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12
“Looked Better Before”: Man’s Body Transformation Sparks Debate Between Men And Women
Olly Murs has transformed into a magazine-cover-worthy display of shredded muscles, but not everyone was exactly swooning over it.
The singer’s dramatic body makeover has sparked a fiery debate, with many women insisting they preferred his older “dad bod” look.
While most men praised his new physique, most women argued there’s such a thing as too toned, leaving Murs in an unexpected crossfire.
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Highlights
- Olly Murs’ ripped body transformation sparked a viral debate between men and women on social media.
- A poll showed most men admired his transformation, while most women preferred his softer, pre-gym "dad bod".
- Studies also suggest that women actually prefer less muscle on men than men think they should have.
Singer Olly Murs shared his dramatic body transformation on social media
Image credits: Olly Murs
On April 21, the singer Olly Murs, 40, took to social media to share his brand-new body transformation on Instagram. The star’s video showcases his ripped torso and toned arms along with a noticeable weight loss. His nutritionist, Greg, has also shared Murs’ 12-week fitness progress in a series of posts and videos on his profile.
The dramatic transformation was quickly picked up by online users, who posted it on other social media platforms. Unexpectedly, the transformation sparked a fiery debate among male and female users on what is considered attractive.
The photos were reposted on social media, sparking a debate on what is considered attractive for men and women
Image credits: greg_thenutritionist
Image credits: NameIsSpartacus
On the weekend, the singer’s photos were posted on X by a PhD student named William Costello, who added a poll, asking both male and female users to choose which photo they thought Murs looked better in.
The results? Quite surprising. At 42.6%, nearly half of the respondents who identified as male said they thought the singer looked better after the transformation. While women thought otherwise: 26.8% of respondents who identified as female said they preferred Murs’ “before” photo, and only 7% said he looked better with his shredded body.
While men praised Murs’ shredded body, women preferred the singer’s previous “dad bod”
Image credits: greg_thenutritionist
Image credits: greg_thenutritionist
The posts garnered 83 million views, with many wondering about the reasoning behind women’s preference for the “dad bod” over a ripped gym body.
A dad bod, a common term coined by the internet, is a male body type that is best described as “softly round.” It’s built upon the theory that once a man has found a mate and fathered a child, he doesn’t need to worry about maintaining a perfectly sculpted body. It also implies “comfort” for women.
The women on the platform were accused of “lying about [their preferences]”
The aesthetics of a man who poses gives them the ick. But if both were shirtless at a beach they’d obviously prefer the fit guy.
— shako (@shakoistsLog) April 26, 2025
The guy on the left could survive a famine, an infection, or a long hunting trip or war raid without food.
The ‘cut’ guy on the right is very vulnerable to resource shortages.
Women evolved to understand which male body types survive better.
— Geoffrey Miller (@primalpoly) April 26, 2025
Another X user who was convinced that women were “lying” about their preferences, reposted the poll, asking, “Why are women lying about this? Like, what’s the actual cause?”
One woman replied, “The left looks like he should lose a few pounds, but the right looks too harsh.”
Another chipped in, “Women don’t need ripped guys, dad bods are perfectly fine. We like that.”
One agreed, saying, “Muscles are good, but dad bod guys have muscles too. Can you lift a full cooler? That’s swoon-worthy.”
One user added that women and men “have different visual preferences”
Image credits: greg_thenutritionist
“let’s get a a burger?” v “are you really gonna eat that?”
— joel ⛈️ (@jhooks) April 26, 2025
One user explained: “He genuinely looked better before. I’m not saying he looks ugly after. But he achieved the male fantasy physique, and one thing that may surprise you is that women and men often have different visual preferences.”
“He’s more visibly toned in the after, but in the before he looks bigger, and sometimes, with someone that shredded, there can be too much of a good thing – ie, too much definition.”
“Generally, muscles look better and stronger and bigger to women when they have a little bit of padding on them, whereas men tend to value as close to zero body fat as possible where you can see all the muscle fibres,” another shared.
