Muscleman may denote any man with well-developed muscles, in particular a

bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuse ...

. In art-related and anatomical contexts, the term is also used for a model in wax (or, in modern times, of unbreakable plastic material) showing the muscles of a man.Roberta Panzanelli, ed., ''Ephemeral Bodies: Wax Sculpture and the Human Figure, with a translation of Julius von Schlosser's History of Portraiture in Wax'' (Getty Publications, 2008), p. 277. Such a figure showing the muscles of the human body without skin is also called

écorché An ''écorché'' () is a figure drawn, painted, or sculpted showing the muscles of the body without skin, normally as a figure study for another work or as an exercise for a student artist. The Renaissance-era architect, theorist and all-around R ...

In popular culture

''Muscleman'' is the translated title of Japanese manga series ''

Kinnikuman is a Japanese manga series created by the duo Yoshinori Nakai and Takashi Shimada, known as Yudetamago. It follows Suguru Kinniku, a superhero who must win a wrestling tournament to retain the title of prince of Planet Kinniku. ...

''.

M.U.S.C.L.E. Kinkeshi (キン消し, lit. "Kin''niku''Eraser") is an extensive and popular line of collectible erasers, an instance of the modern Japanese popular culture institution of keshi. The keshi it includes are monochromatic and derived from the ''K ...

was a line of related collectible toy figures produced in the U.S. from 1985-1988.

Notes

{{Reflist Bodybuilding Visual arts