It finally feels like summer has arrived. With the temperature rising, sun shining and longer evenings, it’s the perfect opportunity to introduce some outdoor training into your routine and reap the body and mind benefits of adapting your training to the seasons.

Change of Scenery

The gym can become a repetitive atmosphere. Feeling like you have hit a wall with the same routine (if not constructed properly) can hinder fitness goals by effectively stopping people from going to the gym. Taking some of your training outdoors can refresh your routine and keep your mindset focused as you challenge yourself to something new.

Improve Mood

Studies have shown that endorphins are produced just 5 minutes after outdoor exercise and therefore holds the ability to improve a person’s mood.

Vitamin Intake

Sunlight is the best source of Vitamin D, which is essential for our body’s to absorb calcium. According to the National Osteoporosis Society recommendations, we should try to get at least 10 minutes of sun exposure to bare skin once or twice a day.

Cost-Effective

A weight-free (unless you have some at home) HIIT workout in an outdoor space, whether this be in your garden, the park, or any other public space is free. You don’t need to pay a monthly subscription to workout from a public space.

Here at Physique Academy, we adapt our training programmes to fulfil the fitness objectives of each individual on our team. Not every objective is about losing weight, it can be to improve overall fitness, gain strength and a common goal we help achieve is to build muscle.

Don’t be deceived, building muscle is a tough journey. It requires an entirely new outlook on training, nutrition and mindset. It’s not as simple as racking up the weights to the max and shoving down heaps of protein shakes post-training. You’ll need a carefully constructed plan to put your body into the ideal condition to build muscle.

Here are some tips for how to build muscle:

Calories

Being in a calorie surplus is vital for building muscle. These extra calories provide your body with the necessary fuel to boost muscle size and strength while weight training.

Training

Lift heavy and use progressive overload. This means gradually increasing the weight, frequency, or number of repetitions in your training routine. It’s also important to change up your training to keep it fresh. Building muscle requires time in the gym and repetitive training regimes can deter motivation. You want to love this process so refreshing your routine, training with a partner or following one of our training routines will help push your focus.

We have touched base on the importance of routine and how it can benefit all areas of lifestyle, fitness, business, family and mindset. Yes, daily routine is vital but for some it can be hard to completely stick to as external factors can interrupt a structured calendar. With that being said, we turn our attention to morning routine and how successfully hitting certain targets that fit your lifestyle and benefit your fitness goals will keep you on track.

If you beat the morning, you will win the day... To be less philosophical, if you complete small morning tasks you will set yourself up for a more productive day. For your fitness objectives you may want to get your steps/run/workout completed first thing in the morning due to your busy lifestyle restricting your ability to exercise in the evening. Not only this, successful sportsman and studies have praised the AM exercise for being more productive throughout the day. “I love working out first thing in the morning, it creates a natural boost of energy for the day unlike no other and keeps my mind focused”. – George Armstrong Physique Academy Coach & Founder

Fitness aside, small tasks such as waking up that little bit earlier to stretch, make breakfast, listen to a podcast, even making your bed will set yourself up for the day. Once you have identified those tasks you want to achieve each morning, create your routine as this will keep you focused and motivated.

This morning routine will benefit your mindset. You’ve certainly heard of the phrase, “getting out of the wrong side of the bed”. Well, we can confirm this is a thing. Getting up late with no structure to the most important part of the day will set you up falling into a slump later in the day because your mindset is not focused on the task at hand and is still one-step behind. Achieving small, what will in good time become sub-conscious tasks, will kickstart your focus for the rest of the day.

Feeling focused throughout the day will allow you to be productive and keep your mindset positive. Yes, you have started the day to the best of your ability, now what challenge awaits you. You can end up having a shitty day, but you can always remind yourself you’ve had a successful morning by completing your routine.

