Hi Sasha, Ropey is used to mean inferior or below par : https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/ropey In the above context used with muscles it means hard stiff muscles: "People with hard, ropey muscle texture that you could bounce an axe off of … may have no apparent problems with pain or stiffness. People with soft, doughy muscle texture … may feel incredibly stiff and sore." above sentences are taken from : https://www.painscience.com/articles/youre-really-tight.php I hope this helps. Have a great day. By the way your name : Sasha is the name of the hero in Jeffery Archer's novel : Heads you win.:) It is a very nice book.

It is colloquial, and probably used mostly in the UK. It means that the alcoholics have poor muscle-strength.