Building Your Aesthetic Physique (guys tier-list)
If your goal is to look more attractive to your girl (send this to your bf) or to build a Toji type of physique, you got to stop training everything equally.
You’ll get there faster by prioritising muscles that change first-glance ratios, not low-impact muscles.
👉 If you have no time I got you: Build back and shoulders first, then arms, and the rest. If you want to know more read on.
🔥 For those who don’t know me. I’ve trained for 10 years and designed, tested, and refined dozens of programs for myself and friends. I hope to genuinely share my knowledge and experience on what actually works.
👉 Aesthetic ratio targets
- Waist-to-chest ratio (0.85-0.66): lower reads more attractive for men. Widen shoulders and upper chest while keeping waist lean to improve it.
- Shoulder-to-waist ratio (1.618:1): broader shoulders relative to waist map to higher ratings of attractiveness and perceived strength. That’s delts plus lats.
- Waist-to-hip ratio: around <0.80 shows up as most attractive in 3D scans, which aligns with keeping the waist lean rather than thickening obliques.
👉 S-Tier: Delts, Lats, Upper Chest
Why S-Tier: These muscles shift the two big visual ratios tied to male attractiveness ratings: a lower waist-to-chest ratio and broader shoulder-to-waist cues. Observers also judge male bodies mostly by upper-body strength signals, which these areas broadcast. Meaning, wider shoulders and upper torso make the same waist look smaller and more athletic.
Best moves to build them:
- Delts: lateral raises plus overhead presses beyond 90 degrees elbow bend to hit medial/anterior heads.
- Upper chest: low-incline presses around 30-60 degrees, paired with flat pressing or upper to lower flies
- Lats: mix vertical pulls and rows (elbow close to the body) to target the lower and upper lats.
👉 A-Tier: Triceps, Upper-Back “Frame” (rear delts, mid-traps), Glutes, Biceps
Why A-Tier: Overall arm size is contributes to overall density of the upper body. But triceps drive most of arm circumference, reinforcing the upper-body strength cue. Rear delts and mid-traps round the shoulder cap and posture the V-taper from side and back views. Glutes are the lower-body exception that consistently matters in attractiveness data.
Best moves to build them:
- Triceps: prioritise the long head of the tricep as it is the largest head of the tricep, followed by lateral and medial heads. The only exercise I found that priorities the long head while working all 3 heads is the tricep cable extension.
- Biceps: preacher curls and hammer curls. Preachers build the biceps heads for the “peak,” while hammers grow the brachialis to thicken the arm.
- Upper-back frame: horizontal rows with elbows out plus rear-delt flies or face pulls for back thickness; this also indirectly trains the neck for a more masculine look.
- Glutes: both squats and hip thrusts; when volume is matched they grow glutes similarly, while squats add more quads and adductors for balanced legs.
👉 B-Tier: Quads, Hamstrings + Spinal erectors, Calves, Forearms, Abs
Why B-Tier: These complete proportions and shows overall athleticism. But move the key torso ratios less than S- and A-tiers. Most girls prefer leg near average to slightly above average proportions rather than max size, so don’t overtrain your legs.
Best moves to build them:
- Quads: a squat pattern plus a leg extension to cover all the heads of the quads.
- Hamstrings + spinal erectors: seated or lying leg curls for hitting all 3 heads of the hamstrings and SLDL/ RDL for hamstrings + spinal erectors.
- Calves, forearms: useful finishers for balance, lower impact on first-glance appeal.
- Abs: train and progressively overload them to show better at low body fat. Abs are built in the gym and revealed in the kitchen.
👉 Summary
- Overbuild S-Tier first to change how you’re judged at a glance.
- Fill A-Tier to reinforce width, posture, arms, and posterior appeal without killing the V-taper.
- Train B-Tier for symmetry so your legs match your torso and the whole package reads “athletic,” not top-heavy.
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One thing I’ve learned is that building an aesthetic physique isn’t about training every muscle equally but focusing on those that shift your body's visual ratios the most. The shoulder-to-waist ratio, especially as seen in physiques like Toji's, is crucial for first-glance appeal. From personal experience, training the delts with overhead presses and lateral raises reshaped my shoulder width, dramatically changing how my torso looked. Incorporating low-incline presses helped target the upper chest, rounding out the look without sacrificing balance. I also found that adding vertical pulls and rows focusing on the lats creates that sought-after V-taper by broadening the upper back effectively. While training legs is important for overall athleticism, overemphasizing them can detract from the upper body's visual impact, so I kept my leg workouts moderate, focusing instead on maintaining proportionality. A tip I picked up is prioritizing the cable tricep extensions to develop the long head of the triceps, adding noticeable arm thickness, which complements the wide shoulders. For supporting muscles like the rear delts and mid-traps, face pulls and horizontal rows helped improve my posture and upper-back frame, reinforcing the V-taper from all angles. Remember, aesthetics come from ratios and balance, not just muscle size. Keeping your waist lean while emphasizing shoulder and upper chest width makes your torso look athletic and strong. This approach has worked great for me and many friends I’ve coached, so if you’re aiming for a Toji-style physique, focus on these priorities first and build from there.
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