WEEK EIGHT :: What Workout Program Will Help With Your V-Taper?

[webmaster]

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TOPIC: What Workout Program Will Help With Your V-Taper?

For the week of: 11/21 - 11/28
(Monday @ Midnight Is The Final Cut).

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What Workout Program Will Help With Your V-Taper?

The V-Taper can play a vital role in completing and mastering your physique. This shape of your body can also make or break your success in contests.

What type of program can you follow, or how can you revise your program, to achieve the V-Taper?

To your physique, how important is the V-Taper?

Bonus: What IFBB Pro Has The Best V-Taper? The worst V-Taper? Why?

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Don't discuss any other topic in this section. ONLY discuss the question above.

The best response will get $50 in credit to use in our online store and will have their workout posted on our main site for the world to see! We will only be picking two winners until this section starts becoming more popular. So, get to work and become famous!

Thanks,
Bodybuilding.com

[mivi320]

What Workout Program Will Help With Your V-Taper?

Intro

A good back is consisted of two qualities: the V-taper shape and overall thickness. A V-Taper can be defined as the width of the shoulders compared to the narrowness of the waist. This V-taper appearance will either make or break your success in bodybuilding and fitness contests. The lat muscles that provide the V-taper are particularly important for bodybuilding and fitness competitors, as a more pronounced V-taper shaped back will give the appearance of a smaller waistline and much more broader and larger shoulders.

Look at bodybuilding greats Ronnie Coleman and Dorian Yates - both who have dominated Mr. Olympia contests from time to time. Both also displayed unprecedented back thickness and amazing V-tapers. Their dominance in past bodybuilding competitions can easily be attributed to the V-tapers they presented.

Therefore, really emphasizing and focusing on training the back - with the proper techniques I will mention below will guarantee a combination of overall back thickness and the desired V-taper appearance. Focusing on your shoulder training will result in "boulder shoulders" and much more broader deltoids, which in turn will help your V-taper appearance by making your waistline appear smaller.

Although it is vital to really focus and develop a connection with your back and shoulder training, the rest of your muscle groups should not be neglected in your training. Your body grows as one unit ; therefore, only training a few selected body parts (in this case, shoulders and back) will provide poor results. By training all of the muscle groups in your workout program, you will experience more growth and even greater development.

What type of program can you follow, or how can you revise your program, to achieve the V-Taper?

The workout program consists of training four times a week and giving plenty of attention to training the back and the shoulders. Below is a general outline of the workout program:

Day 1 - Chest and Triceps
Day 2 - Off
Day 3 - Shoulders
Day 4 - Off
Day 5 - Back
Day 6 - Off
Day 7 - Legs and Biceps

By dedicating an entire workout to training shoulders on day 3 and back on day 5, your "mind muscle connection" will be at it's highest - resulting in a greater stimulation of the shoulders, which in turn will result in more growth and an amazing V-taper!

With the use of special techniques on shoulder days and back days, you can maximize your training and develop the V-taper appearance more efficiently.

Back Training Techniques

Many trainees don't realize that the back is actually the second largest muscle group in the body (legs are the largest). When training the back, it is ideal to focus on two components of a great back : thickness and width. Movements in which you "pull" such as pull ups, chin ups, and lat pulldowns emphasize width. Movements in which you "row" such as barbell rows, cable rows, t-bar rows, and dumbbell rows focus mainly on thickness. To truly develop a breath taking V-taper appearance, a combination of "thickness" and "width" exercises must be performed.

It is also vital to maximize muscle fiber recruitment in the back by focusing on "squeezing" your elbows down or far back as possible while trying to minimize using the arms, particularly the biceps. For greater back development, always "pull" with the elbows.

It is imperative to perform barbell deadlifts for a complete back and V-taper. Deadlifts really target the lower and middle back - two of the most under trained muscle groups by bodybuilders. Deadlifts are considered a power movement ; therefore, once you incorporate them into your routine, your strength and power will go through the roof!

Shoulder Training Techniques

The shoulder is a large three-headed muscle group, which consists of three parts: the anterior deltoid located in the front, the medial deltoid located at the side, and the posterior deltoid located at the rear portion of the shoulder. For complete development of the shoulder, all three of the heads must be trained effectively.

Shoulder training can be broken down into two types of movements. These two types of movements are overhead pressing and raising movements. Incorporating a combination of overhead pressing and raising movements into your shoulder training will guarantee much more developed, broader, massive shoulders - which in turn, will improve your V-taper appearance.

