the old swimmer vs. weight lifter question ;-)

[madgame]

When those questions came up I have to say, I always thought...well...really heavy weightlifters are definetly not what most women are looking for in a man (but then again of course those women who love that type will go nuts over them as there aren't too many guys who can offer that ;-)).

However, I also thought the whole 'swimmer's physique is perfect' thing was bull****, too, thinking the 'perfect body' is less muscular than a weight lifter, but still definetly more muscular than those swimmer guys.

However after seeing some olympic swimmers, I have to say I was really wrong..I guess that's really the 'perfect' body (it's about the amount of muscle I have, too, and I'm not looking to get any more muscular now actually, so I'm for real about this).

I always thought of swimmer's as guys looking like Michael Phelps or a competitive swimmer I happen to know..and they are really just long with yeah often broad shoulders but rather SKINNY.

However if that's what you mean by a swimmer's physique I have to agree it's about perfect:

http://www.usoc.org/garyhalljr_ii.jpg

http://img.timeinc.net/time/pacific/olympics2000/photoessay/images/4.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/4108/images/olympians1.jpg

(Ima stop postin guys pics now so i dont come off as gay lol).

Anyways, just trying to say I was wrong when thinking swimmers in general were too skinny...and I'm sure I'm not the only person who thought of swimmers mostly as tall relatively scrawny guys like Michael Phelps.

 

[madgame]

well yeah I agree with you actually, just trying to say, that I underestimated swimmers when it comes to muscles really thought they were generally just long with broad shoulders and well-defined, BUT skinny..which isnt true.

 

[seanchai]

The third guy, Lenny Krayzelburg, is the most muscular swimmer ever. Literally. The only guys even close to his size on the scene today are Jason Lezak and Brendan Hansen, who I'm convinced is on some sort of performance enhancer. Check out the South Africans Lyndon Ferns, Ryk Neethling, Roland Schoeman and Darian Townsend for steroidal guys.

BTW, I'm saying that based not on their appearances, but their times.

EDIT: Got the last Afrikaaner's name wrong.

 

[madgame]

http://images.google.de/imgres?imgu...ev=/images?q=ashley+callus&svnum=10&hl=de&lr=

Here's another photo of the 2nd guy, I think. Doesn't really look like he's any less muscular than Lenny Krayzelburg(hope I spelled the name right) to me. However, maybe it all depends on the photos you look at.

I assume you are a swimmer yourself, as you know their names and all?

 

[doctoroxygen]

The second photo is of Michael Klim, though I believe Ashley Callus is the guy in the foreground of that photo.

Krayzelburg was MASSIVE. He would've been a big guy in any sport he played.

Brendan Hansen is pretty ripped, too.

 

[seanchai]

Yeah, there was a picture of him on the pool deck at the 2000 Olympics pumping his fist, and I swear his biceps looked like mountains. I can't find that picture now, though. Dude has a table for a back as well.

The first guy you posted is Gary Hall, Jr., the coolest swimmer ever: http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/935000/images/_937131_8_300.jpg

I swam for ten years competitively, and I look nothing like those guys.

EDIT: I'm sort of built like Aaron Peirsol, the guy in the foreground here: http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/images/I22576-2004Aug21
Brendan Hansen is to his right, Michael Phelps to his left.

 

[beercan]

I think that the gymnasts have better physiques.

 

[dirtysanchez]

Professional swimmers (and pretty much all other athletes) are involved in weight training programs as well, so their physiques aren't purely a product of their sports.

 

[madgame]

yeah Sanchez you're right..didn't mean to say doing nothing but swimming will get you there, of course probably most of their size comes from hitting weights in the gym..i was just a bit surprised to find out that there were indeed a lot of swimmers who had a fairly muscular physique and that everyone of them wasnt the long/skinny - only well-defined type.

 

[Le Parisien]

Many girls I know just LOVE to watch the swimming competitions during the Olympics, needless to say more...

Only in America, guys delude themselves into the "bigger is better" myth, to the delight of "supplement" producers and steroid trafickers... :crackup:

 

[Warboss Alex]

Many girls I know just LOVE to watch the swimming competitions during the Olympics, needless to say more...

Only in America, guys delude themselves into the "bigger is better" myth, to the delight of "supplement" producers and steroid trafickers... :crackup:

Swimmers look good 'cause they don't wear much. Put one of those in clothes, and put a fairly lean 230lb guy in clothes, put 'em both in a club and see which ones the girls go for..

 

[Le Parisien]

Swimmers look good 'cause they don't wear much. Put one of those in clothes, and put a fairly lean 230lb guy in clothes, put 'em both in a club and see which ones the girls go for..

Do you realize you what you are saying here? You are basically admitting that the swimmers look the best, but once the cloth factor comes in and conceals the body then the swimmer's not the favorite anymore?

It's like saying most guys love to watch Victoria's Secret fashion shows not because the models are hot, but because they are not wearing that much. Once wearing less revealing clothes, the other chicks who are "heavier"/"have a few extra pounds"/"bigger boned"/"more feminine"/etc:crackup: (whatever other politically correct euphemisms there might be) are actually more attractive???

However I do concede that our opinions are bound to be subjective, just for the simple fact that if we worked hard for the body type we have, mentally we will not deem our own bodytype less attractive. It's the same thing with the chicks: the thinner ones will claim that men prefer them thin, the rounder ones will claim the men prefer the more "feminine" women... Only we know the answer better than them: different men have different preferences. However the majority do actually prefer the bodytype most commonly found in mainstream media, for the simple fact that mainstream media will promote what sells the most, in other words what the majority of men prefer...

