> A bunch of guys got furious that women did not appreciate Olly’s gains<p>Those are not real "gains", he looks like a chicken with muscles in the second photo, maybe a chicken that can lift some weights but still a chicken. I'm a male, if it counts.
The reverse effect is also interesting: I think what women think men go for in a woman is very different from whan men actually prefer. Reminds me of Seinfeld's The Fix-Up episode: "Who cares about eyebrows"!
I don't think you can get much of an accurate answer over whether women prefer buff men from this. He's doing a pose which makes him look tiny in comparison, skinny with oversized arms. The lighting doesn't help either, it makes him look balder and his face look older. Also he's got some decent muscle in the before picture, just a higher bodyfat %. I'd be interested to know what the results would look like if it was more of a recomp where he was closer to his starting weight but with more mass, rather than a straight cut.
A man with no body fat is at high risk of death during a severe infection. Women might instinctively pick up on that. A dead man can’t provide or protect.
It was my long term observation - the buffed guys in movies and video games are for other men to look at and admire. They are in games and movies targeted at men. Movies targeted at women have different male physicality.<p>Gym is something men do to compete with other men and look good to other men. It has zero to do with what women like.<p>But when I wrote that in comments, invariably, men felt offended and angry.
I generally agree with the points being made so this is just for added context:<p>His wife is a fitness influencer and bodybuilder who has been leading his training.<p>Not sure how that impacts things overall but think it interesting and relevant.