The trapezius muscle should not be neglected when training shoulders, since they extend down from the neck and tie in with the shoulder muscles. The trapezius muscle, also known as the "traps," are quite possibly one of the easiest muscle groups to add size to - as they can be trained using heavy weight on shrugs, deadlifts, and some pulling variations. They will aid in completing your V-taper appearance by giving off the illusion of mountainous shoulders!

When training the shoulders, remember to go through a full range of motion - executing a controlled movement. Do NOT use any other part of your body to move the weight. This is the biggest mistake I see when people are training shoulders. Remember, using good form creates better stimulation of the muscle being trained.

Putting It All Together

With all of that being said, the actual workout looks like this:

Day 1 - Chest and Triceps

Flat Barbell Bench Press 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Incline Dumbbell Press 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Cable Crossovers 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Close-Grip Bench Press 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Skullcrushers 3 sets of 8-10 reps

Day 2 - Off

Day 3 - Shoulders

Military Press 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Dumbbell Lateral Raise 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Cable Lateral Raise 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Bent-Over Lateral Raise 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Dumbbell Shrugs 3 sets of 8-10 reps

Day 4 - Off

Day 5 - Back

Chin ups 3 sets to failure
Widegrip Lat Pulldown 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Bent-Over Barbell Row 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Low Pulley Row 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Deadlifts 3 sets of 8-10 reps

Day 6 - Off

Day 7 - Legs and Biceps

Barbell Squats 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Leg Press 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Stiff-legged Deadlift 3 sets 8-10 reps
Lying Leg Curls 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Standing Calf Raise 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Barbell Curls 3 sets of 8-10 reps

Exercise Notes

-Be sure to warm-up properly before beginning each workout.

-Rest periods are to be between 60 seconds and 90 seconds.

-Don't expect results, unless your diet and supplement regimen are in check!

-Remember to stay well-hydrated during your workouts. Even the slightest bit of dehydration can hamper your progress tremendously.

In short...

This program really emphasizes on isolating the muscle groups associated with achieving the V-taper appearance by placing shoulders and back on their own training days. By training the other muscle groups with the same intensity and volume given to back and shoulders, the body is forced into muscle growth!

To your physique, how important is the V-Taper?

I really focus on training my back and shoulders to their fullest to develop the V-taper. I have used this very program in the past, and my V-taper development was tremendous. My lats became much more wider, and my shoulders were broader and larger than ever. I even had friends asking me if my waist size had shrunk - when in reality it hadn't, rather, my lat width and broader shoulders gave the appearance of a slimmer waist.

The V-Taper is very important to me. I plan on competing in my first bodybuilding competition in a few years ; therefore, if I plan on coming out successful, my V-Taper has to be unmatched. Like I mentioned earlier, judges really look for that V-Taper on competitors and it will make or break you in contests.

What IFBB Pro Has The Best V-Taper? The worst V-Taper? Why?

IFFB Pro with the best V-Taper:

My choice would definately be Ronnie Coleman. Ronnie has proven he is one of the best, if not the best, bodybuilders in the history of the sport. He was won eight straight Mr. Olympia titles. Most of those titles can be attributed to his outstanding back and V-Taper. Ronnie continues to impress the judges at every show with his breath taking V-taper and overall back thickness. Therefore, it is the wrtiter's opinion that "Big Ron" is the current IFBB pro with the best V-Taper.

IFBB Pro with the worst V-Taper:

Chris Cormier, hands down. Chris failed to impress the judges at this year's Mr. Olympia, and showed up "soft" and not as hard as he usually does. He lacks the needed mass in the shoulders and lat width that contributes to a nice looking V-Taper. His waistline is a bit too "thick" and takes away from giving off the illusion of a V-Taper. Don't get me wrong, the guy is massive and is one of my favorites, but his V-Taper is certainly his weakpoint.

Conclusion

This program is specifically designed to help you out with developing an uncprecedented V-Taper. If you follow the training guidelines and program to a "T" coupled with a solid nutrition and supplement program, you'll have a V-Taper to envy in no time!

Good luck with your training!

Mike

[sword chucks]

Workouts for Building an Impressive Physique- Creating the V Taper!

Introduction

Let’s talk about training! I bet there are a lot of us who have just been going to the gym with one goal- to add mass, or decrease fat. This is a very general goal, and will probably make us bigger and stronger in the end, but let’s take a closer look at our physiques. Since we are bodybuilders, we should know that training should be used to bring up weaknesses in your physique, or help to shape your physique in some way or another.

