A complete workout for the body parts women notice most
Photographs by: Darryl Estrine, By: Lauren Russell, Workout Photography by: Beth Bischoff

You know that women have a thing for abs. We peek at them when you reach up high for something, we look right at them when you peel off your shirt at the beach, we feel them when you hug us. And we love to run our hands over them.



But you knew this already. (Well, maybe not the reach-and-peek part.) It's why you did crunches today. (And if you didn't, you should check out The Abs Diet.) But there's more to lust than abs.



You sweat to build a body that'll make women sweat you. The mystery--to us--is why you focus on working the muscles that impress guys. "Men want big biceps because they can see their big biceps and because other men can see their big biceps," says Pega Ren, Ed.D., who's a woman and a clinical sexologist in Vancouver, British Columbia. "People get fit not only to attract others sexually but also to stand tall among our peers."



That's fine, but don't forget us. When you walk past a woman, she's checking out her favorite body parts. Biceps are fine, but they're pretty far down our list of favorites. Let us tell you what those favorites are, why we love them, and the exercises you need to do to build them.



A Broad Back

Why she likes it: A wide back is essential for a V-shaped torso, and women's attraction to it is ancestral. "When it was important that our mates protect us from woolly mammoths on the plains, we looked for a gene pool that could provide us with protection," says Ren. A broad back promises survival. "It's a domination and protection thing," says Kyra, 26. "Like he's going to take care of you."

To build it: You need to stretch the muscles to the maximum to develop a big back. "A maximum stretch means working the muscle in a full range of motion," says Carter Hays, C.S.C.S., a performance-enhancement specialist in Houston. The straight-arm alternating pullover develops the muscles best.
Do it:
Lie faceup on a bench with your right leg straight, the thigh flat on the bench. Keep your left foot on the floor. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand above your thigh, palm facing in. Keeping your arm straight, lift it up and back so it makes a 180-degree arc. Pause, then return to the starting position. Switch legs and hands after each set. Do three sets of 12 repetitions with each arm.


Sculpted Shoulders
Why she likes them: "The shoulder muscles are really the muscles of love and war," says Nancy Etcoff, Ph.D., a psychologist and author of Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty. They also make the whole look when combined with a broad back. "Strong shoulders literally sweep women off their feet," says Laura, 24. "That's where we can wrap our arms around and snuggle up." To build them: "Strong lateral deltoids add width to your shoulders," says Mike Gough, C.S.C.S., owner of athleticedgesports.com. Try the Swiss-ball leaning lateral raise. "Be-cause of the angle of your torso when leaning against the ball," he says, "the weight has to travel through a greater range of motion."

Do it: Lean your right shoulder against a Swiss ball that's placed against a wall. Keeping your body straight, place your feet less than shoulder-width apart and far enough from the wall so that your body is at a 30-degree angle from the floor. Hold a dumbbell in your left hand and let the hand hang down below your right leg, palm facing the wall. Lift your arm up and out to your left until it forms a straight line with your shoulders. Pause, then slowly lower the weight back down. Do three sets of 12 repetitions with each arm.


Nice Butt
Why she likes it: It's something to hold on to. "During sex she can reach around, grab it, and literally pull you toward her," says Timothy Perper, Ph.D., a biologist and author of Sex Signals: The Biology of Love. It's a subconscious thing, he theorizes, but Jane, 36, says she's fully conscious: "A great butt is one that looks like you can grab on and maneuver. That's what it's there for." To build it: The one-legged squat isolates the smaller gluteal muscles better than other squats. "You work the gluteus minimus and the tiny muscles that stabilize the hip joint," says Frederick Carl Hatfield, Ph.D., who holds the International Powerlifting Federation record for his (two-legged) squat of 1,014 pounds.

Do it: Stand on one leg with the other leg out in front of your body so your heel is just off the floor. Extend your arms out to your sides for balance or hold on to a doorway. Bend the supporting leg to lower yourself as far as you can. Pause, then return to the starting position, and finish the set with that leg before repeating with the other. As this gets easier, try holding a 5- or 10-pound dumbbell in each hand while you squat. Do three sets of 10 repetitions on each leg.


Rock-Hard Calves
Why she likes them: "Women want an overall sense of strength and fitness," says Etcoff. "If a man looks as if he can lift something but can't run, it looks disproportionate." Dawn, 25, says, "They don't have to be enormous. But muscular calves are a very masculine trait--and that's sexy." To build them: Train your anterior tibialis--the muscle opposite the calf. "Most people are unaware that the calves have an opposite muscle group," says Scott Rankin, C.S.C.S., a strength coach in Toronto. Train it and you'll be able to lift more weight during calf exercises and other lower-body moves.

Do it: Try the tibialis curl. Sit on a bench with your feet together and flat on the floor. Place a light dumbbell across your toes. Lift your toes off the floor as high as possible without raising your heels, then return to the starting position. Do three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions whenever you work your calves.

For your calves, balance on one foot on a step and hold a dumbbell in the hand opposite the leg on the step. Keeping the knee bent, rise onto the ball of your foot, then ease back down. Do three sets of calf raises. Work up to 25 repetitions per set.


The Girl Next Door's Favorite Muscles

For most of the day, especially in an office, there's only one exposed part of your body available for ogling: your forearms. They mean more to us women than you might think. We see strong forearms and think you can do everything: Fend off a mugger, build a house, and maintain a dexterous touch long enough to leave us extremely satisfied. With those veins--thick as rope and racing with blue blood--it's as if you're so full of life and strength that you might burst at the seams. So roll up those sleeves, baby, and let us girls have a look. --Nicole Beland, Men's Health's Girl Next Door



Muscle Guy Lou Schuler's advice: Forearms grow just fine in proportion to other muscles. But you can still emphasize forearm development with the proper grip for good muscle-building moves; try neutral-grip cable rows, wide-grip pullups, and underhand-grip bent-over rows.




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