When someone thinks of their dream body type, they often use popular sports physique types to describe it. It isn't uncommon to hear someone compare a mans build to that of a linebacker, or a womans build to that of a dancer. I am going to discuss in detail four types of athletic physiques.
The Swimmers Body: Look no further than record breaking Olympic Gold Medalist - Michael Phelps to find the picture perfect description of a swimmers body (for a man of course). His torso is lean and tone, with well defined (but not bulky) muscles. For men, the swimmer's body type has broad shoulders, a medium to long torso and a flat as a board abdomen. What sets apart the swimmers body from other athletic types is the noticeable lean-ness of their physique and broadness of their shoulders. There long bodies combined with great posture makes for a regal effect. Ironically enough, a swimmers body type for women is a bit different. They too have well defined muscles, but because it shows mostly in their shoulders, triceps and biceps - it can come across as a little too broad or bulky. But trust there is nothing bulky about the female swimmers body - like most women athletes, the training of a swimmer leads to muscle development that the average woman never experiences.
The Gymnast's Body: It's usually easy to spot the trained gymnast - just look for the person that's usually short in height, with long muscular legs and a short torso. Though male gymnasts are taller than female gymnasts (of course), generally speaking - gymnasts tend to be shorter than the average. Their strength is in their legs and upper body, so bulky muscular thighs, calves, biceps and triceps are not uncommon. This becomes even more noticeable in female gymnasts.Taller gymnasts, particularly female gymnasts tend to have leaner muscle definition. Most female gymnasts also have boxy hips and shoulders.
The Dancer's Body: The dancer's body type can be identified by defined calves and thighs, a long or straight torso (often emphasized by great posture) and lean muscular arms. In men, the waist line tends to be thinner and in women, the back/lower back is noticeably toned. Now this is just a general description - there are so many types of dance that bring strength and definition to different muscles in the body. For example, someone trained in ballet will have a taller and leaner looking physique, whereas someone trained in tap will have more definition in their lower legs.
The Track Runner's Body: The sprinter track athlete's body type is hands down the most muscular of them all and this goes for both men and women. This changes for long distance runners. Track athletes who run in cross country events have a leaner and longer muscle. The sprinter's body type is what comes to the mind of most people when they think of a track athlete. Their muscles in their legs are extremely well defined, from the calves, to the quads and including the glutes. Theirs is a body type built for speed.
