Is there such a thing as too muscular?

[snoozan]

There are about 7 threads going at any time in the women's issues forum about female body image, body type, and related issues. Is there a too skinny, or a too fat, or is curvy independent of body size, etc.

What I'm wondering is if you guys and gals out there think there's such a thing as too fit or too muscular on a man.

Personally, I don't go for the bodybuilder type at all. I don't find a man who is all cut, shaved, and oiled to be at all attractive. To me, there's definitely such a thing as too skinny, too muscular, or a combination of both. I also don't like the football player look-- that's way too bulky to me.

I like men who are fit but I do like them to have a little body fat as well. It depends on the person and their proportions, but in general there are a lot of men who get too extreme with the bodybuilding and look like a circus act.

So can a man bee too muscular? Too skinny?

 

[SpoiledPrincess]

Yes he can be both, my preference is for a lean guy but not one who looks like he'd blow over in a high wind. Very muscular guys are just too lumpy looking and I don't find that attractive. If a guy is very muscu;ar and always working out that always indicates to me that he's probably over involved with his self image.

 

[mattincincy]

I totally agree. I think bodybuilders are kind of gross. I'm all for a toned guy (and even a 6-pack). But, when the body starts to look deformed... *gag*

 

[Primal_Savage]

....Personally, I don't go for the bodybuilder type at all. I don't find a man who is all cut, shaved, and oiled to be at all attractive. To me, there's definitely such a thing as too skinny, too muscular, or a combination of both. I also don't like the football player look-- that's way too bulky to me. ....

guess that explains why you haven't PM'ed me

 

[D_Kay_Sarah_Sarah]

For me there is. I prefer someone with a few kg's on them that i can wrap my arms around and grab onto. Muscular is good to look at but not snuggle, same with being to skinny

 

[snoozan]

I totally agree. I think bodybuilders are kind of gross. I'm all for a toned guy (and even a 6-pack). But, when the body starts to look deformed... *gag*

The six pack is where it starts to go wrong for me. Mind you, there's nothing sexier than a toned abdomen, but I like a little more of a fat pad on it than a real six pack allows.

guess that explains why you haven't PM'ed me

Could be your sig too. No way am I making it on Men's Fitness this lifetime! :tongue:

 

[GPTX]

There are about 7 threads going at any time in the women's issues forum about female body image, body type, and related issues. Is there a too skinny, or a too fat, or is curvy independent of body size, etc.

What I'm wondering is if you guys and gals out there think there's such a thing as too fit or too muscular on a man.

Personally, I don't go for the bodybuilder type at all. I don't find a man who is all cut, shaved, and oiled to be at all attractive. To me, there's definitely such a thing as too skinny, too muscular, or a combination of both. I also don't like the football player look-- that's way too bulky to me.

I like men who are fit but I do like them to have a little body fat as well. It depends on the person and their proportions, but in general there are a lot of men who get too extreme with the bodybuilding and look like a circus act.

So can a man bee too muscular? Too skinny?

I hate too much muscle, I think a swimmers/wrestlers build is perfect, but when you have too much muscle where you arms can't even hang down by your sides, it's gross...IMO.

 

[Jovial]

Yes he can be both, my preference is for a lean guy but not one who looks like he'd blow over in a high wind. Very muscular guys are just too lumpy looking and I don't find that attractive. If a guy is very muscu;ar and always working out that always indicates to me that he's probably over involved with his self image.

Not sure if I qualify as very muscular, but I'm not sure if I'm "over involved" in my self image. Living in southern California can do that to you though.

What I'm wondering is if you guys and gals out there think there's such a thing as too fit or too muscular on a man.

I think someone can be too muscular, but usually not. I don't think one can be too fit. It's only a problem if being that fit consumes all of their time and makes it less pleasant to be with them.

Personally, I don't go for the bodybuilder type at all. I don't find a man who is all cut, shaved, and oiled to be at all attractive. To me, there's definitely such a thing as too skinny, too muscular, or a combination of both. I also don't like the football player look-- that's way too bulky to me.

The bodybuilder types we see are usually the steroid ones that have lost a lot of body fat for competition. I think natural bodybuilders look pretty good. You probably wouldn't even realize they were bodybuilders with clothes covering them.

I'm not sure what you mean by the "football player look". Depending on the position they play, they can look good or not. Good looking positions are quarterback, receivers and defensive backs. The tight ends and linebackers are usually bigger, very muscular with pretty low body fat. The linemen are just big with a fair amount of fat. The running backs are very muscular and not too tall. Punters and place kickers are just regular guys.

I like men who are fit but I do like them to have a little body fat as well. It depends on the person and their proportions, but in general there are a lot of men who get too extreme with the bodybuilding and look like a circus act.

I am pretty tall at 6'3" so I think I can carry a good amount of muscle without looking too big especially since I have low body fat. I also like to keep everything in proportion which maybe makes me seem less muscular.