I bet one thing that we can all agree will make our physiques look awesome would be a better V-taper. So how do you train for this? Well, there are a few things that “create” that V-taper look. These muscles are the back, the deltoids and the waist. This is because the V-taper look comes from having an upper body width which contrasts greatly with waist size. In other words, somebody with very wide shoulders, and a very thin waist, will definitely have a great V-taper.

So how do you achieve this V-taper? Seems like a lot to worry about. Well, I am going to present to you a workout that will emphasize the V-taper look. There are also some muscles that you won’t want to train too much. For example, people with very high traps will know that that takes away from the V-taper look. I will address every aspect of training in this article that will add to your V-taper, including ways to add to the illusion of a V-taper by leaving some muscle groups, which may take away from the look, at maintenance.

The Importance of a V-taper

There are many qualities that a bodybuilder’s physique must have to be considered aesthetic and for a bodybuilder to do well in competitions. These qualities are all about the body’s proportions. Some of these qualities are having calves and arms that are similar in size, having a neck that fits a bodybuilder’s head, and a balance in the chest and shoulders so that one does not overpower the other. None of these little aspects of proportionality in the physique is as noticeable as the V-taper, though.

Even for non-competitive bodybuilders, a V-Taper can make your physique look ten times better. A V-Taper is the sign of a bodybuilder that trains hard and eats right. It demonstrates dedication and strength. It also makes your muscles appear bigger because they are contrasted with your small waist-line.

The workout that we will use for adding to our V-Taper will look something like this:

day 1- Back and Shoulders
day 2- chest and arms
day 3- Cardio
day 4- legs
day 5- Back and Shoulders
day 6- cardio
day 7- complete rest

The cardio will help you stay lean, while the back and shoulders will get some extra growth due to the increased frequency of training. Read on to find out the specifics!

Parts of the V-taper #1: The back

It seems like when I hear the term “V-taper”, the first thing I think of is a wide back. A wide back will help add to the V-taper by expanding the shoulder girdle and making the shoulders wider! There are also some back stretches that are known to manipulate and stretch the shoulder girdle to make it bigger, which will add to the V-taper even more.

So how should you train the back? First of all, you are going to want to focus on the lats and training them on a VERTICAL plane. You will still do a HORIZONTAL motion for lats, but your back workout will be mostly filled with vertical movements. This is because horizontal movements add more to thickness, which will not create a V-taper as much as adding width will. Having thickness in the back doesn’t necessarily take away from the V-taper look, but you will want to place more of your training energy into what really counts for back- the width movements.

Here are some exercises that will really add to your back width. Notice that they work on a vertical plane:
Wide-grip pullups
Hammer-grip pullups
Wide-grip lat pulldown
M-bar pulldown
Behind the neck pulldown
Lat shrugs

Here are some movements that add to thickness:
Bent over Barbell Rows
Seated Cable Row
Dumbbell Row
Deadlift

Something you are really wanting to work on is your focus on your back, especially during the width movements. You want every exercise to count the most. In fact, I’m sure that as soon as you get the hang of feeling the back during training, you will see a big jump in lat development. If you are not great at focusing on the lats, well today is your lucky day. The first thing you will want to do during your back movements is pick 75% of your regular weight. Now, without moving your arms, pull your shoulder blades down. You should move the weight down 2 to 3 inches. Now, maintain that contraction, and pull the weight down to your chest, the whole time focusing on that same contraction that you got from pulling the shoulder blades down alone. Then pause at the chest, and make sure you are still feeling the back work. Did you maintain the contraction in the back? Well, keep doing reps like that.

For me, learning to contract the back alone wasn’t an immediate thing. I had a month of tough back workouts before I got the hang of back training so that I could REALLY feel the muscle working. So just be patient, and in the end your new ability to focus on the back will be worth the trouble.

Stretching the back is also very important. One technique that might help to manipulate the shoulder girdle is hanging from a pullup bar with a very wide grip for an extended period of time at a full stretch. This method of stretching could be beneficial to your V-taper, allowing for more shoulder width. I would recommend this right at the end of your back training.

Parts of the V-taper #2: Delts

One muscle group that you don’t think of immediately when thinking of the V-taper, at least if you are me, is the delts. However, building a big, round set of delts will definitely make your shoulders look much wider! When training for the V-taper, you are going to want to place a lot of emphasis on delts, and maintain traps.

