Bulding a body for Men's Physique

The Men's Physique class has had its fair share of criticism. Being such a new class, it is still finding its feet within the industry and there will always be controversy between competitors in such a subjective sport. However, here are some guidelines to follow in order to attain an "idyllic" men's physique you can take to the stage.

Traps

For men's physique, you don't want over sized traps. Having large traps is one of the first signs of being "muscle bound" and in a category that states you shouldn't be overly muscly traps are something you need to keep an eye on. With that being said you still want your traps to be developed, having raised traps to suit your body proportion will do just fine, so long as you're not over muscular in the first place.

Shoulders

Shoulders are a large part of men's physique. Having fully caped delts allow a full look on your physique. They help to make you appear wider and often people pick up on developed traps before other parts of the physique. To create a full round delt, work on the anterior, side and posterior parts of your delts and you will soon create a good overall shape to them.

Back

The guidelines for back for men's physique are that it must be developed, but not overly wide. Your lats should be visible from the front and you should display a good v taper, but without looking too wide from the rear. A competitor should display the classic V shape from the top of their lats leading to their waist.

Arms

Arms really don't have any guidelines in this class, as long as they are in proportion with the rest of the body and not overly muscular or vascular, they won't be marked down.

Chest

The chest for men's physique should be full and both upper and lower parts should be developed. Other than this there are not specifics that have been realised. Again it's all about proportion with the rest of your body.

Calfs

Although legs are not judged in this category, you calfs will be on show, meaning there will be at least some emphasis on them. For this, follow the same guidelines as above. You want the calfs to be developed, show muscle and looking full whilst maintaining proportion to the rest of the body and not be overly built.

Overall

Men's physique is all about being in proportion and symmetrical. size isn't generally taken into consideration. What you want is an overall physique that displays "developed" size, without looking too muscle bound or too vascular but is well shaped in a classic men's physique style.

The examples above are of men's physique competitors in the IFBB. 1. Steve Cook, 2. Ryan Hughes, 3. Jerimiah Towery