Admired muscle in relaxed surroundings (9)
I believe the answer is:
respected
'admired' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'muscle in relaxed surroundings' is the wordplay.
'muscle in' becomes 'pec' (I've seen this in other clues. I am not sure about the 'in' bit.).
'relaxed' becomes 'rested' (I've seen this before).
'surroundings' is an insertion indicator.
'pec' going into 'rested' is 'RESPECTED'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for respected that I've seen before include "Had a high regard for someone" , "Held in high regard" , "'Esteemed, showed deference to (9)'" , "Held in esteem" , "Regarded highly" .)