Many people have heard the term, “a body like a Greek god,” but never really thought about what this means. What exactly was the Grecian ideal body?

Contrary to what some might think, the Grecian ideal body was not a bodybuilding physique. The perfect body was not massive and “ripped” like Mr. Universe. Looking at Greek statues, one can see that the Grecian ideal body looked like a swimmer’s or a boxer’s body.

The most important thing about the Grecian ideal physique is that everything is in perfect proportion. The shoulders should be considerably wider than the waistline, for instance. And the arms, neck and calves should be similar in size. There’s also a relationship between the size of the thighs and the neck, and so on.

Many modern bodybuilders have certainly got very impressive and strong physiques, but they are too big to have the Grecian ideal body. The proportions just don’t match.

So how do you get the Grecian ideal physique? Well, if you want a body like a statue, you should start to think like a sculptor! Instead of hammers, chisels, rasps and sandpaper, you will use weights, cardio and nutrition as your tools.

The concept of phasing is very important. When a sculptor makes a statue, does he do exactly the same kind of work on it for months on end? Of course not. He uses a whole range of tools and techniques, each one at the correct time. He starts by carving out the basic form from a chunk of stone, then he adds details, and finally he polishes it.

To get the Grecian ideal body, you should phase your training in a similar way. The first stage is to develop your basic V-shape, in other words wide shoulders and narrow waist. Once that is achieved, start paying more attention to details like individual body parts. And once all your parts match the ideal proportions, you should switch your focus to increasing definition and putting the finishing touches on your body. When you have finished, your body will shine just like a polished statue.

A mistake many people make is they jump into the final phase too soon. They try polishing their body with so-called “toning” and “defining” exercises before they have even got the basic shape right. That would be like a sculptor trying to turn a block of stone into a finished statue using only sandpaper. Would it ever work? I doubt it. But even if it did work, it would take a lot longer than if he had gone about it the right way.