Return of the alpha-male!

Be it India’s fixation with Kareena Kapoor’s size-zero looks, or the worldwide frenzy around the ultra-thin models strutting down ramps, the female body has always managed to evoke emotions – from wonder to awe, to envy, desire, and even disgust. It makes you wonder: when was the last you salivated over a male body?

We mean, really salivated over a real man? A man you’d love to romance and love from the depths of your soul. Solid, dependable and drool worthy. None of that plastic virility and porn star physiques or androgynous bodies so characteristic of the nineties and the ramps. “The man of the moment is an urchin, a wraith or an underfed runt. The guys look chicken-chested, hollow-cheeked and undernourished,” lamented The New York Times a few months ago.

But trends are changing and according to experts, the real man is back! The Alpha-male: What does he look like? In our quest for perfection and six-pack abs, we’d almost forgotten. Answers fashion designer, Manav Gangwani, “He’s strong but not big. He’s lean and not the bone-showing skinny lad. He’s got the muscles but doesn’t look pumped-up. In short he has the well-toned real physique and looks like a man any girl will be proud to fall in love with.”

According to fashion historian Lydia Kamitsis, "Inevitably, now we're seeing a turn-around, which is not over-statedly virile but which is the sort of masculine image conveyed by western youngsters today."

Pitches in former model Rahul Dev, with his theory about body image that is not at all about muscles but about good looking muscles, “The trend world over is about a proportion between muscles and mass, that’s not just the ideal body image but also gives a definition to clothes that one wears. At the end of the day no one loves anorexic men, nor can one stand that bundle of muscles on the brink of tearing out of a shirt.”

So what is it that drives thousands of men to alter their bodies? The demands of fashion? Or the urge to emulate movie stars? Answers Rahul, “I think one leads to the other. When body-hugging T-shirts were considered the in thing, every one had those awkwardly bulging biceps.”

“Currently, lean and sleek trousers are in vogue in the male fashion scene. And this particular look cannot be carried well by models with those extremely protruding muscles. So to flaunt that fashion, they have to get that particular body type,” adds Manav.

Times, they are changing now. BananasMambo, one of Paris' top male model agencies, is for the first time in years receiving requests for models aged between 25 and 30, "or who look as if they're over 25." Manager Patricia Cadiou-Diehl says "We used to get requests for 17-year-olds, which was often a headache as you have to get special permits and parental agreements. Now, over the last few months, they want boys with bodies, not adolescents."

So, the verdict’s out. The men are back – a perfect mix of style and machismo. Girls, are you ready?

Do you want the Alpha-male looks?

1. “Do it in the right manner so that you don’t look like a body builder but a good-looking healthy human being who looks good with or without clothes,” says photographer Vikram Bawa.

2. “A right mix of aerobics, cardio including treadmill, cycling and ‘no’ rigorous iron pumping sessions can help attain this look, which makes us the ‘designer’s delight’, says model Sohail Khan.

3. Dr. Geetu Amarnani, Nutrition and Wellness expert, Kolmet Hospital gives some dietary and work out suggestions:

• Don’t go for a high protein diet, instead balance your diet in the following proportions:
40%-45%- Carbs
20%-30%- Protiens
5%-10%- Fat

• Just like the diet, the exercising has to be a combination of cardio and weight training targeted at toning down the body rather than making muscles for 4-5 days in a week is best to get a healthy and good looking body.