Is it more difficult for guys or girls to maintain the "perfect beach body"?

[Anonymous]

When guys are working out we are generally going for size and muscle. Some people prefer to have more muscle than some, but for the sake of argument let's say something like this:

link

When girls work out, building muscle isn't important. Yes they want to look tone, but the goal is obviously not get ripped. Most girls seems to go for the slim and tone look. Again, for the sake of argument, something like this:

link

So, is it more difficult for guys or girls to get/maintain that "perfect beach body"?

[serena1]

Hmm, men I think if you are going for the sculpt look. But, men have a much larger range of "hot" than women do. You don't have to be perfect to be hot. We do.

That girl looks as if she does very little to nothing to maintain. I know I didn't at that age. The gift of youth.

However, as you get older women work very, very hard to maintain that.

Don't be fooled by the fact that we are not "cut" that we do not need to lift and build muscle to be toned. Women are not able, without unnatural intervention, get big bulky muscles. But, any woman over 35 you see as fit and tone is lifting substantial weight. It is needed to preserve muscle which burns the fat and to stay toned and not saggy.

I am a bellydancer and make it a point not to look like I go to the gym. Soft, toned curves. I do not even want the six pack a lot of girls want. Just flat and toned.

But at 42, to have the same body I had naturally, eating Doritos and hostess cupcakes for lunch, when I was in my 20's, I lift 3 times a week, do yoga 3-5x a week and do cardio every day and dance every day.

Ever taken a yoga class? It kicks your a**. I sweat more than when I do cardio and my muscles fatigue faster than lifting.

[vmw2008]

I honestly think it depends on the individual. I know some guys who are naturally well-defined and it only takes a couple weeks in the gym (and no change to their diet) to get a pretty good beach body. Same with some girls. I know girls who never workout, eat like hell, and still look like the girl in your picture.

On the other hand, some guys and girls naturally carry more fat that is harder to lose. Some guys have a very hard time building muscle, some girls have a very hard time toning their thighs and tummy.

It really depends. Both body types are achievable, some have to work harder for it than others.

[Asker]

Not sure I totally agree. Whether you know it or not, a guy needs to work out to be well defined. Broad shoulders and big arms takes some time in the gym or playing sports. Girls on the other hand can just diet or have a good metabolism and be skinny. Put them in a two piece and they look sexy automatically. Guys can also be skinny by just dieting or having a good metabolism, but skinny on a guy looks scrawney, while skinny on a girl can look sexy

[vmw2008]

Lol so this question was more about sympathizing with men instead of asking a real opinion. I'm sorry but I still disagree with you. I know men with naturally big shoulders and defined arms. Sure they get better and bigger with working out, but they're there whether they do or not. Also, "getting skinny" is a lot easier for men due to your lower fat storage and higher metabolisms. Women are built to carry more fat, so getting the thin toned look is much harder for women than men.

[Asker]

no...don't need the sympathy party. I was just responding to the points you made with my opinion. You are certainly right about the fat store. It is easier for guys to be skinny vs women, but at the same time I don't think there is THAT drastic of a difference.

[vmw2008]

I think you'd be surprised.

[xzinax2]

well-it's not that easy to decide

guys do have to work harder as in,lifting weights and what not,but,when you're a girl,it's hard because,while guys simply work everything they have,and just bulk up,we have to go through restrictive diets,we have to work out to get toned-but we can't dare to develop an actual muscle,cause then,we're considered ''manly''-it's pretty impossible to get to a certain point when you can say that you've done it completely right (all these things depend on your genetics)

[cyrus7]

guys have to go through restrictive diets too to have the "perfect beach body", we also have to work out to build muscle & tone at the same time

[xzinax2]

yes,but guys get to work off any cheat meal,they can work out without the ''fear'' of getting muscles,girls are considered unattractive if they're fat,and they're considered unattractive when they have muscle definition. we have to walk a pretty thin line

[cyrus7]

guys can work off any cheat meal? do explain girls don't have to worry about building muscle, they are inefficient in building muscle mass to begin with (testosterone), so that's just an irrational fear girls are NOT considered unattractive with some muscle definition

[Asker]

Good point! Lots of variables!