Some users linked perfectly chiseled bodies to personality traits
My take: Some women are so insecure/needy/lazy/selfish and will say that they don’t want a guy that “lives in the gym”.
— King Doggo Good Boi (@ipjunkie) April 26, 2025
Image credits: greg_thenutritionist
Others linked ripped bodies to personality traits. One user wrote, “after looks like an extreme personality, high-maintenance, not chill, the type to go on a marathon on a Sunday instead of going to the cinema.”
One man replied, “Women get the ick when a guy cuts too much or too into their fitness to this degree. Signals someone who is vain, won’t go out and let them enjoy eating ex. cheese and wine, and the former is likely stronger.”
have you ever seen the comparison of cover photos of when hugh jackman is on men’s magazines vs women’s magazines? the highly defined buffed out muscles are for men, mostly. pic.twitter.com/rif85IGvkU
— Katelyn Burns (@transscribe) April 27, 2025
Image credits: Olly Murs
“Former dude makes them feel safe, secure, and he’s able to have fun and isn’t vain,” he added.
Another joked, “‘let’s get a a burger?’ v. ‘are you really gonna eat that?’”
And one woman tried to explain the difference through another fiery debate between the two genders, saying, “You know how y’all hate when we get plastic surgery? This is the equivalent.”
Science says women prefer dad bods, even if men think they want more muscle
Image credits: greg_thenutritionist
Science has officially weighed in on the “dad bod” debate, and it seems soft and cuddly beats perfect abs nearly every time.
A 2000 study by Harvard Medical School found that while male college students aspired to bulk up by as much as 30 pounds of muscle, female students actually preferred men with about 15 to 30 pounds less muscle than guys thought was ideal. In other words, men were already closer to women’s ideal physique without even realizing it.
Women think they need to be thinner, thinking that men prefer much slimmer bodies than they actually do
View this post on Instagram
Another ironic twist came from a 2020 study published in the British Journal of Psychology, which showed that while men typically overestimate how muscular they need to be to impress women, women, in turn, misjudge how thin men want them to be, often believing that men prefer much slimmer body types than they actually do.
Online users reacted to Olly Murs’ dramatic body transformation
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What do you think ?
Becky Samuel 9 months ago (edited)
So the takeaway from this article for me is the level of denial from men around the subject. Women - "We prefer the before." Men - "No you don't."
Breadcrumb. 9 months ago
Men "Women wear those tight clothes to the gym for male attention". Women "no we don't" men "yes you do."
Load More Replies...
Ms.GB 9 months ago
Right! Someone said the left looks like he needs to lose a few pounds? Not to me. He looks more solid and strong in the left pic imo. Of course the most important thing is how he feels about himself but my personal preference would be the before body.
Load More Replies...
Earonn - 9 months ago
The problem was simply because some tate simp claimed that women would prefer the ripped version, women said no - and then men came to tell us that we were lying. Yes, guys, we are totally lying to make you look the way we do NOT prefer. That makes sense. Well, the usual s**t, really: men think they know what women think, women disagree, men think they know better than us.
ScootyPuffJr 9 months ago
I think it might turn women off because in our minds, it's the male equivalent of women who starve themselves, get tons of work done, and wear lots of contour makeup. People should do whatever makes them comfortable, but to some, it can reek of insecurity.
Chewie Baron 9 months ago
What you failed to mention in this entire article, is that Murs is married to a body builder that he met when he started to get in shape. Amelia (for that is her name) has been an inspiration to him to get this look.
Janelle Collard 9 months ago
The guy on the right? Too high maintenance. Forget donuts for breakfast, spending Sunday mornings in bed and chilling out. He'll be at the gym all the time to keep that body + will ignore SO/GF/wife. And probably criticize her food choices and not working out "enough."
kayteeisdabomb 9 months ago
In the before his face is softer, kinder. Also, a guy thats "ripped" will be spending a lot of time at the gym to keep that up, softer guy has more time for being together.
antoinette maldari 9 months ago
His face definitely changed in the ripped version.
