Hi Tiger, A man has "ripped" or "shredded" muscles when they are well-defined and well-developed. Bodybuilders try to lower the percentage of their body fat so that the muscle striations show. In turn, striations are the tiny grooves of muscle across major muscle groups in a highly defined body. Words like "ripped", "shredded" and "washboard abs" are more commonly used in bodybuilding magazines and articles. Someone who has a fit, muscular and trim body is "buff". They may not be large in body structure, but have decent muscles that are noticeable. Many male models have buff bodies that exude a sense of proportion and strength. Yes, we do use "muscular" in the context of fitness, together with other fitness-related words such as "supple", "endurance", "cardiovascular", "calisthenics" and so on. In physiology, a person who packs on muscles easily is labelled a "mesomorph". A mesomorph has a large bone structure, large muscles and a naturally athletic physique. A "hunk" is a guy who is attractive, muscular, of a large build and sexually appealing. Perhaps this is the word that you are looking for. A "hot" guy is one who oozes sexual appeal and titillates others with their physique, so there is an element of sexual desire and feelings of lust here (A muscular and handsome guy may not necessarily be seen as hot by the ladies). Of course, a guy can be both "hot" and "hunky". Do take note that these are informal words though.

Hi Tiger. Your observations about this word are very perceptive. Until I read your question, I didn't realize that most people don't use the word muscular in casual conversation. But you're totally right, most don't! I'm not sure why, maybe because there are so many slang terms to describe the same thing, the word muscular might feel a bit formal or explicit in comparison, It's true for me as well...I would probably say, "He's in shape." or "He's cut." to mean he's muscular. It's fine to use muscular to describe someone. But you're right, it's more common / natural to use a term like hot or attractive to describe someone's appearance / sex appeal than it is to separate two specific aspects of their appearance and comment on those instead (like saying someone is handsome and muscular, which sounds a bit awkward). Hope this helps!