[BellaBella12]

That's true. My boyfriend struggles to get enough protein. He has to have milk powder drinks, and he's tall so he also struggles to eat enough calories

[xzinax2]

this is what I'm talking about link now,this girl is not unattractive,but most girls want to be all delicate and weak,which most men say they prefer. and we may not have as much testosterone,but we can build muscles,and any muscle is frowned upon on a woman (not saying that that's right,but it's just the way it is)

[cyrus7]

the girl in your picture does direct ab work and lifts heavy, that's why she's muscular bad example is bad

[cyrus7]

link

the bottom picture is about as muscular as a woman will get without steroids or something similar

[xzinax2]

but that's what I'm talking about,good example is good-cause we can do cardio to lose weight,but we lift weights to get toned,and we have to keep everything toned,so the working out has to be regular,and then we start developing muscles,and then you can't NOT work out,and you can't continue on your way to bodybuiilderville

[cyrus7]

ok well obviously you don't know what you're talking about when you get to the muscle mass that you are satisfied with, you don't have to up the weights any more, you just use the same weight to maintain what muscle you do have just because you start lifting today doesn't mean in 10 years you'll look like arnold, not even close

[xzinax2]

are you seriously saying this to an actual girl? I've been through this sh*t,i know. I only own one pair of weights,and my muscles only increase

[cyrus7]

yeah, up to a certain point then it gets much much slower eventually stopping how much are the weights you own?

[xzinax2]

only 5kg what I'm saying is,sure,it might stop growing,but what if you want it to stop growing before IT wants to stop growing? you can't give up,cause you'll lose definition

[cyrus7]

5kg? ofcourse, you will build mass to a point, but just use that and you're fine again, refer to my picture link

[tmc1324]

I have to agree with cyrus here. Girls have very limited potential to build muscle mass (without the use of hormone altering drugs). While you may think that you're getting too much muscle, in reality you're still tiny compared to a guy who lifts. Men also have a much greater tolerance for muscle mass on a woman than you seem to believe. And the difficulty of your diet depends on metabolism, the hardest thing about getting to where I want to be is the fact that I have to eat so much.

[xzinax2]

i NEVER said that girls can build muscles to the same point guys can,but we do sometimes get more muscular that we WANT to be

[tmc1324]

But girls can't naturally build enough muscle for GUYS not to like it. If you don't like, well then that's up to you.

[xzinax2]

first of all-they can,it depends on the guy and his preferences. but this isn't just about attraction,a perfect beach body is the body that we're proud to show and we like completely-now,it depends on the girl,but most girls don't want muscles.

[tmc1324]

Oh, well if the perfect beach body is based on the individual's preference then most likely it's impossible for both parties. Usually people are never satisfied with their bodies. I thought this was based on what the other gender would want to see. And no, girls cannot build that much muscle, I know girls that workout regularly and they can't get that big. The only thing I wouldn't like is if a girl got too skinny and her abs were too defined. THAT is something you can actually go overboard on.

[torken]

I would say guys. Because the 'perfect' beach body for guys is having a 6 pack, which is REALLY hard to maintain. Males store fat primarily in their lower chest region. Women store it in their boobs and thighs.

Of course that's where it goes first, after that it goes everywhere for both males and females.

But what I mean is for a guy to have a 6 pack, he has to both super lean AND muscular. Being muscular means eating a lot of protein and being really active, being lean means burning off all that food. The minute life gets too busy to keep being that active, you stop being so lean, and that 6 pack disappears fast.

Not saying girls have it easy at all, because I think guys probably are more demanding of a certain body type in girls than girls are in guys, so that's certainly a factor too, but I mean without that social pressure.

