Lets face it you never see big bodybuilders starring in hollywood action movies anymore. This is because this appearance is ‘try hard’ and is not considered desirable to women. Today the action stars are slimmer but still muscular. They have a GQ style to them where they look great in suits and stylish clothes because they are not too bulky.
After extensive research I have finally been able to quantify what this perfect build is. This is the very build that is considered to be the most ATTRACTIVE to women. It is also associated with POWER and MASCULINITY.
According to several studies on physical attractiveness in men,
The physique of a slim waist, broad shoulders and muscular chest are often found to be attractive. A near-universal sexually attractive feature of a man is a V-shaped torso: a relatively narrow waist offset with broad shoulders.”
A slim waist is not realistic for a Bodybuilder and Wide Shoulders and a Muscular Chest is not realistic for someone who is thin.
As a result being bulky is out and being lean and toned is just not quite enough.
Our goal should be to look like Greek Gods!
Well without further ado the perfect male body ratio’s are:
– A waist that is 45-47% of your height (multiply your height by 0.45 or 0.47)
– A shoulder to waist ratio of 1.618. (Divide shoulder measurement by your waist measurement)
– Arms, neck and calves of equal circumference
– A chest that is 10-12″ bigger than your waist
Lets take an average 5’10 man. His stats should be:
Waist: 31.5-33″ (45-47% of your height)
Shoulders: 51-53″ (waist x 1.618)
Arms: Same as Neck (roughly 15.5-16.5″)
Chest: 42-45″ (10-12″ bigger than waist)
Now that you guys have an understanding of what ratio’s to shoot for I’m gonna provide you with 5 of the BEST EXERCISES for achieving these ratios.
Here they are –
5 Exercises to Build the Body of a Greek God
1. Incline Dumbbell Bench Press:
This is my favorite chest exercise! It develops the chest perfectly with more attention on the upper chest. The upper chest is the most important region for guys to grow as it exudes a masculine appearance. When bodybuilders overdevelop their lower chest it looks like they have BOOBS. In addition a well developed upper chest creates a sweet line down the middle of the chest. You should aim to be able to do this exercise with 100% of your bodyweight for 6 reps. So if you are 160 lbs then you want to aim to do 80 lb dumbbells in each hand for 6 reps.
I do this exercise with 100 lb dumbbells in each hand for 6 reps at a bodyweight of 180 lbs.
2. Pull-ups
Pull-ups are one of my favorite exercises. They are the single best back exercise for creating a V-Shaped Torso. You should strive to do at-least 12 full range of motion pull ups consecutively. I have worked up to 20 pull ups in a row and my back is extremely well developed. I credit pull ups for this.
3. Lateral Raises
This movement is very effective at working the medial head of the deltoids. This will add width to your shoulders thus increasing your shoulder to waist ratio
4. Plank
The plank is a great exercise to strengthen your transverse abdominal (TVA). The TVA is like your corset muscle – it keeps your stomach pulled in tight and aids in stabilization. The goal to hit here is 3 consecutive minutes with perfect form. After you can do this then you can either raise your forearms on a stability ball or place your feet in suspension bands (TRX).
5. Bar Dips
Most people aren’t aware of the fact that your triceps take up 2/3 of your arm. Consequently when your trying to get your arms bigger you can’t neglect your triceps. Bar Dips are my favorite triceps exercise and in addition to working the triceps they also hit your lower chest and shoulders. They will build strong triceps and give you a nice sweep under your pecs. The target here to to work up to doing 6 reps of dips with 50% of your bodyweight attached. I do bar dips for 6 reps with 135 lbs.
Now lets take these 5 exercises and put them into a workout routine.
Greek God Workout Program
1a) Incline DB Bench Press: 3 sets x 5-7 reps
1b) Pull-ups (add weight if necessary): 3 sets x 5-7 reps
2) Lateral Raises: 3 sets x 6-10 reps
3a) Bar Dips (add weight if necessary): 3 sets x 6-10 reps
3b) Biceps Curl Variation: 3 x 6-10 reps
4) Plank: 3 sets x 60 seconds (contract abs as hard as possible)
Workout Notes
– If you want to add muscle than use the rep ranges that I provided you with
– If your satisfied with your muscle development than lower the rep ranges to 3-5 – this will harden up your muscles and increase tone (everyone gets this reversed)
– Perform this workout 2-3x per week with at least a day of rest in between.
– 1a and 1b means you perform a set of 1a rest than perform a set of 1b rest and repeat for 3 sets
– If you want to add muscle to your legs you can perform 3 sets of 4-6 reps of squats or deadlifts