I mean bodybuilder or powerlifter types, do women feel attraction for big backs, muyscular legs, wide shoulders, etc? I often hear women prefer the skinny types or rather slighty chubby than muscular…
Are women kiind of afraid of overly muscular men?
Afraid? Doubtful.
What I get when I see overly muscular men is that though the a big muscly guy can be attractive, overall he’s probably not much fun to be around and potentially a pain in the ass. You don’t get a body-builder physique without spending a ton of time on your exercise & diet plan, and I want a guy who will kick back, have fun, and have a beer and eat a normal meal with me. In other words, I see them as the male equivalent of the model-type woman; someone who spends a lot of time on appearance to the detriment of what I find important in a mate.
I don’t mean to say that health and appearance aren’t important; I’ve just found that the extreme amount of effort that goes into THAT MUCH muscle isn’t really of interest to me.
I suspect that if all that attracts a woman to a man is his physique, she’s probably not worth having. Physiques fade, just like looks on a woman. Ditto for guys who only like women because of their looks.
It’s possible that some women may be attracted to men who remind them of their fathers.
Yep.
Yep.
Probably not the same women, though.
Some women are attracted to muscular men. Some women are attracted to waifish men. Some women are attracted to average men. Some women are attracted to wiry men.
Personally, I like strong, muscular men, but I don’t prefer them to be ripped and cut. Like Athena said, it takes insane dedication to build muscle while keeping your body fat extremely low, and I prefer someone who’s more relaxed and easy-going about food and their appearance.
Some women are attracted to serial killers…
Bear in mind, too, some of the physiological side-effects of excessive use of steroids…
Those tend to be a little harder to pick out of the crowd, though.
Who needs to pick them out of a crowd? Hybristophilia finds plenty of people already in prison.
Figure 4 in this article might be of interest to the op. Based on a survey of 842 college undergraduates anyway men felt women preferred men to be a bit more muscular than women actually did. Both were way down from a hypermuscular body builder physique.
Why on earth would women be afraid of overly muscular men? I don’t expect them to feel the constant urge to punch people out of nowhere just because they’ve got muscles.
Like Athena, though, I’m not attracted to them, because I assume that level of muscle takes a kind of dedication that means the guy isn’t going to be interesting to me. The very muscular guys I’ve known spent large amounts of time at the gym, *very *large amounts of time talking about fitness, and large amounts of time eating depressing-looking stuff out of Tupperware. Building muscle was central to their lives and their thoughts, to a point that ruled out most of the stuff I enjoy in a relationship.
I like to be healthy and in decent shape, but it’s not the - or even a - central part of my existence; when I’m not actually exercising or food shopping, I almost never think about it. The guys I find attractive tend to be the ones who look like they feel the same way.
I like a nicely muscled man, but it needs to look natural. Men who do physical labor, like construction workers, look muscled but it’s not over done.
If that makes sense.
A little bit overweight is better than underweight. Love handles are cute.
Body builder type bodies look plastic to me. Six-pack abs are okay.
A little padding is okay though. I’d rather cuddle with a pillow than a rock.
I am not. I most definitely appreciate a toned body, but I am not physically attracted to overly muscular men or women. My guy is almost 60, skinny, in good shape and bald, and I find him absolutely hot!
Not to mention the psychiatric effects.
Tell us about them. Please.
How YOU doin’? 
(Bolding mine)
I read a study once that found women like muscular men more for flings and one night stands, but prefer a less muscular one for a longer term relationship. No idea how that relates to overly muscular men.
Some women are attracted to overly muscular men, obviously.
Doesn’t do anything for me – my attitude toward workouts is only slightly more enthusiastic than it is toward my annual pap smear/mammogram combo. I’d rather hang out with a guy doing…well, almost anything else.
Guys who work construction look good; guys who are a little soft over muscle look fine. I like how a number of tall and skinny guys look (think David Tennant), too.
…seriously? How many peer-reviewed cites would you like? And would you prefer cites for folks who are using recreationally, for athletic performance, or medical reasons?