So I guess it all depends on the combination of body fat and muscle. A guy that is muscular that puts on some fat may look to big, same with women. But muscle and lower body fat looks good on men and women, in my opinion at least.

 

[Guy-jin]

The six pack is where it starts to go wrong for me. Mind you, there's nothing sexier than a toned abdomen, but I like a little more of a fat pad on it than a real six pack allows.

Who needs a six-pack when you can have a keg? :tongue:

 

[Jovial]

Another thing...there may be less women attracted to the very muscular guys, but there are even less very muscular guys, so they still get more attention that other guys.

For example, if there were 100 guys of which 2 very muscular and 30 were just in good shape. And there were 100 women, maybe 10 would prefer the 2 very muscular men and the other 90 would prefer the 30 "good shape" guys over the very muscular. So 5:1 for the very muscular and 3:1 for good shape guys. hmmm...hope that makes sense and is realistic.

 

[Principessa]

What I'm wondering is if you guys and gals out there think there's such a thing as too fit or too muscular on a man. So can a man be too muscular? Too skinny?

Too Fit - No, don't be ridiculous. A man can be physically fit without being skinny or muscular.

Too Muscular - Yes, I often find the competitive bodybuilder look to be impressive; but not somebody with whom I would want to sleep.

Too Skinny - Yes, even when I only weighed 125 I couldn't date a man who weighed less than 140 lbs. I hate to admit it; but even now I look at some of the guys on this site and while their big cocks are F'ing Gorgeous, their ribs sticking out is a bit of a turn off. :frown1:

Yes he can be both, my preference is for a lean guy but not one who looks like he'd blow over in a high wind. Very muscular guys are just too lumpy looking and I don't find that attractive. If a guy is very muscular and always working out that always indicates to me that he's probably over involved with his self image.

Maybe, but I don't know enough very muscular men to agree with you 100%.

From past experience and that of my girlfriends I can say that men who work out a lot may be great guys but they make lousy boyfriends. When not at work or the gym they are talking about the gym and how many reps they did or worse yet trying to get you to workout with them and drink those hideous powdered protein drinks.

I used to be acquainted with a man who is a former competitive body builder and a high school gym teacher. His entire life revolves around body building and physical fitness. It's the only thing he could talk about!

One of my girlfriends married a guy she met in college. At the time he was a powerlifter. Once again the only thing he could talk about was health, fitness, and diet. It's very annoying to go to a friends home to watch a football game and have her husband lecture you on the evils of the potato chips you are dipping in the onion dip which they provided. Also these guys always want you to run or work out with them. :tongue: Sorry, not happening . . . ever. :redface: I forgot the obvious. Any man that works out obsessively has no time to treat a woman right. This is unacceptable.

 

[Not_Punny]

YES -- women bodybuilders. Not my thing.

Also, I used to go to ballet school (we danced half the day, six days a week) and the girls with stocky builds got way too muscular.

 

[Principessa]

The six pack is where it starts to go wrong for me. Mind you, there's nothing sexier than a toned abdomen, but I like a little more of a fat pad on it than a real six pack allows.

Could be your sig too. No way am I making it on Men's Fitness this lifetime! :tongue:

I'm not offended or repulsed by a light 6-pack; but when the abs become too well defined I start to lose interest in him as a sexual being. (I know that sounds weird!)

Hahaha, yeah I noticed his sig too. It's definetely not designed to lure in women. :tongue::biggrin1:

I hate too much muscle, I think a swimmers/wrestlers build is perfect, but when you have too much muscle where you arms can't even hang down by your sides, it's gross...IMO.

I agree, I call that ape arms and it's not a good look.

Who needs a six-pack when you can have a keg? :tongue:

I have been partial to love handles on a man since my mid 20's. :smile: I like having something to hold onto whilst I moan in passion.

Another thing...there may be less women attracted to the very muscular guys, but there are even less very muscular guys, so they still get more attention than other guys.

For example, if there were 100 guys of which 2 very muscular and 30 were just in good shape. And there were 100 women, maybe 10 would prefer the 2 very muscular men and the other 90 would prefer the 30 "good shape" guys over the very muscular. So 5:1 for the very muscular and 3:1 for good shape guys. hmmm...hope that makes sense and is realistic.

:tongue: You lost me when you went into the math, numbers, ratio thing. :biggrin1:

 

[IntoxicatingToxin]

I think that there is definitely such thing as too thin or too muscular. My examples are below.

 

[whatireallywant]

YES -- women bodybuilders. Not my thing.

Also, I used to go to ballet school (we danced half the day, six days a week) and the girls with stocky builds got way too muscular.

That would be me. Maybe it's a good thing I didn't go to ballet lessons! :biggrin1: (I have been described as "naturally muscular"... ) I did take karate lessons for a while, though.

