They found that women were most attracted to muscles that are harder to develop, primarily the abs and biceps. Interestingly, the muscles women found most attractive were, in this order: glutes, biceps, abs, pecs, shoulders, obliques, triceps, and quads.
Sculpted Shoulders
"The shoulder muscles are really the muscles of love and war," says Nancy Etcoff, Ph. D., author of Survival of the Prettiest. They also make the whole look when combined with a broad back. Strong shoulders literally sweep women off their feet.
The team found that as men age; their preference for butts and eyes decrease, their preference for breasts and legs remains static, and their preference for a pretty face increases. Women stated that their favorite part of the male physique was their chest at 24%. This was closely followed by hair 22% and arms at 19%.
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.
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%.
Chiseled Chest
As mentioned before in Perett's book, In Your Face: The New Science of Human Attraction, women show a stronger attraction toward men with a figure consistent with the ideal hunting physique: strong shoulders, narrow waists, and broad chests and shoulders.
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. “Women are predisposed to prefer muscularity in men,” said study author David Frederick of UCLA.
Most women prefer muscles on a man… or at least that's what the majority of the 1,088 women that we surveyed said. The athletic physique had the highest percentage of overall votes (44.3%), while the lean physique received the second highest percentage of votes (35.1%).
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.
The research, published this week in Royal Society journal Proceedings B, had 160 women rate faceless images of male bodies. Unanimously, the women chose those that appeared physically stronger, with bigger pecs and larger arms.
A series of six studies found that muscular guys are catnip to women looking for fun, and they have twice as many partners as average Joes and weaklings.
Muscles are indicators of health and fitness.
They found that overall, men and women think bigger muscles are more attractive than smaller ones.
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.
What women find attractive is great hygiene and appearance. A man's style and degree of personal care is a huge part of what makes a guy attractive to a woman. Some women may prefer an artsy style more than a sporty style, but the important thing is that the man has a style more than which style he chooses to wear.
Ideal male chest size: waist circumference + 12 inches = 41.5 inches. Ideal hip size: waist circumference × 1.25 = 36.8 inches. Ideal thigh size: waist circumference × 0.75 = 22.2 inches. Ideal shoulder size: waist circumference × 1.618 = 47.7 inches.
However, from a psychological point of view, bigger traps, wider back, and bulky arms are the most intimidating, if you had to pick a few. These muscle groups tend to make someone look much bigger and intimidating.
Researchers at Griffith University in Queensland examined what factors most influenced female attraction to males and found that physical strength reigned supreme.
Multiple studies confirm that women are more attracted to men with large, muscular shoulders — perhaps because they're indicative his status and potential to become a dad.
In this interpretation, a strong man has value as a potential protector of women and children and is desired by other men as an ally. Some evolutionary psychologists suggest there is an optimal peak for male strength, beyond which hulkish, muscle-bound men cease to be attractive.
Muscles are indicators of health and fitness.
They found that overall, men and women think bigger muscles are more attractive than smaller ones.
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.
Symmetry: people whose faces are more symmetrical are generally considered more attractive. Averageness: faces that resemble others in the population tend to appear more attractive. Apparent health: people who look healthy, because of their skin and overall appearance are considered to have more attractive faces.
Having broader shoulders is a masculine trait. During puberty, testosterone causes our shoulders to grow broader, whereas estrogen causes our hips to grow wider. Men tend to have more testosterone and less estrogen than women, so men develop more of a V-tapered physique, whereas women develop more hourglass shapes.