Short guys ideal body type

[Rice]

I apologize if this seems like a weird post but most my friends IRL are either tall or don't bother with getting laid. But I've noticed a trend where the only guys I know my height range (5'2-5'6) who do well with women are dense powerlifter type dudes with a BMI of 26-28. The celebrity fitness models like Jeff Nippard are also in this category.

Its often been repeated that the athletic "brad pitt fight club body" is the ideal, but this concept often comes from tall men (including Andy and GLL). My theory is that you need a certain amount of mass to be "jacked" and if ur shorter this means a higher FFMI. Furthermore, as a short dude its less likely to appear too intimidating anyway, which is what I think is the main reason too much muscle is often counterproductive.

Regardless of how I look now, I have began using Online Dating, working on getting better pictures, and chatting with girls. I don't want to fall into the same trap I had in the past where I would wait until I achieve X goal before starting (certain salary, bodyfat percentage, bench press, other excuses). However, I do want to achieve an "Elite body" for my height and I am wondering if that entails being leaner or being bigger than I am currently.

I am 5'4 and around 135 lbs. I usually get called skinny or fit by most people, but I've really only been out in the world for the past few months. I am also the only guy I know right now with my stats (thanks to my limited social circle) so maybe my issues with women is due to poor sense of fashion or game. If you are in the 5'2-5'6 range or know somebody who is, and their body type, how has life been at various physiques? Would it make a big difference if I gained 20 lbs?

 

[nipple-flip]

I'm 5'4, 147lb, high-teens-to-low-20s bodyfat

I'm in a relationship right now, so not currently testing what women like best, but here's what I noticed over a roughly two-year period before deciding to get cuffed:
- started at 150lb, cut to 135lb with little to no muscle loss. this drastically improved my dating results. at my leanest, I was likely around 14% bodyfat at 135lb.
- going from 135lb and 14% to 145 and around 18% improved my results as well. this equates roughly to gaining half fat and half lean tissue

from those observations we can draw the following conclusions:
- gaining pure fat for the sake of being bigger won't help you. if muscle mass is held constant, leaner is still better.
- gaining some fat and some muscle may help you. it helped me. I think you are onto something: being more massive probably helps shorter guys more than it helps taller guys

take those observations and conclusions with a grain of salt. hard to know how much of my dating improvement came from physique changes and how much of it came from working on my mental health and confidence, expanding my social circle, becoming a more interesting person, etc. I was working on all of those things concurrently with exercise during the time period when I made my observations.

at your height and physique, I would recommend cutting for like 4-6 weeks, taking a few online dating pictures, then bulking for a while. as far as I can tell, being lean helps disproportionately in pictures, and being big helps disproportionately in real life. there might be an upper limit to how much bodyfat you can get away with though. I would try to stay below the low 20s %. bulking from 15 to 20 then cutting from 20 to 15 in perpetuity might be a good answer, until you're big enough to hold onto a good amount of size below 15% bodyfat.

 

[Rice]

at your height and physique, I would recommend cutting for like 4-6 weeks, taking a few online dating pictures, then bulking for a while. as far as I can tell, being lean helps disproportionately in pictures, and being big helps disproportionately in real life. there might be an upper limit to how much bodyfat you can get away with though. I would try to stay below the low 20s %. bulking from 15 to 20 then cutting from 20 to 15 in perpetuity might be a good answer, until you're big enough to hold onto a good amount of size below 15% bodyfat.

This is also what I suspect was the case, so I guess it comes down to if wanna prioritize online dating or approaches. Though I am leaning towards bulk cus online dating still involves meeting up in person. In your experiences do girls care about how much you lift?

 

[Svadhishthana]

If you are trying to get laid, you should be prioritizing online, and therefore leanness. Some women will be turned off by your shortness, some will wish that you were more jacked - but the sheer volume of dates you get online means you'll get more total women in bed, faster, even if a higher percentage of your dates go poorly.

Being stronger - having high numbers in the gym, being able to throw her around, etc - is a turn on for a lot of girls. But it isn't nearly as important as just being confident and looking good. If you wanna be a champion powerlifter, then mass is essential. But if you want girls to touch you on the penis, I'd prioritize the six pack.

Personally, I think your body is already good enough to get good results online if you just took better pictures.

 

[nipple-flip]

this is a situation where you can have your cake and eat it too, as long as it fits your macros. just get lean, take the pictures you need, then gain weight while enjoying better online results faster with good physique pictures. nobody will question it as long as you don't go over 20%. no need to overthink anything.

 

[Squilliam]

Personally, I think your body is already good enough to get good results online if you just took better pictures.

Agreed. He's got a really nice body. I think he can easily get some online lays with some more work