No matter what stage you are in the fitness world, it’s important to know that failure is unfortunately inevitable. Those at their top of their game will tell you that there will be certain times where they have failed but they have learnt from these failures, which is why they are where they are. Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again (not from the very start as this could be at certain stages of a plan for different people), but this time more intelligently. It’s important not to feel threatened by failure because when it hits you, you’ll find it harder to overcome when in fact, it needs to be approached with a positive mindset and turned into an advantaged. At Physique Academy, we equip you with all the knowledge you need to overcome failure by taking you through the below steps. 

Acceptance

This tends to be the hardest step in overcoming failure. The process of looking in the mirror and taking responsibility for your mistake. Yes, you have failed and it’s time to accept that you have taken a step back in your progress. However, you have successfully accepted that you have failed and can now improve. Failures will differ from person to person and will be perceived on different scales, but any activity that have hindered your fitness goals is a failure. Another reason that accepting failure is important is because if you do not accept that you have failed, then failures will not be identified. If you can’t identify a failure, then these issues will reoccur and become bad habits.

Acknowledge

Now that you have accepted you have failed, it’s now time to acknowledge where you have failed. A failure can easily be pinned down to one stimulus that has influenced your failure. This can be a myriad of influencers; an “are you coming out this weekend” text, not sticking to your routine, having a ‘cheat meal/day/week’ that isn’t included in your plan and one we can relate to… NOT CHECKING IN WITH YOUR COACHES. These influencers can be both external and internal. We get it, all your mates are out at the weekend eating and drinking and you feel like you’re missing out, so you jump on the band wagon. Why? Is the fear of missing out on a pissed-up night, spending more money than sense, getting head banging hangover the next day more important than changing your lifestyle? Remember, you do not have to miss out, just take things into consideration and moderation when these situations occur and consult in your coach when doing so. Internal factors such as loss of motivation, dedication and drive can influence failure. Remember, this process is time consuming and won’t happen over-night. Stick to the plan and the results will come. The reason why we have mentioned these external and internal factors are because these are the situations you must acknowledge once you have accepted failure.

Educate

The third step in overcoming is learning from your mistakes. Coming to terms with failing is a learning curve and you must overcome failures to better yourself by educating yourself on how to improve. In some cases, failure is inevitable but teaching yourself to overcome failure separates successful people from those who fall into the victim mindset and are unable to learn from their mistakes. Once you have accepted and acknowledged failure say to yourself, “yes, I have failed. Yes, I know exactly where I failed and now, I am going to teach myself how to ensure this doesn’t happen again and how I can now overcome this failure”.

Action

Congratulations, you have accepted, acknowledged, and educated yourself on failure by avoiding the victim mindset, ready to overcome your failure. Now it’s time to take action. Replace those negative external and factors with positive influencers, consult in your coach and agree on an action plan to get yourself back on track, successfully overcome failure by learning from your mistakes and come out stronger feeling more motivated than ever to achieve your goals.

At Physique Academy, our clients come first. We apply our combined years of experience in training and nutrition to push our clients to be the best version of themselves. We are more than just trainers, we are there every step of the way as a guide, support system, a training partner, a nutritionist and much more. We aim to provide the most personal program on offer and will show the same level of dedication to clients as we do ourselves.

Recently, our online coach and founder George Armstrong joined up with one of our clients during his holiday in Ibiza to introduce himself in person and joined forces for a full body workout.

Want to take your training to the next level? Whether you are wanting to make a start on a fitness journey or enhance your current training program with expert advice, book a FREE consultation call with our team and let’s get started.

Binge eating is consuming a large amount of food in a short period of time which can be detrimental to your fitness goals. We often see binge eating occur when those who want to go through a weight loss change try dieting without knowledge and guidance. Cutting food down without the understanding of how to do this effectively will inevitably lead to binge eating (most likely junk food) due to a lack of understanding how to correctly curb cravings, mentally fatiguing from completely cutting our certain food groups and underperforming in the gym are just a number of ways that will lead to binge eating because nutrition has not been fully assessed and assigned properly.