The traps are a V-taper killer. If you build your traps so that they are too high, it will make your shoulders look more narrow! That is not what we want at all. You want to maximize how wide your shoulders look.

There are three heads of the delts- front, side, and rear. While the side delts are key, the front and rear delts are important too, so that people will see a strong shoulder development from all angles.

There are two ways to train the delts- laterals and presses. A common shoulder workout will start with a press, then do multiple variations of lateral raises. For the traps, you would usually do shrugs too. For your shoulder workout though, you won’t be doing too many sets of shrugs, so that you can just add to the illusion of shoulder width. The reason that I say “illusion” is that you can manipulate your physique so that your shoulders look wider, by limiting growth in other muscles such as the traps and obliques.

Pressing exercises for delts:
Machine overhead press
Hang clean and press
Dumbbell Military Press
Behind the neck barbell press
Arnold dumbbell presses

Lateral Raises for delts:
Side Dumbbell Raise
Side cable lateral behind the back
Rear dumbbell lateral
front dumbbell lateral
Seated side lateral

They key to emphasizing delt growth, instead of trap growth, is focusing on the mind to muscle connection in the delts while doing these movements. A lot of times, the traps will take the load away from the delts, especially in lateral raises, so we have to be sure to pay attention to what muscle is doing the work! When you use a swinging motion to lift the weights on laterals, the traps come more into play, and the delts are removed, because the traps are more capable of this heavy load. In order to really stimulate the delts, you will need to go over to the light dumbbells and just focus on leading the weight up with the elbows- this is key to building delts and isolating them from the traps. In fact, I rarely go over 20 pounds on side laterals when I use a form like this, and usually stick to 15 pound dumbbells, which seems to get the job done very well. My delts are never more sore than after I do laterals like that.

Since lateral raises affect such a small area of the muscle, I generally prefer doing more sets than I do for the average exercise when I do a lateral exercise. I sometimes do 5 or 6 sets of side lateral raises, along with everything else, and by the end of the workout my delts feel great. Laterals are not very taxing on the body as a whole when done right, so you should be able to do lots of sets like I do without overdoing it.

[sword chucks]

Parts of the V-taper #3: The Waist

While the back and shoulders must be built up to encourage a strong V-taper, the waist plays a different role. The waist’s role in the V-taper is to be so thin that the shoulders have an illusion of being even bigger than they already are. We all know that when we bulk, our waist size increases, but this can be limited. If you want to keep your waist small, there are a few things that you can do.

The first thing that you can do is limit the amount of growth that takes place in your obliques and lower back muscles. This means that you should not be placing too much emphasis on movements such as deadlifts which train the core heavily. Deadlifts will take away from your V-taper. Now, some of you might think that without deadlifts, you will not grow! This is not true. In fact, many powerlifters leave deadlifts out of the routine for long periods of time and still get great results. We can relate this to bodybuilding because we bodybuilders can also leave deadlifts out for a while and make solid mass gains.

You should also limit direct oblique training so that your obliques don’t grow too wide. The obliques, since they are on the very sides of your waist, can easily take away from how wide your shoulders appear to be. And don’t be fooled- doing lots of high rep oblique work will not help you cut fat from your waist, in fact, it will make more of a problem for you.

Core training is important for safety, though. This is why I think that you shouldn’t take out core training altogether. I will be including squats, abdominal and lower back work so that our core strength does not atrophy.

Also, keep in mind that your waist might not shrink much while you are adding mass to your back and shoulders, but you can keep it from GROWING too much through a clean diet and cardio. Keeping a healthy diet and doing cardiovascular training while you gain weight will make sure that you don’t gain weight too fast, because if you do, you will find yourself gaining much more fat than you need to.

The Workout Program for Creating that V-Taper

Now that I have explained my methods for creating this program, let’s get into it. I am going to make recommendations for everything that you should do to build a V-Taper in this section.

