I need help descibing a powerfully built strong-man, please help?

I'm not a big fan of a chunk of description inserted into the story. . . it always feels forced to me and my eye naturally skips it.

The way I describe my characters is through their interaction with their world, and I try to focus on less obvious body parts. So, for instance, say your main character is walking through the market when a booth starts to collapse. . . he jumps in to hold a chunk up and you describe his muscular hands, or his rippling back, or his powerful stance (or even his butt if you're comfortable with that) instead of the usual bulging biceps.

I'm assuming POV is someone OTHER than this muscle-man. . . if it's from his POV, it's even harder to work in description. I'd definitely have you focus on some non-standard body part (like hands, which the main character can always see working, but not back, because he can never see that working) or have him describing how the muscles FEEL instead of how they look. Unless, of course, he's a total narcissist, and therefore the fact that he's looking in the mirror and thinking about how he looks BUILDS the character. . .

If you want to convey the feeling of overall muscularity and power, rather than sculpted and etched bodybuilder-type muscles, just try to stick to more well-placed but mundane adjectives. He is not a "coiled spring ready to strike", "hewn from living rock" or whatever other romantic description one would use for Ahhnold in his prime, he is simply sturdy, broad-chested and thick-limbed. Use more mellow words like "firm" and that kind of thing.

What kind of theme are you looking at?

Is it medieval-style 'classic' epic fantasy. Contemporary urban? Something other?

Some descriptions are a bit out of place in one but not the other.

But a man built like a brick shit-house always works. :P

THANK YOU SO MUCH! You're all right. I didn't realize it, but I was looking for a sort of "toned-down" way of presenting him. It never occured to put the real depth of description in his actions rather than so much in introductions. And the "sturdy, broad-chested and thick-limbed" fits perfectly in the brief introductory descriptions. Thanks again.

To Geekling: It's being described by a person from a different reality all-together. I'm trying my heardest to provide a sense of visual poetry implying power, earthiness, heroism, ferocity, kindness, and youth. I'm sure I'll get it eventually, I just feel guilty like I'm cheating when I ask for other's recomondations.

p.s. I'll try to cut them down to a 6 word minimum. lol

Whose POV are you writing this from? If it's your MC's POV, then I would be careful how much you describe him (and no, don't have him look in a mirror :P). There are ways to do it that are less obtrusive. For example, rather than say he was tall and muscular, you could say something like:

John hid in the back of the crowd--as much as someone his size could hide anywhere--and watched the proceedings. Muscles corded in his arms and neck with every word the Councilor spoke, until he thought he might snap like a rubber band stretched too far. Relax, he told himself, drawing a deep breath that rattled in his battered chest. Now is not the time. He pulled his hood lower to cover his bruises and slipped away. Tonight. Tonight the Councilor's treachery would be repaid in full.

The exact details are unimportant (unless you are describing something completely foreign to the reader). Just a general sense is fine and the reader will fill in the rest. When describing a character, it's a good idea to stay away from the usual things people describe like hair, eyes, skin color, height, etc. You can mention those, of course, but you should also try to put in something that makes the character memorable and/or interesting/unique. In the example above, I gave the impression that he is big and muscular, but I also mentioned his battered chest and bruised face. Obviously there is a story behind that and the Councilor is involved. Hopefully that piques the reader's interest and keeps him turning the pages.

Now, if you are writing from someone else's POV, then you can have that character just describe what he sees. Still, flat descriptions can bog down the narrative if overdone. If you can, try to break it up by interjecting actions into your descriptions:

Frank stood on unsteady legs and looked the newcomer in the eyes. Only, the man had no eyes, just broad shoulders and a thick neck. Frank tilted his head back and almost fell over, catching himself on the table. There's 'is eyes, all the way up there, Frank thought. Should be lower, like normal folk. Frank hiccuped, savoring the taste until he remembered the man standing before him. "What you want?"

"Information," the man replied.

Frank was already losing interest in the conversation, his thoughts drifting away toward home and sleep. But the man's arm shot out like a viper and gripped him by the throat, pushed him up against the wall.

"Tell me about the Councilor," he said, his voice barely a whisper yet it carried the conviction of a death sentence.

Frank's blurry eyes focused long enough to notice the motley bruises on the man's face, partially hidden beneath the hood. Even in his inebriated state, it didn't take him long to figure out who this man was. "You're..."

"That's right. I am. Now tell me what you know."

These are just examples, but I think you can get the sense from both that this person is big and strong without explicitly saying so.

Instead of a big ole chunk of description *yawn*, how about every time your protagonist meets someone new the stranger says something brilliant; "holy CRAP you're big!" or something of that nature. You could have fun with that. Also, cocky little guys could always be trying to start fights with him. Old ladies would ask him to get kittens out of trees, that sort of thing. Children could run screaming... :D

I suggest the first time he appears, his shadow gets there first. Describe it (briefly, the mere fact of the shadow being the first visual will convey a lot).