Load More Replies... Breadcrumb. 9 months ago
I'm tired of people using "evolution" for arguments between the sexes and to justify sexuality and whats attractive. I really don't think there is one mold that fits everyone.
Ravioli 2 months ago (edited)
The only mold that fits most everyone is that the majority of women seeks safety and the majority of men seeks fertility, only that's wildly different for everyone, for someone safety can be something as obvious as a high paying job or something as crazy as purple hair, fertility can be something as normal as wide hips or as unrelated as a twink f****h
Load More Replies...
Tabitha 9 months ago (edited)
“But he achieved the male fantasy physique” says it all. He’s definitely very much impressed all the other GUYS out there. Problem is, they’re not the demographic he was aiming for. Here’s a hint for all the men saying the women commenters are lying: Women aren’t impressed by the stuff that impresses other men. The reason is simple. Because we’re not men. Why not try to find out what actually DOES impress us? All you have to do is ask, then STFU and listen to our answers. Then you can stop impressing the guys and actually impress some women instead. It’ll help you lose that s****y attitude, for one thing.
Scott Rackley 9 months ago
Men: Tell us which body type you prefer. Women: Tells them. Men: Why are you lying? FFS
LillieMean 9 months ago
I would say something in between, but more before the picture. The personal appearance ideal that doesn't need to be met is the long muscles that you see on dancers, for example. Endurance more than strength. That turns me on more than just muscle mass. I want muscles that tell of strength, speed and flexibility. A small dad bod is good.
TTorrest Author 9 months ago (edited)
I think it's mostly the tiny short-shorts that are turning me off more than anything. He looks like a strong, regular GUY in the first pic and a petite, curvy-legged fem in the 2nd. Because in the chin-up pic at the end of the article... he looks hawt!
Robin Roper 9 months ago
I think somewhere in the middle would be most attractive, but that's my opinion. The "after" bod would take far too much maintenance.
Nebojša G. 2 months ago
It's not that women are "lying" per se. I definitely understand that there is such a thing as too much muscle, and I can understand why a woman would see Olly Murs as shading into the "excessively shredded" zone, but just barely. But the reality is that women are absolutely vicious towards themselves when it comes to beauty standards, and they're terrified of being rejected by men for not being beautiful enough, so they have an intense desire to believe themselves morally superior, like they don't care about looks at all. Realizing how much they find physical beauty, power, success and status s******y arousing in a man is extremely depressing for a lot of women, because it makes them feel like immature and stupid little brats. This is especially true if they've been mistreated and a****d by conventionally attractive men. They NEED to believe they aren't attracted to those kinds of men. Which is of course nonsense. We're all disgusting superficial h***y animals, not enlightened elves.
Nebojša G. 2 months ago
Oh, and this is quite distinct from the rational choice to abstain from relationships with men who seem like they might be jerks, even though they are attractive. I absolutely understand why a woman would assume that a shredded gym-bro might be a miserable person to spend time with. They might even by right.
Load More Replies... 
Toika Gao 9 months ago
The problem is, if you are a man and let others know that you go completely bananas for a woman's body, it will be absolutely ok. But if you are a woman and express the same level of appreciation for a man's body, you will be called a whóre.
Astrid 9 months ago
Not in the uk, we're free to make such comments without being called that. Other counties too no doubt.
Load More Replies...