Below are 5 ways that will help you from binge eating

1. Don’t skip meals

There are no excuses to skipping meals. Time and time again we hear the excuses such as “ahh I didn’t have time to make breakfast”. But why didn’t you? Skipping this will ultimately lead to feeling hungrier later and can cause you to binge. Creating structure with meal preps and dedicating time within a routine will enable you to consume your meals at optimal times for performance and fitness goals.

2. Rigid Dieting

Don’t thin of it as a “diet”. If you do, you are limiting yourself to foods. Change your food rules about and it won't be classed as dieting. Ps. What the fuck is a sin? We are not counting sins here, this will change your mindset on diet all together as no food is a sin unless you are not counteracting it with action.

3. Mood

You are eating because you are bored, mad, dehydrated… not hungry. Not controlling your diet properly will alter your mood which will lead to binge eating We have all heard of the term ‘hangry’ right? This is because you have restricted your food incorrectly and you now feel the need to binge eat. With proper guidance with a tailored plan you won’t feel the need to go crazy on the cupboards at home.

4. Don’t restrict too much

You have put yourself on a diet and you have restricted the foods you love because you think these will diminish your progress. For those who have not been put on an expert training and nutrition programme you won’t know that you can still enjoy the food you love to an extent that won’t hinder your achievements. If you jump in at the deep end and restrict your diet completely, it’s highly likely you will fail and binge eat because you haven’t restricted properly

Sleep is one of the most important factors to all areas of health. Implementing an effective sleep routine will benefit you both physically by allocating efficient rest periods, and mentally by resetting your cognitive processes with enough time to function to its max. The term sleep hygiene is about promoting a good night’s sleep and creating the most successful sleep cycle possible. 

We are going to highlight incremental factors that need to be acknowledged and actioned in order to benefit from the miracle of sleep.

Routine

Creating a sleep routine encourages a repeating circadian rhythm, also known as body clock. Therefore, getting up and going to bed at the same time will become a natural response, and you can tailor your cycle so you can arise earlier to start your routine.

Put Down the Phone 

Blue and violet light from your devices and unnatural light in the evening suppresses melatonin production. So relentlessly scrolling through Instagram minutes before you want to go to sleep will hinder your sleep. Try dimming the lights, avoid using your phone an hour before going to bed, you can even look at getting some blue block glasses. Spending time away from your phone before bed will positively improve your quality of sleep. 

Protein 

Tryptophan is present in most protein-based foods or dietary proteins. This is converted into serotonin, which is further converted into melatonin. These are sleep hormones and therefore having a protein rich diet will increase the level of output and improve sleep. 

Implemented a training and nutrition program into your lifestyle needs to be at the top of your priority list if you a serious about achieving your goals. It requires full levels of commitment and dedication to become the best version of yourself. However, there are several factors that can prove challenging for some to stay on track by negatively effecting the progress they have made and hinder the progress they are yet to make.

The fear of missing out, AKA FOMO, is a term allocated to those who are unable to miss out on events/activities because they are worried they will miss out on something. It can happen to the best of us, your mates are going on a night out ready for a ‘big one’ and you feel you are unable to join because you have dedicated yourself to the cause. There are two ways to look at this. The first way to tackle the dreaded FOMO is to basically ask yourself, am I really missing out one something that won’t happen again in the future? Is it really worth ruining the progress you have made so far with a binge night that will cause you to eat junk food for the next two days, impacting your sleep schedule and preventing you from hitting the gym as hard as possible because the hangover is still catching up on you. The second way to conquer FOMO is by being completely honest with your coach ahead of time, so they can tailor your training programme so you can enjoy a night out with your mates. Unfortunately, getting wasted is not advised but everything in moderation is the way forward when it comes to this. Physique Academy coached will amend your program ahead of time so you can enjoy these life events. What people misconceive about these programs is that you can’t enjoy social events because you’re tied down to a strict diet. Well, that’s bullshit. You need to enjoy the process which is why our coaches have the knowledge and experience to include enjoyable foods and allow you to attend events without hindering your progress.

