Human nature is such that at any stage of life one cannot do without visual ideals. First, girls imagine an ideal prince, then they fall in love with actors, singers, and athletes who seem so ideal, and then women try to find a real, but it would be nice, ideal husband.
An important role in a woman’s assessment of a man is played by his physical form.
Interestingly, men also pay attention to the physique of a neighbor, business partner or colleague. Therefore, today we will look at the male body for ideality not only from the point of view of women, but also of men.
Beautiful pumped up male body
Body types in men
Figure qualifications for men are divided into 3 stable types: ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph.
Ectomorphic type
The ectomorphic type is usually observed in a thin figure, with low body fat and thin limbs.
The main physiological criteria defining this type:
- Lean muscles, small skeletal structure;
- A thin figure, increased metabolism, which does not allow excess calories to be stored as fat;
- The skeleton consists of long thin bones.
These factors mean that people with this body type tend to have the hardest time gaining muscle mass. But with regular, effective training, it is quite possible to gain several kilograms of pure muscle, which looks very aesthetically pleasing on a thin figure.
Stas Piekha
The singer and participant in the fourth season of the show “Star Factory” (in 2004 he entered the top three) is a regular at the gym, as evidenced not only by his excellent shape, but also by his profiles on social networks.
Stas Piekha, who turns 39 this year, regularly publishes photos without a T-shirt, collecting thousands of likes and buckets of women’s tears.
He has also been interested in boxing for a long time and often shares short videos of sparring sessions on his Instagram.
Mesomorphic type
Mesomorphs are muscular and have great physical strength. They often have fairly developed muscles without any training.
The mesomorphic type is characterized by:
- Well-developed muscle tissue due to heredity;
- Low percentage of body fat;
- Wide muscle structure, thick bones and massive physique.
As you can note, people with a mesomorphic physique have the most important qualities for weightlifters and professional sprinters. However, they often do not achieve high results due to the lack of any desire and discipline.
If they manage to overcome themselves, then they are able to break all imaginable records and become real legends of sports and bodybuilding.
Mesomorph muscles recover quickly, and muscle building does not require grueling or even regular training, but this type, like all others, is almost never found in its pure form.
Alexey Vorobiev
Singer and actor (although few people perceive him as the latter) Alexey Vorobyov has never been distinguished by large muscles, maintaining a balance between the concepts of “thin” and “slender”.
With a height of 186 cm, his weight rarely exceeds 80 kg (except for filming), and this is an honest 80 kg of muscle without excess fat.
Abs, biceps, developed pecs – he’s doing well with each group. This is partly why he is a favorite of girls, and men perceive him as torture for the eyes and ears.
Endomorphic type
Endomorphs are characterized by a wide physique, excess weight and, as a rule, training is most difficult for them.
The main factors by which you can recognize an endomorphic body type:
- Round figure with soft body features;
- Very slow metabolism, large amounts of subcutaneous fat;
- Sluggishness, slowness.
The main goal for such people is to lose weight in order to gain muscle mass. However, endomorphs are often lukewarm about sports and exercise, and will need a lot of willpower to build muscle.
If you get rid of excess fat, the endomorphic figure will take on a very impressive appearance.
Andrei Malakhov
One of the most popular TV presenters in Russia “due to duty” is not required to have an athletic physique: he is not Tarzan or Yaglych, there is no need to appear without clothes.
He can easily hide all the flaws in his figure with an expensive, custom-made suit, but Malakhov instead actively trains to look great even without it. Now he is 47 years old and Andrei doesn’t even think about stopping training.
Many publications have repeatedly called him the most sports presenter in Russia, conducting a survey among their readers. Special thanks for this can be said to Pavel Poluetkov, Malakhov’s fitness trainer, with whom he has been training for 15 years.
Asthenic type
Women with an asthenic physique are thin and graceful; they, like ectomorphs, are characterized by:
- Fast metabolism and very little fat;
- Thinness, often combined with tall stature;
- Weak muscle tissue.
They have fairly low stamina and little physical strength, so girls with this body type are advised to go to the gym and eat right to develop muscles and increase strength.
What are the ideal proportions of a male body?