Day 1- back/shoulders

Back:
Pullups 3 x 6-9
Wide grip pulldown 5 x 6-12 **
Seated Rows 2 x 6-9
Lat shrugs 1 x 20
Wide grip hang from pullup bar: 60 sec

Shoulders:
Behind the neck press: 3 x 6-9
Seated lateral raise: 5 x 6-12 **
Rear dumbbell lateral: 2 x 6-9
Dumbbell shrugs: 2 x 8 *

*do not progress in weight for this exercise for the duration of the routine
**use short rest periods and really focus on getting that pump in your back, or shoulders

day 2- Chest/Arms

Chest:
Flat dumbbell Bench press: 3 x 6-9
Incline dumbbell bench press: 3 x 6-9
Flat bench cable flye: 2 x 6-9 (really squeeze the chest!)
Incline bench cable flye: 2 x 6-9

Arms:
Straight bar curl: 4 x 6-9 (no cheating!)
Close-grip bench press: 4 x 6-9 (keep the elbows in on all tricep exercises)
Dumbbell Concentration curl: 3 x 6-9
Triceps pressdown: 3 x 6-9
Forearm curls: 2 x 20

Day 4- Legs/Abs

Legs:
Leg Extensions: 4 x 6-9
Barbell Squats: 3 x 6-9
Leg Press: 3 x 6-9
Stiff leg deadlift (Dumbbells): 4 x 6-9 (touch your toes on each rep!)
Standing calf raise: 3 x 20
Seated calf raise: 3 x 20

Abs:
Crunches: 2 x 20 (do not progress in weight)
Straight leg raise: 2 x 20 (do not progress in weight)

Day 5- Back/Shoulders

Shoulders:
Dumbbell Military Press: 4 x 6-9
Side cable lateral behind-the-back: 3 x 6-9
Rear dumbbell lateral: 5 x 6-12 **
Shrugs: 2 x 8 *

Back:
Lat Shrug: 4 x 6-9
High Pulley Row: 5 x 6-12 **
Single arm row: 2 x 6-9
Behind the neck pulldown: 1 x 20
Wide grip hang from pullup bar: 60 sec

*do not progress in weight for this exercise for the duration of the routine
**use short rest periods and really focus on getting that pump in the muscle you are training

Cardio Training

If your goal is to minimize fat gain, all you need to do is find a form of cardio that does not slow down muscle growth, but does minimize fat gain. I felt that high intensity cardio is the best way to achieve this. This is what I do for high intensity cardio:

1) Find a place that is a distance of 100 meters, or 110 yards.
2) Put my things down on one end of it.
3) Warm up by jogging back and forth twice.
4) Sprint at 7/8 speed to one end.
5) Rest until I catch my breath, stretching in between sprints.
6) repeat this ten to fifteen times (depending on how energetic I feel)

I feel that this is a healthy way to perform cardiovascular training that will not hinder muscle growth or fatigue me too much, so that I can train hard and keep up with my cardio.

Also, be sure to keep in mind that eating a clean diet with natural and whole foods is the best way to add muscle while minimizing fat gain. Try to try out new supplements from www.bodybuilding.com/store now and then, and see what works for you to create faster mass gains. Read up on pre- and post-workout nutrition, and how those two aspects of diet can really maximize your results. Take pictures after every few weeks, to see what is lacking in your V-Taper- you will know what you need to work on more by looking at the pictures. Look for flaws such as, do you need more back width? Are your side delts overpowering your front delts? Do you need to take a few weeks to drop fat, so that your waist is smaller? Be determined! Your hard work will pay off!

Tips on lifting

1) keep your back straight and chest out on all exercises
2) use a slow negative- 2 to 4 seconds- and then press as hard as you can to lift the weight.
3) Keep rest periods below 2 minutes to cause growth faster.
4) Always focus on the muscle you are training! Even during a grueling leg session, you must concentrate on using only one muscle group to move the weight.
5) unless otherwise stated, you should always try to progress in weight, as long as you can stay in your rep range and use good form.

The Good and the Bad of V-Tapers in Professional Bodybuilding

Best V-Taper in Pro Bodybuilding: Brian Buchanan

http://forum.bodybuildingpro.com/att...ntid=644&stc=1

When you are looking for a reason to get that last rep of pulldowns or military presses, or thinking about taking off a sprint during your cardio, just think about Brian’s incredible V-Taper. Brian is a bodybuilder that we might not all know about, but he definitely deserves our recognition. He is one bodybuilder who must have small joints, but still places a huge amount of effort into his back and delt training.

Also take a look at Sergio Olivia and Dexter Jackson, some more popular bodybuilders who will always be remembered for their awesome V-tapers.

Worst V-Taper in pro Bodybuilding: Mike Sheridan

http://www.uniquebodiesgym.com/galle...pics/mike7.jpg

Mike Sheridan just made it into the top 21 for Mr. Olympia in the 2005 Olympia. That is quite an accomplishment, even if it is not a victory, something I would be proud of. But it is pretty clear why Mike Sheridan didn’t place higher. His shoulder width just isn’t there, and it is clear in that picture above. He has great conditioning, legs are looking great, traps aren’t too big, but his shoulders just appear very narrow. In fact, they look almost as narrow as his waist! This picture should demonstrate the importance of a V-Taper to us bodybuilders- it shows that a strong V-Taper can make the difference between an Olympia win or just making it into the top 21. Mike Sheridan looks like he still has a long time to train for his next entry into the Olympia, though, as he looks young- it’s entirely possible that he will come back with wider shoulders and take a higher placing!