When it comes to prioritising progress, it’s more a mind over matter situation You must be able to put your mind to the test when a challenge presents itself and prioritise your fitness goals. We have covered just one challenge in the blog but there are a number of challenged that arise; a few days off from training, binge eating, not being honest with your coach, missing a check-in and more. We take a no nonsense approach and you must also when it comes to this journey.

You’ve been dieting for a few days, maybe even a few weeks. You’ve felt pretty good so far, but hunger has finally reared its ugly head. Every second thought in your brain is about food. It’s taking all your willpower to stick to your diet, but you can’t take much more of this. You’re feeling ready to give up, ready to hit the fridge… but you’re positive that eating too much food will put you right back where you started.

But this isn’t really the case. What if you could eat even more food and still lose body fat?

Let’s talk about food volume: a way to eat like a pig, feel satisfied and still nail your calorie goals. A classic visual demonstration of this is to think broccoli vs peanut butter on a plate. Two tablespoons of peanut butter (I’m sure we can agree, pretty easy to consume) comes in at 188 calories. To get the same amount from broccoli you would need to eat 550g.

While both can be considered healthy foods, we know that fat loss primarily occurs when you are in a caloric deficit1. Studies support this, showing that a higher food volume increases satiety and reduces food consumption at subsequent meals, even if the overall energy content is exactly the same2. What this means is that the higher the VOLUME is of the foods you eat, the fuller you’re going to feel. The less hunger you’re going to have. The fewer cravings you will suffer from.

In a practical sense, that means filling your plate with foods that take up a lot of room but don’t have a particularly high caloric load. Think fresh vegetables, leaner proteins, cauliflower rice over normal rice, berries over mangos, water over OJ. You get the idea.

So, next time you’re sat there feeling hungry, try loading up your plate with a higher volume of lower-calorie foods and eat your fill.  

References
PMC, E., 2021. Europe PMC. [online] Europepmc.org. Available at: <http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/29736164> [Accessed 30 September 2021].
Strasser, B., Spreitzer, A. and Haber, P., 2021. Fat Loss Depends on Energy Deficit Only, Independently of the Method for Weight Loss.

Online coach Harry Armstrong shares the secret to running fast is to actually run SLOW. 

Running slow or in zone 1/2/3 actually builds up your aerobic capacity and body’s ability to also use FAT as an energy source instead of just using glycogen. This allows you to use both energy stores at the same time which will help you run for longer.

• Zone 1: 50 to 60 percent of maximum heart rate.
• Zone 2: 60 to 70 percent of maximum heart rate.
• Zone 3: 70 to 80 percent of maximum heart rate.
• Zone 4: 80 to 90 percent of maximum heart rate.
• Zone 5: 90 to 100 percent of maximum heart rate.

To quickly workout your max heart rate, minus your age from 220 (this is just a guide so won’t be very accurate, but it gives you an idea)

While the main thing is to ensure you’re not creeping into the anaerobic HR zone 4, it can be good to vary the pacing of your aerobic runs. On the day following a hard aerobic session, for example, staying in Zones 1–2 will support recovery. Other days, if you’re feeling good, Zone 3 running is going to bring solid benefits.

Creeping into low Zone 4 is not where you want to be – best to save those anaerobic efforts for the really tough workouts where you’ll be firmly in Zone 4 and maybe Zone 5 for short periods.

It’s mid-afternoon, that unmistakable urge to drink has hit you.

It’s once again been hours since you last drank any water, you’re downing the entire glass to make up for it.

You’ve heard that water is beneficial, heck, you’d be dead in 3 days without it. But prioritising water consumption in the same way you do diet and exercise doesn’t seem to resonate in quite the same way.

But what if you could simply drink your way to more energy, focus and physical performance?

It turns out you can.

