How to Determine If You Have Broad Shoulders (2024)

FAQs

How to Determine If You Have Broad Shoulders? ›

If your collarbone is more comprehensive than your waist, you can say that you have broad shoulders. But in terms of bone structure, you must have a narrow pelvis.

Instruct your friend to place the end of the measuring tape at the place where your shoulder meets the top of your arm, or, the boniest part of your shoulder. From there, holding the tape taut, they should stretch the tape straight across to the tip of your other shoulder blade. The measurement is your shoulder width.

An easy way to tell is you have broad shoulders is to look at your shoulder width relative to the rest of your body's proportions. Take a look at your upper body without a top on, if it looks like your upper body is a well-defined V silhouette then it's likely you would be considered to have broad shoulders.

Normal Shoulders: 1.32. Broad Shoulders: 1.38. Head-Turning Broad Shoulders: 1.42. Crowd-Gathering Broad Shoulders: 1.47+

Shoulder width can be changed to a certain degree. You can't change your bone structure, which is determined mostly by genetics. This includes the width of the collarbones, an important part of shoulder width. However, you can build up and develop muscular shoulders.

An Archives of Sexual Behavior study reveals that women are most attracted to muscular men whose shoulders measure 1.6 times the size of their waists.

Your ears should line up with your shoulders, that means no leaning forward. Your shoulders should be pulled back and sit in the middle of their sockets. Some people have a habit of protracting (or rounding) their shoulders. Your feet should rest flat on the floor.

The clavicle is a bone that lies horizontally that connects your chest (sternum) to your shoulder blade. So you can be skinny with broad shoulders if you have long clavicle bones but a narrow pelvis in terms of bone structure.

What is an inverted triangle body shape? Women with an inverted triangle body have broader shoulders than the hips, with little to no waist definition. Broad shoulders, chest, and back narrow hips and bottom, little to no waist definition, beautiful, shapely legs, athletic-looking silhouette.

Your shoulders or bust are larger than your hips.

Just to be sure, check the numbers: Your shoulder or bust measurements are more than 5 percent bigger than your hip measurement. For example, if your shoulders measure 36 inches, your hips will be 34 1/4 inches or smaller.

How broad are the average man's shoulders? ›

Men, on average, have a 16.3-inch biacromial breadth in the 20-29 age group. It remains the same until they turn 50. Men see a 0.2-inch drop in their shoulder width as they enter the 50-59 age group.

A study by Cambridge University of more than 700 women found broad shoulders were the most attractive male asset. Why? Not only do big shoulders make you look strong but the wider you are up top, the thinner you appear at the waist, creating that V-shape that drives her wild.

There is no difference in meaning but it's possible that one or the other are preferable in certain collocations. "to have broad shoulders" also has a figurative meaning to describe someone who has a great capacity to accept responsibility and/or criticism.

Their body shape begins to change as their shoulders broaden and they gain weight and muscle. A growth spurt usually happens between ages 12 and 15.

Delts (Shoulders)

They go nicely with the chest, arm and back muscles to give that powerful upper-body look. Bulk them out with shoulder exercises such as the overhead presses, front raises, upright rows, or an incline press. That's what they're there for.

According to recent studies, the most attractive male body shape is a muscular upper body. When asked to rate images of shirtless guys, women consistently found the ones with the stronger looking, more muscular men to be more attractive.

Inverted triangle body shape - Also known as V shape – broad shoulders that are wider than your waist, hips, and legs.

V-necks, scoop-necks and collarless blouses are great as they divert the attention toward your collarbones and chest area instead. Most sleeves look great on the body, for example fitted sleeves, raglans and loose and long dolman sleeves can make shoulders appear smaller.

Offset your upper body with volume below: wide-leg pants; fuller skirts. Look for details that draw the eye up and down, not across—vee or scoop necks, vertical embellishments, long scarves and necklaces. Choose soft shoulders, raglan sleeves, halters—anything that isn't crisp and squared-off.

Be intelligent or shrewd; have good sense or good judgment.

Do rounded shoulders make you look smaller? ›

Rounded shoulders give you a hunched appearance, making you seem shorter and rounder. It also causes neck and upper back pain.

Broad shoulders make your waistline look smaller, but the downside is less contrast between your waists and hips. Wearing a belt over loose-fitted dresses and skirts helps define the waistline. Likewise, peplum tops or tops with corset-like lace-up detailing can achieve the same visual effect.

Pear Shape

People with this shape have extra fat in the hip and thigh area. It's more common among women, and it may be part of the reason they often live longer than men. That could be because belly fat, more common in men, is linked to more health problems than lower-body fat.

What to avoid. In general, avoid wearing off-the-shoulder and boat necklines. These style necklines can be tricky to wear when you have broad shoulders, because it can bring too much focus to your shoulder area which can lend to them appearing even broader, creating lack of balance within your body shape.

Both the Hourglass and Trapezoid are fortunate to naturally have broad shoulders and chest, which means you don't need any of the extra embellishments or construction details like shoulder pads and wide V-necks to strengthen this area.

