Question: So, when designing one of my sentient demihuman species for my fantasy world, I designed them to have greater sexual dimorphism.

**Astriads**, as a species, are artificially [divinely] modified humans, with (red hair, purple eyes, multiple pairs of short horns, but that doesn't really matter, but more importantly:) **naturally large musculature**. While women are less affected, and are only "fit by default", all males, without any training, have by default a physique of a body builder, as well as being taller on average (200 cm average height, whereas women are only ~170 cm average height).

While there is also some self-strengthening temporary buff magic, I'd like to ignore it for a moment(it's only temporary after all), to know how much would the medieval/ancient soldiers benefit from that kind of naturally body physique. I'd also like to know if there also be any drawbacks to have army of sword/spear & shield, taller, Predator's **Arnold** physique, especially if their legs are quite muscled up too, (including that these males would obviously require far more callories to stay fed).

**What I'm trying to ask is what impact would such a change have?**

Edit: This is reality check in more ways than one, because honestly, what I'm describing is very close to an idea of "supersoldier" in many works of fiction. I just think the idea isn't developped well enough and fully thought through to all of its conclusions, so I want to get more complete understanding of drawbacks and advantages of "supersoldiers".

Answer: 
**For truly ancient warfare these would be formidable champions.**

[![Sreng, champion of the Fir Bolg](https://i.stack.imgur.com/dzRLI.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/dzRLI.jpg)

Depicted: Sreng, champion of the Fir Bolg as depicted by Jim Fitzpatrick. Book of Conquests is so great!

Bronze Age battles were, according to the tales, sometimes decided by single combat between champions. Hector vs Achilles is one that comes to mind, but Irish myths are full of these. It is sort of interesting since some of the Irish groups of this era were supposedly refugees from Greece and so might have been contemporaries of the characters from the Iliad.

It is a sensible way to sort out differences - send your two biggest baddest dudes. That way the many mediocre dudes are not too messed up from fighting and can still come home and take in the harvest. Your divinely augmented folks have the sound of champions and in a ancient world scenario where battles were decided by single combat, they would be a valuable asset.

Unless it so happens that your champion's small and unremarkable sling-toting opponent is also divinely augmented in a very much more direct way.
No real impact.

Physique is pretty much irrelevant beside discipline, organisation, morale, training, leadership and logistics.

“The moral is to the physical as three to one.”