And concerning clubs, as long as the guy is not noticebaly bony/skinny or noticebly fat, the clothes pretty much even things out. Guys who are taller and who have an attractive face win hands down. Swimmer type of lean bodybuilder type, or even the average non athletic type with reasonable amount of "non-noyiceable" fat, the question is totally irrelevent.

 

[Warboss Alex]

lol.. I was just standing up for the big boys LP. All the girls I've ever been with have appreciated big muscles.. if they hadn't appreciated muscles they wouldn't've been with me, right?

It takes all sorts to make a world, and no-one should have to conform to what is socially believed to be perfect - because there -is- no perfect except than the shape -you- feel most comfortable and confident in. That's what people will find attractive about you, that you love who and what you are. Always worked for me, anyway.

(it's just because a lot of guys are inspired by Arnie or Ronnie Coleman or whoever and want to be big, but are afraid of pushing that kind of size because it's 'generally' accepted as unattractive.. such social prejudices should not dictate our lives, otherwise I would've stayed at 180 all my life )

 

[madgame]

I think he meant, girls only love to watch olympic swimming competitions, because swimmers are almost nude, but does think, that if there was a competition with almost nude weight lifters girls would generally find that even more erotic.

The bigger is generally better myth doesnt exist only in the U.S. but in Europe, too. (though the you dont really need to look muscular, just be defined myth exists, too which is just as wrong...)

In my experience most chicks will prefer the (more muscular) swimmer type (like in those photos). I doubt you wont see their muscle, because I'm built approximately like that (6'3 around 195-200lbs) and everybody I know notices, I got muscle. Of course, that would also depend on the clothes one wears. However in my case it's not a problem as I don't wear baggy t-shirts but rather body-fit shirts, that ain't too damn tight...(like polo shirts and some v-shirts) and people obviously notice.

However, there will probably be many girls who are crazy over the 230lbs weight lifter look, especially because those who are into that type of look (and im not saying its few girls) can hardly get to see guys even close to that look and thus your chances with them are extremely good. However...most of the girls I know like tall, broad shoulders and some decent visible muscle but not too much.

 

[Le Parisien]

I think he meant, girls only love to watch olympic swimming competitions, because swimmers are almost nude, but does think, that if there was a competition with almost nude weight lifters girls would generally find that even more erotic.

Bodybuilding contests do exist and are regularly showed on TV. Since you guys obvisouly "lift" alot, I bet you know better than me that these bodybuilders only wear a thong for these competitions. The only difference is that chicks don't go "woa" on the bodybuilders, they simply ignore the show. I'm sure some one is gonna say "they don't watch but deep down they still love the huge muscles"... In which case, I stop debating because you can't debate with people who are in denial.

The bigger is generally better myth doesnt exist only in the U.S. but in Europe, too. (though the you dont really need to look muscular, just be defined myth exists, too which is just as wrong...)

I do agree that's there's no unique version/standard of what's attractive. Plus I'd be the first to point out that our own perception of what's more attractive at individual level is highly correlated to our own bodytype and our own positive or negative responses from the HBs.
However, like I said, modern society is the dictatorship of the majority, of "mainstream". So I repeat, what's in the mainstream media is most likely what the majority of chicks prefer: tall, dark (a "dark" white guy, not the real "dark", sorry for the black folks), defined features, fit/muscular without being a muscle freak etc...


Just look at this forum, how many times do we see (supposedly) muscular guys asking/debating about whether women really like huge muscles? Way too many. And when some one says "yes", they are happy and feel reassured; when some one says "no", they start saying how they know for a fact that women DO prefer big muscles while they are the very people who came up with the question and doubt at the first place.
It looks just like ather "favorite" topics:
- Does height matter?
- Does race matter?

My philosophy is that if many people have doubt/question about whether something matters, then most likely it DOES.
Anyway I never see guys with (supposedly) swimmers/male model body type here asking whether women prefer their bodytype or not, so...

Just for the record, I'm a 5'8" 150lbs "short and skinny piece of sh*t". Never lift weight, I just love Capoeira and Breakdancing too much. And oh, I don't think girls I'm interested in are disgusted by my body. But sure, a few extra pounds of muscle would be nice. I will get that eventually when my metabolism slows down...

 

[BluEyes]

Originally posted by Le Parisien
But sure, a few extra pounds of muscle would be nice. I will get that eventually when my metabolism slows down...

You'll get afew extra pounds of fat when your metabolism slows down, is what you'll get.

 

[mrRuckus]

The guys in bodybuilding shows don't look like that the rest of the year.

Bigger isn't better. But bigger than not big enough is better.

It's diminishing returns. At a certain point bigger is better. After that things go downhill for most women. There's a thread on here with pictures of guys at 6 or 7 degrees of bigness/bodyfat levels and once you start passing levels 4 and 5 (higher number is bigger more cut guy) it starts to get unattractive to the average person.

Lots of girls don't even care about six packs. Haha work your ass to get all big then get your six pack and they don't even care. That's why i don't worry much about the fact that i have a little gut now. Shirts hide it and women don't care because they're too busy checking out my chest and shoulders that do show through your shirt (and up into your neck). I'll get to a pretty decent size that i want to be then when i don't care about getting too much more muscularly larger then i'll tidy up the fat. Not that i'm recklessly gaining muscle and fat at the same time...

 

[Warboss Alex]

takes all sorts to make a world, period. do whatever makes you happy and don't be afraid of who will like you/who will not like you.

'twas a trap I fell into in my teens, but I got older I realised it just didn't matter.. if I was happy with myself, then so was everyone else. confidence and comfort in who and what you are = you're attractive.