[Asker]

Good answer! I think when not working out, women have it easier. It is a lot easier to just be thin (whether it be from good metabolism or dieting) and hit the beach. If you are relatively thin and wearing a two piece, even without definition, you are going to look pretty good. For a guy, when he is just skinny he doesn't look that great. At the very least you need broad shoulders and big arms (even without definition) to have that equal level of attractiveness as a skinny girl

[kholland65]

"Generally" I would say that yes women have it easier. It really comes down to two approaches. Put in simple terms, men are trying to gain weight and muscle to look good, women are trying to weight and maintain their muscle to look good. Common sense and even my trainer told me, that gaining muscle is harder than losing weight. Which is why most weight lifters can only gain 10-20lbs in a year where obviously you can lose much more fat than that in a year. A women is in maintain mode, men are in gain mode. So yes men have a harder time maintaining a beach body than women do since most women are pretty much naturally born with a beach body, men are not. That being said however, like one girl said, the standards for men are lower, so it sort of evens out.

[MrNameless]

Definitely guys.

You have to work out to get a six pack, and then you need a really low body fat percentage to even show a 6 pack(8-!0% for dudes). And muscle requires a lot of maintenance and is more physically draining to maintain via lifting weights.. Than maintaining a slim build/burning fat--which can simply take a lower calorie intake(caloric intake being equal to how much one's body burns a day), to maintain.

[Girlygirl120]

I think it is more difficult for women because guys only have to have muscular arms and abs as women have to be slim but curvy and perfectly toned and we must also maintain our make up and look pretty even at the beach you guys throw on shorts sunglasses and walk out the door

[c7777]

LOL if you build just arms and abs... youd look completely retarded

[kheserthorpe]

Muscular abs requires about 8% body fat, on TOP of having a lot of muscular hypertrophy.

[MrNameless]

Agreed with the two other men.

[kheserthorpe]

Dropping fat is way easier then burning muscle, and in any case, a 'perfect male form' needs a lot of muscle AND sub 10% body fat.

I don't think a lot of women realize how low fat male models are, or how long muscle building takes, or how many guys in the media have used steroids.

Last time I checked, they didn't do Olympic drug testing on models or actors.

[cyrus7]

No Kheser you got it all wrong, they only use photography tricks, lighting tricks, and photoshop in female photoshoots. There is also NO way that any of these guys use steroids.

[PoeticNinja]

It just depends on your body type. You may have to work harder than the next guy. Vice versa.

Girls and guys both have difficult times getting a nice body and maintaining it.

Work out your metabolism. That's really it.

[Kiraskrazy180]

It depends mostly on the person, rather then gender. There are some girls and guys out there who can lose weight like whatever, and others it might take a bit longer. My boyfriend is a chubby guy and he stayed that way for a long time.

[AllDay]

depends on person

[c7777]

Arguing this on herre is pointless though guys... most women know nothing about fitness. That's why you see so few lifting weights in the gym

[c7777]

i think you've seen what I have said but definitely men. Building muscle is very difficult for some, and building to make it look right requires much knowledge, commitment, and time. Gaining muscle is a slow process.. unless you stick a needle in your butt.

[cyrus7]

Guys will be harder to achieve and maintain, we have to build muscle and lose fat which takes a lot longer and more effort

Girls just have to lose fat (building muscle is optional for most), which is just a decent diet + cardio

[BellaBella12]

I started doing weights recently, and I prefer it to cardio. It takes a lot less time, so you don't get bored.

[cyrus7]

they do different things, cardio is more effective in burning calories

[RikkiTikkiTavi]

I'd say (short) women have the most difficultly

[Anonymous]

The guy would have to work harder to reach that beach body but would find it easier to maintain than the girl would because women accumulate fat more readily than men (something to do with fertility etc) But that's just in general, not taking into account the specific guys and girls body types. She may be naturally born with the perfect beach body or may be naturally bigger due to low metabolism and same for the guy

[c7777]

Id actually agree with this to a degree... young men have a lot harder time becuase of the time it takes to build muscle, the dedication, and the knowledge involved. While women will have a harder time later in life as metabolism really slows down while men who have good muscularity can afford to eat more becuase muscle requires a lot to maintain.