The benefits of proper hydration are massively underestimated. Perhaps that’s why a whopping 75% of the population are estimated to be chronically dehydrated.

Are you someone that is always looking to push their performance to the next level?

Your diet is pretty damn good, you train hard, and now you’re considering supplementation to get to that next level in the gym.

Supplementation can be mind boggling. Everyone and their dog want to sell you the latest and greatest product, promising huge results from a single pill that has little to no evidence backing it up.

But there’s one supplement out there that breaks the mould. You’ve likely heard of it too. It's one of the most popular and well researched supplements (5) on the planet for muscle building, cognition, and endurance.

I am of course talking about creatine.

Motivation and Discipline. Two words that mean completely different things but are used interchangeably, especially in the health and fitness world.

This is a problem.

Why?

Because it drives people to think and act incorrectly when it comes to achieving long term results.

They’re both important, but today we’re going to discuss how prioritising them in a different will help you reach and keep your goals.

Do you ever weigh yourself in the morning and find yourself feeling demotivated by the result?

You know that bodyweight tracking can be an important measure of progress, but this apparent daily coin-flip on your motivation is not serving your mental state.

It’s left you second-guessing the work you’ve put in. That one big meal you had last night shouldn’t have undone the progress you’ve made in the past month, right?

These bodyweight fluctuations are actually totally normal. In fact, your weight can easily vary by 2-5kg on any given day. But how?

Let’s explore why fluctuations happen, take back control and discover how we can utilise daily weight tracking more effectively, without flipping tables.

This program is not easy, and it’s not meant to be easy.

Bettering yourself, developing, changing, improving, is one of the hardest things to do. So do not expect this program to not challenge you. There is going to be obstacles, there’s going to be setbacks, there’s going to be limiting beliefs, insecurities, that are all going to come up. All that shit is going to come up.

There are people who might not have your best interests at heart, they might secretly want you to fail, loved ones, family, friends. Don’t expect people to have your back. You’re on this mission on your own and you got to push hard and develop your mind, your body to become a different breed, a different level. Embrace the struggle.

There are going to be days when you’re going to feel like shit, there are going to be days when you’re not going to want to do it, you’re not going to want to get out of bed. You’re going to want to resist, but you know what that does? That only sets you back, because long term, if you resist and you don’t embrace the pain and the struggle, it’s going to set you back and later down the line you’re going to be even more unhappy with where you’re at. So, getting started, getting stuck in, embracing it. It is the only way. You have got to suffer to get to the other side. People pussy foot around it, acting like it’s going to be easy, but bettering yourself isn’t. So, let’s get to work.

It’s arrived… that time of year when every time you look out the window it’s dark, wet and cold. Christmas is coming and motivation is at its lowest point to keep striving towards your fitness goals.

It’s clear to see individuals showing minimal effort to continue the progress they have currently made and for some reason it’s correlated to the winter season. The countdown to Christmas is where your mental strength comes into action and your determination and levels of commitment are seriously put to the test. Proving to yourself and pushing through what seems to be the hardest time of the year for fitness is an achievement in itself and why put all the progress you have made in jeopardy for the case of bad weather or the Christmas holidays. If you’re reading this and you are telling yourself you don’t eat more crap in December than any other time of year, then you’re lying. But why is this not a motivation to increase your training, improve your nutrition and get the proper guidance to enjoy the Christmas day meal without hindering progress or feeling guilty about enjoying the well-deserved turkey?

We get it though, it’s a miserable time of year and is difficult to continue the regime you have just recently mastered. So, here’s some tips from our online coaches on how to stary motivated during winter:

Embrace the Cold

Those steps aren’t going to count themselves! Get up, wrap up and get out. It’s what warm clothing is made for. You’ve all heard of cold shower therapy right, the basic concept that a cold shock in the morning will increase productivity and stimulate yourself to a better start of the day. Well, this is pretty much the same concept. It’s been proven that morning activity enhances both physical and mental stimulants for the day, mix that with a brisk cold day to increase that shock therapy and you’re on your way to a productive day. We’ve found that a number of our clients actually prefer getting their cardio activity in with cold weather, they feel more satisfied when having to battle not only their stamina, but the environmental elements of inter weather.

