If a guy is trying to amp up his attractiveness by working out, what areas of the body should he focus on? What do women notice and want? And how much of that can I get without any kind of surgery or dangerous potions?

--Office Bod

If a woman says to you, "You're like family to me," it shouldn't be because you have arms like her sister.

Women seem to go for the body shape that evolutionary psychologists Rebecca Burch and Laura Johnsen refer to as "Captain Dorito." This describes the golden triangle seen in cartoonishly masculinized male superhero bodies: broad shoulders leading down into a small tight waist and butt.

As for why women might have evolved to prefer this body type, evolutionary psychologist David Buss explains in "Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind" that ancestral women were obviously better off with a "physically formidable" partner, able to protect them and their children. The inner biochemical landscape of physical formidability is high testosterone. Accordingly, Buss notes that, in men, high testosterone is associated with a very masculine body and facial features (like a square jaw and more pronounced cheekbones).

Noting that high levels of testosterone compromise the immune system, Buss cites psychologist Victor S. Johnston's observation that only males who are very healthy can "afford" to produce high levels of testosterone during their development. The bodies of less healthy males need to suppress T production so they can hang on to the limited immune resources they have.

"If Johnston's argument is correct," Buss adds, women's preference for masculine features is "a preference for a healthy male." And interestingly, in nations where overall health is poor, women show an especially strong preference for more masculine faces. The same goes for women who are more easily yucked out by cues to pathogen-causing diseases -- substances and things that could contain infectious microorganisms, like poo, sexual fluids, and dead bodies.

As for you, when you hit the gym, your areas of focus should be your shoulders, arms, and butt. However, you should do whole-body workouts, too, lest you end up pairing superhero pecs with broomstick thighs and calves.

Even if you're built like a paper cut and can't bulk up a lot, just looking strong, especially in the essential areas, is a step in the right direction. And unfortunately, yes...the formidability thing has to result from physical workouts -- tempted as you might be to skip the gym and, like somebody toting an umbrella on a cloudy day, go into the grocery store whistling and swinging a machete.

For pages and pages of "science-help" from me, buy my latest book, "Unf*ckology: A Field Guide to Living with Guts and Confidence." It lays out the PROCESS of transforming to live w/confidence.