Alex Schneider 9 months ago
getting a gymbod shows you work hard to get your goal,you may not compromise - the dadbod shows you enjoy life take it slow- and this is what I prefer- cause I like to enjoy life and intimacy enjoyful and slow not working hard to get the max, scrubbing my skin off .. so please don't get trapped in the illusion of the perfect "bodyform of happiness"women lived ever since..just stick to health in which shape it may come
Royal Stray 9 months ago
No idea who this is so just by looks, while the after is absolutely more muscular he looks way thinner, he kind of has the body-type where he'd look better with bulkier muscles rather than being shredded. I mean I prefer the Wolverine poster over the one with the shirt because it makes him look way bigger, and that kind of fits more in my opinion. He still looks good though. Some people look better slim and ripped, some people look better with larger muscles that make them look broader. It's just that some things look better for some body-types. Obviously personal preferences do play a certain part too.
Maples Dad 9 months ago
Pretty sure he's done this for him. Why do people always say 'it's for this or that?'
Chris the Bobcat 9 months ago
Oh for fvcks sake... The guy likes his new body and his opinions are his own. If he's happy, fine. Women have their own opinions and that's fine too. Why are people so d**n critical of everyone else? Just live happily and let everyone else be.
tori Ohno 9 months ago
Don't worry ladies, men who get shredded like that are doing to be attractive to other men (on average). I doubt he cares what women think about him, he wants to date the cute fitness dude working out beside him.
Jessie 4 months ago
He actually has a gf who’s also a bodybuilder, he worked out to keep up with her
Load More Replies... Becky Samuel 9 months ago (edited)
So the takeaway from this article for me is the level of denial from men around the subject. Women - "We prefer the before." Men - "No you don't."
Breadcrumb. 9 months ago
Men "Women wear those tight clothes to the gym for male attention". Women "no we don't" men "yes you do."
Load More Replies... Ms.GB 9 months ago
Right! Someone said the left looks like he needs to lose a few pounds? Not to me. He looks more solid and strong in the left pic imo. Of course the most important thing is how he feels about himself but my personal preference would be the before body.
Load More Replies... Earonn - 9 months ago
The problem was simply because some tate simp claimed that women would prefer the ripped version, women said no - and then men came to tell us that we were lying. Yes, guys, we are totally lying to make you look the way we do NOT prefer. That makes sense. Well, the usual s**t, really: men think they know what women think, women disagree, men think they know better than us.
ScootyPuffJr 9 months ago
I think it might turn women off because in our minds, it's the male equivalent of women who starve themselves, get tons of work done, and wear lots of contour makeup. People should do whatever makes them comfortable, but to some, it can reek of insecurity.
Chewie Baron 9 months ago
What you failed to mention in this entire article, is that Murs is married to a body builder that he met when he started to get in shape. Amelia (for that is her name) has been an inspiration to him to get this look.
Janelle Collard 9 months ago
The guy on the right? Too high maintenance. Forget donuts for breakfast, spending Sunday mornings in bed and chilling out. He'll be at the gym all the time to keep that body + will ignore SO/GF/wife. And probably criticize her food choices and not working out "enough."
kayteeisdabomb 9 months ago
In the before his face is softer, kinder. Also, a guy thats "ripped" will be spending a lot of time at the gym to keep that up, softer guy has more time for being together.
antoinette maldari 9 months ago
His face definitely changed in the ripped version.
Load More Replies... Breadcrumb. 9 months ago
I'm tired of people using "evolution" for arguments between the sexes and to justify sexuality and whats attractive. I really don't think there is one mold that fits everyone.
Ravioli 2 months ago (edited)
The only mold that fits most everyone is that the majority of women seeks safety and the majority of men seeks fertility, only that's wildly different for everyone, for someone safety can be something as obvious as a high paying job or something as crazy as purple hair, fertility can be something as normal as wide hips or as unrelated as a twink f****h
Load More Replies... Tabitha 9 months ago (edited)
“But he achieved the male fantasy physique” says it all. He’s definitely very much impressed all the other GUYS out there. Problem is, they’re not the demographic he was aiming for. Here’s a hint for all the men saying the women commenters are lying: Women aren’t impressed by the stuff that impresses other men. The reason is simple. Because we’re not men. Why not try to find out what actually DOES impress us? All you have to do is ask, then STFU and listen to our answers. Then you can stop impressing the guys and actually impress some women instead. It’ll help you lose that s****y attitude, for one thing.