Home Workouts

Didn’t the nation become obsessed with working out from home when we couldn’t leave them? So, what’s the difference now? If you’re lacking the defrost the car, prepare for a cold journey to the gym, then let’s revert to our home workouts.

Depending on the time of day, you’ve either had a long day at work already, or you’re about to.
 
Your energy levels are feeling critically underwhelming. The Lambo needs fuel.
 
You know you should get that workout in, you even know what you’re supposed to be training. But often, it’s a lack of energy rather than the lack of a plan that prevents you from getting to the gym.
 
Pre-workout supplementation might be the answer to getting that extra boost you need to get moving.
 
However, there’s a ton of supplements out there with a bunch of different ingredients. Today, we’re going to look at the most effective pre-workout ingredients that you should be looking out for.
 
Caffeine - naturally found in coffee and tea, it has been found to stimulate the brain, increasing alertness and reducing fatigue. It has also been shown to increase power output and muscular endurance at a dose of 3-6mg/kg of body weight(1).
 
Citrulline malate - while citrulline is an amino acid found in the body, supplementation increases those levels and has been shown to increase blood flow to muscle tissues, providing them with additional oxygen and nutrients that increase work capacity. One study found that athletes could perform a whopping 53% more repetitions on the bench press after citrulline malate supplementation when compared with a placebo(2). Dose 8g
 
Beta-alanine - another amino acid that fights fatigue in the body. A study on Judo athletes found that supplementation increased the number of sets and reps and reduced lactic acid buildup(3). Another found performance to be increased on sets lasting between 1 and 4 minutes(4). Dose 4-6g
 
Creatine - the god of strength and power supplementation. See our previous post on creatine for more of the juicy details. Dose 5g

Many pre-made supplements include these ingredients, but often not at scientifically proven doses. My recommendation would be to make your own pre-workout cocktail and experiment to find the dosing that works best for your body.  Or at the very least pick a pre-made supplement that is dosed effectively. 
 
So, next time you’re feeling low on energy and need a boost, try pre-workout supplementation.
 
Remember, don’t use it as a crutch replacement for good routine and discipline, but do use it as a powerful aid when you need it.

References

de Andrade Kratz, C., de Salles Painelli, V., de Andrade Nemezio, K., da Silva, R., Franchini, E., Zagatto, A., Gualano, B. and Artioli, G., 2017. Beta-alanine supplementation enhances judo-related performance in highly-trained athletes. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 20(4), pp.403-408.
Del Coso, J., Salinero, J., González-Millán, C., Abián-Vicén, J. and Pérez-González, B., 2012. Dose response effects of a caffeine-containing energy drink on muscle performance: a repeated measures design. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 9(1).
Hobson, R., Saunders, B., Ball, G., Harris, R. and Sale, C., 2012. Effects of β-alanine supplementation on exercise performance: a meta-analysis. Amino Acids, 43(1), pp.25-37.
Pérez-Guisado, J. and Jakeman, P., 2010. Citrulline Malate Enhances Athletic Anaerobic Performance and Relieves Muscle Soreness. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(5), pp.1215-1222.

You have got to think about this long term. You do not want to bounce back and put the weight back on. That is why when we take on a client, we want to work with them and make sure that they do not gain the weight back. The more times you gain that weight back, it knocks your confidence massively. You don’t have the mental fortitude to carry on getting back up after you’ve burnt yourself out by rushing the process. It just shoots you back.

At the end of a cut when you have lost the weight, no matter how long it takes, it takes as long as it takes. We will not take clients on who are not committed to the mission of being the best you and going all the way. If you, do it and you don’t go all the way, you can easily end up back to where you were. You know this. You know someone or have seen friends who have lost loads of weight and six months or a year down the line they have gained it back.

