What do women think about muscle-bound guys? Is there a certain type of
physique that attracts women the most?

First of all, you’re going to get a lot of responses pointing out that
“women” are attracted by a wide variety of physiques, depending on the
woman in question. So, as posed, the question is basically meaningless.

That said, I think you’ll find that most women would appreciate a man who
was generally physically fit, all other things being equal, just as most
men would probably prefer a woman who was generally physically fit under the
same circumstances. “Generally physically fit”, of course, covers a fair
amount of territory – maybe witin one standard deviation of the means for
weight, percentage of body fat, and so on.

IMO, the biggest benefits of a regular exercise program are a tendency to
increase one’s self-esteem, body image, and overall sense of well-being.
In terms of making one sexually attractive, these are proabably at *least*
as important as the effects on one’s physique. Indeed, things like “Speed
Seduction” and the like appear to be largely predicated on the assumption that
sexual attractiveness is mostly a function of attitude. My own experience
is that there’s a great deal of truth in that assumption.

Bottom line: a program of regular exercise that includes both aerobic and
wieght-bearing elements can only help a person in general, and there’s a
good chance it will help one’s love/sex life in particular. To say nothing
of the health benefits, which are far from negligible.

How a woman views a man is not simply a question of what he *is*.
A woman is also acutely sensitive to how other members of her
culture view that man, and, of course, how that man views himself
(or seems to view himself). The number one mate-selection criterion
for women is a man’s social status. A man’s social status influences
his attractiveness to women approximately as much as a woman’s
physical appearance influences her attractiveness to men. (This is
not to say that a man’s physical appearance is of no consequence;
actually, it is. But a physically unattractive man of high social
status (such as a rock star) will generally still have access to
the most attractive women.)

Therefore, when you ask what women think about guys with particular
attributes, you can answer your own question by observing the
degree to which those attributes contribute to a man’s social status.

I have some personal experience with the effects of muscular
hypertrophy on social status. I went from being rather thin (by
American standards) to fairly (but not spectacularly) muscular
after several years of ongoing weight training. There is no question
that this has caused a very noticeable reaction from men. When I
am dealing with men in face-to-face situations, it is easier
for me to command a measure of respect.

The reaction from women has been less noticeable and less
direct. A few women directly appreciate what I have done with
my body, but it’s difficult to guess the percentage because
most women do not really express these kinds of opinions until
you get them into bed. I suspect that being in shape improves
my attractiveness to more women than not, but for me this has
not been on anything like the rock-star level. Not even close.
However, I believe I have observed women ratcheting up their
estimates of me a few (small) notches after they observed other
men deferring to me (if ever so slightly) because of my (modest)
athletic achievements.

How much an achievement “counts” to women is all relative, of
course. If you were 20% slower than Michael Johnson, you would
just be another anonymous sprinter at the local track. A 20%
difference in ability is not really a large difference. But
Michael Johnson is the best in the world at what he does, and
for some reason a lot of people care about what he does, so that
makes him a celebrity. There is nothing more attractive to women
than a man who is a celebrity. Millions of women would like to
date Michael Johnson without having any real concept of his
athletic accomplishments, meaning that these women are primarily
attracted to his celebrity. If we woke up tomorrow and all other
men were suddenly 20% faster than Michael Johnson, his
attractiveness to women would be on its way down. That is a long
way of saying women don’t care how good you are, they care about
*HOW MUCH BETTER YOU ARE THAN ALL THE OTHER MEN*.

So the muscles probably matter less than the marketing. To
become really famous with your muscles requires going to
extremes that aren’t possible for most people. A modest
achievement will only bring a modest result. But the effects
of marketing are still important. It’s critical for the man
with any kind of achievement to insure that women observe
other men admiring the achievement and deferring to him. But
this is tricky to fake, because tooting your own horn too
loudly is the surest way to have women label you “subordinate”
in their minds, and that is the kiss of death as far as your
chances with them go. It is also difficult to arrange for other
men to admire you sincerely, because if they have any brains
they are *NOT* going to admire their competition!!!

In any case, perhaps one of the surest ways to improve your
chances with women is to have *OTHER MEN* compliment and praise
your accomplishments in the hearing of those women. If those
women get the idea that you have done something other men
admire, and which *REALLY MATTERS* to them, then those men
have done half the job for you. This suggests an obvious
reciprocal strategy that you and a group of your male friends
should try. Suppose one member of the group, man Y, lusts for
woman X. The other members of the group arrange to be recounting
to each other the mighty works of man Y on several occasions when
woman X is passing by and is certain to overhear. Later, man Y
reciprocates by participating in groups that praise other men
in the group in the hearing of other target women.