Reason #2: You Look Bigger When You Are Lean

If you have body fat over your shoulders, they will appear flat with little roundness. The more round your shoulders and the leaner they are, the more striking the shape will be.

Hourglass body shape is the most popular and desired body shape by women for which they practise extensive exercises and workouts. This body shape is all about equal hips and bust measurements and waists narrower than bust and hips.

Multiple studies confirm that women are more attracted to men with large, muscular shoulders — perhaps because they're indicative of his status and potential to become a dad. These studies explain why men have to carry the weight of the world — well, you know where.

An 18-inch shoulder width for an adult male would generally be considered on the broader side. However, it's important to note that what is considered "broad" can vary.

It's possible to build the fronts of your shoulders (anterior deltoids) up to 5 times the size of the average untrained man, and it's possible to build the sides of your shoulders up to 3 times the size of the average untrained guy.

Do broad shoulders mean more testosterone? ›

Wider shoulders

If you notice a guy who has never stepped inside a gym but still has broad shoulders and an “inverted triangle” upper body shape, his body produces higher amounts of testosterone than normal.

The primary cause of broad shoulders is genetics. Genetics determines the length of your clavicles. If this bone happens to be a bit longer than the average, you will have the appearance of broader shoulders.

It feels good to rest your head on their chest or shoulder and relax, forgetting all the worries and tiredness of the day. Guys love this feeling too. This small gesture shows you trust him and feel safe with him. Holding you close makes him feel like he is protecting you from the world.

A V-neck is the best neckline for broad shoulders because it elongates the body by creating a vertical line down the chest.

Growth charts show that majority of guys grow just a little after the ages of 18. In rare cases, some people may hit puberty in their late teens and continue to grow into their early twenties. The reason most guys stop growing at this age is because their growth plates fuse shortly after puberty.

Changes in Boys

The growth spurt of boys is, on average, about 2 years later than that of girls. By age 16, most boys have stopped growing, but their muscles will continue to develop.

The clavicle is the last bone in the body to stop growing in lenght. The growth plates in the clavicle fuse around the age of 25 and then it stops growing.

V-Taper is heavily influenced by genetics but you can give nature a helping hand by maxing out your latissimus dorsi muscles. Developing your back can be challenging to say the least.

The V-shape or line is located where the obliques meet the transversus abdominis muscles. This line can be a physical display of hard work in the gym and discipline in the kitchen. To develop V-cut abs, target your lower abs and obliques.

The Adonis belt – sometimes called Apollo's belt – refers to two V-shaped muscular grooves on the abdominal muscles alongside the hips. This feature of the abdominal muscles takes its name from Adonis, the legendary god of fertility, youth, and beauty.

What muscles are the hardest to grow? ›

What muscles develop the fastest? Phasic muscles like the pectorals, rhomboid muscles, glutes, and the trapezius muscles.

Muscle does not weigh more than fat — but it does take up less space on your body, which is why you might look leaner after building muscle even if your weight doesn't change.

The average shoulder width for 18-year-old people assigned female at birth is about 14 inches or 35 centimeters. For the average 18-year-old female, the bicacromial or shoulder width is about 14 inches or 35 cm. For comparison, the average biacromial width is about 15 inches or 39 cm. for males of the same age.

18″ shoulders, if you are measuring like garment makers do, is an XXL size. It is quite possible for a woman/girl to have an XX-large frame that is excessively thin. It is also possible for the upper back to be deeply rounded/humped, making the measured shoulder width a larger number without any extra visual width.

The final phase of skeletal growth in boys is a broadening of the chest and shoulders. This generally finishes around the age of 20. Boys' muscles go through a phase of rapid development which girls miss out on. Our muscles are made up of fibres.

The human body doesn't gain the same amount of size in all areas. As an example, the shoulder-to-shoulder measurement of a 32 inch bust is 14 inches. Contrast that to a 40 inch bust, which has a shoulder-to-shoulder measurement of 16 inches.

If you consider absolute size, then broad shoulders start at 130 cm (50–51 inch) depending on the size of the frame. That is the circumference of the shoulders.

Average Female Shoulder Width

The biacromial or shoulder breadth of an average 18-year-old girl is roughly 35 cm or 14 inches. For males of the same age, the typical biacromial diameter is approximately 39 cm or 15 inches.

17″ is about average for a 6′ man. That's measured from “bony crest to bony crest.”

Is 19 inch shoulder good? ›

Your shoulders are quite good not too much not too little. Anything above 50cm would look extremely masculine anything below 48cm can be pretty feminine your at a good place. It also depends on if your shoulders are 90-degree angle or if they're drooped which can change the aesthetic.

The pear body shape is characterised by large hips which are wider than the bust and shoulders. This makes the body appear like a pear shape.

Diamond. If you have broader hips than shoulders, a narrow bust, and a fuller waistline, you have what's called a diamond body shape.