It is difficult. I still find it difficult to keep weight off, I’m battling all the time. Do not expect that battle to end. You actually don’t want that fear of gaining the weight back to leave you because if you didn’t have that you would probably slip back into your old ways. I’ve had clients who have literally felt like they were stuck and were never going to lose the weight and it has been a big burden on their life for twenty years. So, we want to make sure that the habits are broken to the point that you will not go back. You do not want that feeling of anxiety of going back to go because you care about the long-term gain of sustaining it.

Sustainability is key. We will get insane results; we want everyone to get fast results, but we have got to do it right. We have got to make sure we’ve got the plans in place so you can sustain it. From cardio to workouts to calories, we will put together the best strategy for you to sustain your results for the long term. That is the goal. None of this bull shit, quick fix. None of that. It’s about getting you where you need to be and then staying there. You know how good you feel when you are looking after yourself, eating well, feeling confident and high energy, fitting nicely in your clothes, not binge eating. When you have got that in place, and you’ve got all the different components together life is so much better.

You’ve been on your health and fitness journey a while now and you’re likely reaching a solid understanding of the types of foods you should eat to look after your body.

You understand macros - how much protein, carbs and fat you need to reach your physique goals, and even have an understanding of which foods contain what.

What’s less explored, are the foods you should be eating to look after your brain.

I’m sure we can all agree, this year has been a particularly strange one. With a number of accumulating stresses, it’s more important than ever to look after the man behind the curtain.

Do you want to be smarter and improve memory and focus? More resilient to stress?

You already know there are a ton of reasons to get fit. Improved energy, strength, athleticism, mood, confidence, heath, longevity… the list goes on.
 
No doubt at least one of these reasons got you off your ass and into the gym.
 
But a big driver for a lot of people, which they won’t always admit, is to become more attractive to the opposite sex (or same sex, whatever your preference). 
 
While attraction is multi-faceted (meaning there’s much more to it than just what you look like), whether we like to admit it or not, this biological hardwiring is still an undeniable part of the attraction equation.
 
Today, we’re going to look at what the scientific data says on the subject, so you can stack the odds of this particular attraction metric in your favour.
 
As we’ve evolved, mate selection has been a key part of our survival in ancestral times. This is why certain qualities have become more attractive than others.
 
For women, a man’s formidity (ability to fight and protect) was an essential part of her own survival strategy. Upper body strength, therefore, is a crucial visual que that demonstrates a man’s ability in these areas. 
 
While protection is not as important for women in the modern era as it once was, the evolutionary preferences still exist in our monkey minds.
 
According to the latest research by a group of Australian scientists, there are three physical attributes that women find more attractive in men. Strength, height and leanness(1).
 
Using pictures of men’s physiques, it was possible to almost perfectly predict how attractive a man was based on these 3 attributes(1).
 
But surprisingly, looking strong was far more important than height or leanness, making up for over 70% of male bodily attractiveness(1).
 
For men, it’s more about the perceived fertility of a women being attractive for successful child bearing(2).
 
One study found that visual ques of a lower waist > hip ratio (narrower waist and wider hips / booty) represented sexual maturity and adequate key reproductive resources(2).
 
For both men and women, these qualities can all be enhanced as a by-product of consistent dedication to training program and diet. 
 
While there are many more reasons why you might find someone attractive, the physical aspects are undeniable factors in the scientific literature.

That’s great news for you action takers out there - wanting to be more attractive is a perfectly legitimate reason to get after it! Let’s go!

References

Lassek, W. and Gaulin, S., 2019. Evidence supporting nubility and reproductive value as the key to human female physical attractiveness. Evolution and Human Behavior, 40(5), pp.408-419.
Sell, A., Lukazsweski, A. and Townsley, M., 2017. Cues of upper body strength account for most of the variance in men's bodily attractiveness. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 284(1869), p.20171819.