Beauty standards for the male body were formed back in Ancient Greece. The embodiment of the ideal was the statue of Apollo Belvedere, the god of sunlight. It corresponds to the following proportions:
- head circumference - 1/7 of height;
- leg (calf) circumference - 1/6 of the height;
- wrist circumference - 1/10 of height.
More detailed characteristics of a harmonious male body can be found in Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man". The image embodies the harmony of forms based on the quantitative relationships of body parts. So, the width of a person’s outstretched arms should be equal to his height. This is the main characteristic of the “right” person. It is supported by the following proportions:
- a cubit is equal to six palms;
- shoulder width - no more than a quarter of height;
- a step is equal to four palms;
- from the top of the head to the nipples - a quarter of the height;
- arm length - ⅖ height;
- from crown to chin - ⅛ height.
It is almost impossible to influence these data through work, sports, willpower and other means.
Although the standards of antiquity and the Renaissance were not refuted, the modern view relegated them to the background. Today there are no clearly established standards; the majority focuses on the visual assessment of the image. Therefore, an athletic male physique is popular. It is characterized by the following features:
- high growth;
- broad shoulders;
- narrow hips;
- slim stomach;
- pronounced muscles.
What determines the ideal proportions of the male body: Unsplash
Excessively defined muscles today are not considered an integral part of the male ideal, but are highly valued in bodybuilding. This sport has its own laws and requirements for the male figure. They were formulated by anthropologist David Wiluby, who measured athletes. As a result of many measurements, he came to the conclusion that the following proportions should become the standard for a bodybuilder:
- biceps - 1.2 forearm sizes;
- forearm - 0.3 from the width of the chest;
- biceps equal to calf circumference;
- neck - 0.383 from chest circumference;
- chest - 1.33 waist circumference and 1.11 hip circumference;
- hips - 1.5 calf sizes.
What determines the ideal proportions of a male body? First of all, the proportions depend on the ratio of height and weight. There are several modern approaches to determining the optimal ratio.
Thus, the French anthropologist Paul Broc believed that a person’s weight should be equal to his height minus a coefficient. There is one for each height. With a height of up to 165 cm, the coefficient is 100, up to 175 cm - 105, above 175 cm - 110. Ideal height is considered to be 180-185 centimeters, high - 190 and above, low - 170 and below. For 20–30 year olds, weight should be reduced by about 11%, for people over 50 it should be increased by about 6%.
Professional boxer John McCallum proposed the following figure proportionality formula:
- 6.5 wrist circumference is equal to chest circumference.
- The waist circumference is equal to 70% of the chest circumference.
- 53% of the chest circumference gives the hip circumference.
- Neck - 37% of chest circumference.
- Biceps circumference - 36% of chest circumference.
- The circumference of the lower leg is 34% of the circumference of the chest.
In addition, the athlete notes that the legs should be equal to the length of the body, that is, 1:2 of the height.
Each researcher focuses on the fact that harmony is the development of the whole body, so the parameters are taken in ratios. If a man has pumped up biceps, and all other muscles are hidden under a layer of fat, then he is extremely far from ideal.
Hypersthenic type
The hypersthenic type is in many ways similar to the endomorphic:
- Wide skeleton with massive bone tissue;
- Short stature, poor metabolism;
- Shortened limbs and rounded body shapes.
Such women have to work hard on their body to bring it into great shape: adhere to a strict diet, train with heavy weights.
They are quite hardy, so most often weightlifters have a hypersthenic figure.
Vladimir Yaglych
The actor and ex-husband of Svetlana Khodchenkova at the beginning of his career did not shine outwardly, to put it mildly: in the 9th and 10th seasons of “Soldiers” he did not stand out in any way from the general background.
However, later he began to study seriously, which became clearly noticeable in the first part of “We are from the Future,” where he played a skinhead who, due to circumstances, rethinks his values and changes his outlook on life.
In the sports drama “Warrior,” he already starred as an MMA fighter who, under pressure from circumstances, is forced to return to the ring. For this film, the actor specially trained for several months, so he significantly improved not only in physique, but also in his ability to fight.
The Russian "Warrior", by the way, is an outright plagiarism of the Hollywood film of the same name, in which the role of the character Yaglych was played by Joel Edgerton.