Scott Rackley 9 months ago
Men: Tell us which body type you prefer. Women: Tells them. Men: Why are you lying? FFS
LillieMean 9 months ago
I would say something in between, but more before the picture. The personal appearance ideal that doesn't need to be met is the long muscles that you see on dancers, for example. Endurance more than strength. That turns me on more than just muscle mass. I want muscles that tell of strength, speed and flexibility. A small dad bod is good.
TTorrest Author 9 months ago (edited)
I think it's mostly the tiny short-shorts that are turning me off more than anything. He looks like a strong, regular GUY in the first pic and a petite, curvy-legged fem in the 2nd. Because in the chin-up pic at the end of the article... he looks hawt!
Robin Roper 9 months ago
I think somewhere in the middle would be most attractive, but that's my opinion. The "after" bod would take far too much maintenance.
Nebojša G. 2 months ago
It's not that women are "lying" per se. I definitely understand that there is such a thing as too much muscle, and I can understand why a woman would see Olly Murs as shading into the "excessively shredded" zone, but just barely. But the reality is that women are absolutely vicious towards themselves when it comes to beauty standards, and they're terrified of being rejected by men for not being beautiful enough, so they have an intense desire to believe themselves morally superior, like they don't care about looks at all. Realizing how much they find physical beauty, power, success and status s******y arousing in a man is extremely depressing for a lot of women, because it makes them feel like immature and stupid little brats. This is especially true if they've been mistreated and a****d by conventionally attractive men. They NEED to believe they aren't attracted to those kinds of men. Which is of course nonsense. We're all disgusting superficial h***y animals, not enlightened elves.
Nebojša G. 2 months ago
Oh, and this is quite distinct from the rational choice to abstain from relationships with men who seem like they might be jerks, even though they are attractive. I absolutely understand why a woman would assume that a shredded gym-bro might be a miserable person to spend time with. They might even by right.
Load More Replies... Toika Gao 9 months ago
The problem is, if you are a man and let others know that you go completely bananas for a woman's body, it will be absolutely ok. But if you are a woman and express the same level of appreciation for a man's body, you will be called a whóre.
Astrid 9 months ago
Not in the uk, we're free to make such comments without being called that. Other counties too no doubt.
Load More Replies... Alex Schneider 9 months ago
getting a gymbod shows you work hard to get your goal,you may not compromise - the dadbod shows you enjoy life take it slow- and this is what I prefer- cause I like to enjoy life and intimacy enjoyful and slow not working hard to get the max, scrubbing my skin off .. so please don't get trapped in the illusion of the perfect "bodyform of happiness"women lived ever since..just stick to health in which shape it may come
Royal Stray 9 months ago
No idea who this is so just by looks, while the after is absolutely more muscular he looks way thinner, he kind of has the body-type where he'd look better with bulkier muscles rather than being shredded. I mean I prefer the Wolverine poster over the one with the shirt because it makes him look way bigger, and that kind of fits more in my opinion. He still looks good though. Some people look better slim and ripped, some people look better with larger muscles that make them look broader. It's just that some things look better for some body-types. Obviously personal preferences do play a certain part too.
Maples Dad 9 months ago
Pretty sure he's done this for him. Why do people always say 'it's for this or that?'
Chris the Bobcat 9 months ago
Oh for fvcks sake... The guy likes his new body and his opinions are his own. If he's happy, fine. Women have their own opinions and that's fine too. Why are people so d**n critical of everyone else? Just live happily and let everyone else be.
tori Ohno 9 months ago
Don't worry ladies, men who get shredded like that are doing to be attractive to other men (on average). I doubt he cares what women think about him, he wants to date the cute fitness dude working out beside him.
Jessie 4 months ago
He actually has a gf who’s also a bodybuilder, he worked out to keep up with her
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