I don't like the overly muscled bodybuilder look on guys. Football player builds are ok (that's the kind I usually date, although they aren't actually football players - more like just stocky guys). I also don't like the overly preachy fitness fanatics, but I do want someone who exercises, and yes, I would exercise with him! :smile: I want to exercise anyway, just don't like exercising alone!

I have been very attracted to lanky and even very skinny guys before. The first guy I had sex with was 5'11" and 125 lbs.! The married guy I wished I'd met before he met his wife was a skinny guy, too.

But I don't really find a lot of builds unattractive - about the only two that I'd really find unattractive are the "bodybuilder" (steroid type, I mean) and the "sumo wrestler" build.

 

[Jovial]

From past experience and that of my girlfriends I can say that men who work out a lot may be great guys but they make lousy boyfriends. When not at work or the gym they are talking about the gym and how many reps they did or worse yet trying to get you to workout with them and drink those hideous powdered protein drinks.

Yes, njqt, turn to the dark side, drink the sweet protein drink.:wink: And what is considered working out a lot?

I used to be acquainted with a man who is a former competitive body builder and a high school gym teacher. His entire life revolves around body building and physical fitness. It's the only thing he could talk about!

One of my girlfriends married a guy she met in college. At the time he was a powerlifter. Once again the only thing he could talk about was health, fitness, and diet. It's very annoying to go to a friends home to watch a football game and have her husband lecture you on the evils of the potato chips you are dipping in the onion dip which they provided. Also these guys always want you to run or work out with them. :tongue: Sorry, not happening . . . ever. :redface: I forgot the obvious. Any man that works out obsessively has no time to treat a woman right. This is unacceptable.

I think you are making some generalizations here. I like to talk about health related things myself, hopefully not as much as the people you reference here. But it's no worse than someone talking too much about any hobby they have.

 

[B_Nick4444]

Love big muscled guys --- the look, the feel!

 

[Jovial]

I think that there is definitely such thing as too thin or too muscular. My examples are below.

What you need to keep in mind is your "too muscular" example is taken when the guy was posing, flexing his muscles. (They practice posing like that flexing all of their muscles.) He probably also did exercises right before the pose to pump up his muscles to look even bigger. If you met him on the street in clothes he wouldn't look that big.

Your "just right" example isn't flexing his muscles. If he flexed like the guy in too muscular example his arms and shoulders would look pretty big also.

What I'm saying is there isn't that much difference, it's just the way the pictures were taken. It's kind of like the women models we see in pictures wouldn't in real life look that much better than other women.

 

[systemshock3]

I would say, honestly, that for those that don't like 'muscular' guys, I would hope that you would realize that for some, there arent a lot of options.

Some are genetically predisposed to look a certain way, even if they work out...at least naturally.

Myself for instance: I had no choice but to get bigger working out, as I have had thick legs and a thick ass all my life, but a fairly small waist. So if I wanted to look good, I was going to have to bring the upper body into proportion with the lower. I am 5'8", so mass is going to look fairly large on me.

I look at the body-builders with mixed feelings (something I have been thinking on lately as I map out fitness goals for 2008). I think it might have something to do with male vs. female perceptions of why men bulk up or manipulate what their bodies look like. For instance, many of the women seem to believe that a man that puts a lot of work into his body really is going to be an asshole or someone who won't pay any attention to them.

I know some gay men that think the same way, strangely enough. In fact, a good friend of mine (who is constantly trying to get my partnered off to someone..LOL) says he prefers his partner (5 years together) to have a bit of padding on them and NOT be into working out, so he won't leave. LOL...seriously, he was only partially joking here. I would, politely, ask those of you in this camp if there any sort of insecurities or concerns at work here?

I like a man that puts work into his body, with a powerful build. He doesn't have to be Fitness model perfect (hell, my own body fat is greater than 10 &#37, but I like to have something substantial and firm to hold.

I am kinda rambling, but I will say this: You could be right about the guy that works out being an asshole...but you might stop to think about why each individual guy works out. The answer will tell you a lot about if he is going to be an asshole or not

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

I think that there is definitely such thing as too thin or too muscular. My examples are below.

I liked your just right choice, TMM.
Someone mentioned swimmers' bodies. I've always liked their smoothness ... a real feeling of strength there, usually, without giving the sense that you're talking to a gym rat.
Now, I wouldn't mind talking to a serious body builder, but more for the novelty's sake than the expectation of finding them personally interesting. (Of course, some are interesting, but most are pretty self-involved.)
I like the feeling that someone takes care of their body, but not that the body has become the axis of an onrolling game of oneupmanship.
The tragedy is that those who are obsessed with their bodies are never satisfied; they don't even get pleasure from all the work they've done, because they always want more ... definition, muscularity, symmetry, and what not.

EDIT: Actually, I've known a few guys who were so naturally muscular that, with only a bit of resistance training, they looked like gym rats. But they weren't; most people putting in the gym time they did, would show only modest results.
I don't want to generalize.