While visiting a gallery today this question occurred to me.

Many renaissance works contain images of people we would consider incredibly muscular and 'ripped' by today's standards. Unlike, say, the bizarre depictions of lions we sometimes see, these works are very convincing, with well-defined and proportional muscle groups consistent with reality.

This body type isn't so remarkable in this day and age thanks to modern nutrition, exercise techniques and equipment.

Was this body type common hundreds of years ago? Did it exist at all? If so how was is achieved? Was is considered beautiful? Brutish? Was physical education/development a topic of much study?

Any insights on this topic would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.