muscular recovery and growth, and carbohydrate is needed for supplying energy and storing glycogen in the muscle.

I hope this article gave you an insight into what you need to do to gain muscle. You can start taking action to gain muscle by utilizing a good muscle building program. Always remember to take the right approach that is suitable for you which will allow you to build lean muscle fast.

Should You Bulk Up With Fat To Gain Muscle Mass?

Many guys who are new to muscle building think that they must undergo a bulking phase to gain muscle with the expectation of gaining a great deal of fat in the process. I'm here to tell you that bulking up with excess fat is optional for gaining muscle mass. You can use a different approach to gain muscle and size without filling your body with fat.

The practice of bulking up should especially be avoided by people who have a tendency to easily gain excess fat and have problems losing it. The more fat that you gain, the more fat cells you'll have and the harder it'll be to get lean. Although you can shrink fat cells, as long as you have them in your body they are going to be with you forever.

This is one awful thing about fat cells. No matter how hard you may try You just cannot get rid of them. You don't have to put yourself in this frustrating situation.

There is an upside, you can gain muscle mass while staying lean. It's harder for a person with a large amount of body fat to avoid gaining fat but with the right effort, persistence and patience it can happen. A person who is obese may possess as much as 3 times the number of fat cells compared to someone who has been lean their whole life. An obese person would have to work much harder to keep a low body fat level which is due to the fat cells that they already have. Someone without excess body fat can usually stay that way with much less effort.

My recommendation to build muscle while minimizing body fat is to first lose the fat before you start building muscle if you are overweight or obese. Then when you are down to a lower level of body fat start a mass building phase which incorporates the right methods to build lean muscle with very little fat. Avoiding gaining the excess fat in the first place is one good approach to stay lean. Getting your body fat level down to a healthy range is not difficult with the right fat loss diet and workout.

First of all start with a moderate calorie intake that is high enough to gain muscle but at the same not too high to give excess fat a chance to accumulate. A good rule of term is 18 calories per pound of your body weight. Start with this total and make adjustments as you go along your program. You may also want to manipulate the carb proportion of your macronutrients based on your body type.

And always keep your weight training workouts intense by lifting heavy and stick to progressive overload.
Try your best to stay on top of the process, and you won't find yourself in the frustrating position of trying to lose excess body fat. It's much easier that way.

Gaining The Right Amount Of Muscle And Losing Fat To Get An Attractive Body

Most people focus the majority of their efforts on gaining muscle when they start a training program, and neglect the controlling and burning of body fat aspect that's needed for looking lean and trim. However, if you're training to get an attractive Hollywood type body you'll need to give equal attention to losing fat as much as gaining muscle.

Looking huge with a load of muscles does not look attractive like having an average amount of muscle with exceptional definition. Therefore, you need to give lots of attention and time towards getting lean and toned whenever you're on a muscle building program to end up with a stunning physique.

Most Bodybuilders Will Advice Against Using Cardio To Lose Fat During A Workout

If you're taking training advice from a professional bodybuilder they'll tell you to avoid cardio whether you're able to gain weight easily or not.

This advice is o.k if you're aiming to look as huge as possible with massive muscles on your body and some fat in between, but this not good if you're desiring to get a lean fashionable physique.

Incorporating enough cardio in your training program is especially important if you have the tendency to gain fat easily.

The bodybuilders that hold the notion that cardio hinders good muscle building results may actually despise the lean and toned model physique. They believe once you're training to build muscle you have to gain as much muscle mass as possible and this should be your main goal.

They are oftentimes very defensive of this position and usually possess a giant size physique to backup their claim. You must keep in mind however that when someone believes in something they will try to instill it into others as well. But, You should make your own choice whether you want to look huge and muscular or slim and muscular and don't let someone else's preference be your choice.

Doing Cardio To Lose fat Is Less Exciting Than Lifting Weights To Build Muscle

You won't have as much fun exercising on a treadmill or an exercise bike as much as you'll do lifting weights. The reason for this is you tend to instantly feel the effect lifting weights is having on your body. Each time you complete a rep you feel like you did something great for your muscles.

At the end of every set you feel your muscles working and you know that you'll be stronger soon as a result. You also enjoy the reward of seeing bigger muscles on your body after a few workout sessions which is very motivating.

The feeling of accomplishment and pride that lifting weights deliver makes lots of guys like spending all their time in the weight room and less time doing cardio, because cardio is less enjoyable and it takes a longer time to see significant fat loss results.

However, you need to focus more on the long-term results of your training such as the way your body will look at the end of your program and apply the right workout practices that'll give you the body you want. If it happens to be a lean physique you're after then you have to perform cardio..

Watching The Way You Eat Is Also Important For The Lean Physique 

Another crucial factor for getting a lean attractive physique is controlling your caloric intake. Excess calories (more than you need for energy daily) is needed for gaining weight and building muscle, but excess calories can also lead to fat gain if you don't exercise proper control. You'll need to watch the quantity of calories you are consuming and also eat the right type of foods to combat fat and stay lean.

Getting Muscular Without Geting Body Fat And Bulky

The best way to get an attractive muscular body is by adding the right amount of muscle to your body without fat and without looking overly muscular. Though you may want to build muscle to get a bigger chest and arms you do not need to look huge and bulky like professional bodybuilders.

These bodybuilders that you see in magazines have a reason for looking the way they do. Most of them compete in bodybuilding as their sport and building muscle is their game. For the average person, however, who only want to build muscle to get fitter and improve your appearance you may want to avoid the bodybuilder look and take a different approach.

You'll need to train to build up some muscle mass but make sure that you stay lean by avoiding excess fat gain, and also at a later stage train to increase muscle density.

Building The Ideal Amount Of Muscle Mass

When you're just beginning to train it should be easy to gain a significant amount of muscle mass easily once you're using the right program. In order to gain muscle mass you have to workout with intensity and resistance so that existing muscle tissues can be broken down.

During rest these damaged muscles respond by repairing themselves but they grow bigger in size as well. With this happening consistently, over a period of time the worked muscle groups will grow noticeable bigger.

However, in order to achieve this well you must be progressive with the resistance that you place on the muscle. This is called progressive overload. It involves lifting heavier weights each time the muscle repairs and grow so that the resistance is enough to damage the muscle again. Your workouts should include lifting weights in the 6-12 reps range aimed at inducing muscle fatigue.

Training For Muscle Density 

After you've built up a good amount of muscle mass to the point where it becomes very difficult to put on additional muscle you should then start training for muscle density which should harden up the muscle you gained but with less increase in mass.

Eating To Build Muscle Without Getting Body Fat

You'll need a proper diet with sufficient calories and nutrients to promote anabolism and grow muscle. However, in order to get the lean and muscular body you have to try to avoid gaining fat when eating to gain muscle.

Required amount of calories will vary from person to person determined by factors such as body type, age, fitness history etc. 18 calories per pound of your body weight is a recommended intake to gain muscle without gaining fat, but some people may need more than that to gain muscle weight properly.

Skinny guys especially will need a high volume of food to gain muscle properly. However, you can always reduce your intake when you're gaining too much fat.

Don't Limit Cardio Unless You Have A Problem Gaining Weight 

Unless you're someone that find it hard to gain weight you should not do anything less than 30 minutes of cardio daily. You should include HITT the best type of cardio to burn fat effectively