Conclusion

After reading this article, you should know that the V-Taper is an illusion which makes one’s shoulders look very wide that is created by a contrast of back and shoulder width with waist lean-ness. I discussed ways to maximize the appearance of shoulder width through training. I also talked about how a bodybuilder can keep their V-Taper improving by using cardiovascular training to limit fat gains, and what other muscle groups should be trained only at maintenance so that they do not take away from that V-Taper look.

The V-taper is extremely important to bodybuilding, and it is something that can be achieved through hard training, and training that is specific to our goals. With the routine that I outlined above, the back and shoulder muscles are emphasized while fat gain is kept to a minimum. The back, deltoids and waist are all the keys to creating that V-Taper look. Somebody with very wide shoulders, and a very thin waist, is guaranteed to have an impressive V-Taper.

Make sure to take a close look at how your physique is changing every now and then, and adjust your routine as necessary. Use the great size of the top bodybuilders as motivation, this intense routine and show your determination and dedication by sporting a V-Taper.

[sword chucks]

word doc

[WhiteZombie]

Yaarrrgh, I don't know if this thread still be open, or why, but I'll post anyway, yar.

The V-Taper be what makes a man look big aside from thickness, especially while he be clothed. It be causin' yer shirts to look tighter around the chest area, makin' ye look bigger overall.
The V be measured by the wideness of the shoulders taperin' down to the slenderness of the waist.
It be a great visual for displaying yer mass, and the ladies love it.

So, let's be findin' out how to achieve this, shall we,....yarr.

The formula that I found fer meself is quite easy. There be a couple exercises that target the muscle groups that affect the appearance of the taper specifically. The muscles that be most responsible for that taper be yer lats, shoulderz, and yer chest. The waist is the end part, and will be discussed at the end, respectively.

WIDER BE BETTER, YARGGH!

Get yer ass on the lat pulldown machine. Find yerself the wide bar,...the widest one available at yer ironhouse. Get on it and do yer sets with yer hands gripped as wide as possible, preferrably at the ends of the bar. Do yer exercises as ya would normally. Fer meself, I be doin' 4 sets, the first and last be lighter weight, high reps, with the first set goin' ta like...20 reps or somethin' fer a good warmup. Then the second be heavy, and the third heavier. The reason that the wide grip be workin' so well, is that it prevents ya from usin' yer arms to much in the pullin' action, forcin' yer lats to do most the work. At the end of each rep, try ta be squeezin' the shoulder blades in together as much as possible.
Give yer lats priority if this be yer goal, and exercise them first or second on back day to give 'em as much energy as ya can be givin' em...yarr. Don't neglect yer other back exercises though, do yer routine as ya normally would, ya don't want ta forfeit thickness for wideness by any means.

For yer chest, try goin' wide too. Wide grips on the BB while doin' incline/flat/and decline will be helpin' in bringin' out the prominence of the V in the front. Doin' these will widen yer shoulders too. But again, don't be neglectin' the rest of yer exercises, just prioritize. Also, fer yer shoulders, go a little wider on yer BB military press, but not too wide, just a little past shoulder length, otherwise, ya'll find yerself bein' injured in no time.

Don't ferget the basics like good diet and rest. These be necessary for any exercisin' and ya should know that already. Fer yer stomach's part in the V, yer required to slim that waistline down. This can be achieved by DIETING, and cardio if yer so inclined. Without slimming the gut down, yull be havin' the shape of a pear. There be a lot involved in losin' fat, and it really don't be necessary fer me to list it here. If ya need a clue, find yer way to that thar search button above, and look for it. There be a whole section of the board for this topic, and the amount of info be endless,....USE IT, IT'S FREE!

So, all in all lads,....the V-Taper will be comin' in time, so don't focus TOO hard on it, or ya'll end up bein' lacking in other arenas, and then ya'll be lookin' lopsided and weird. The formula is very simple: For Wider, GO Wider. This just be what has worked fer Yers Truly.

[sword chucks]

^yeah its still open

[KING_OF_SQUAT]

hehe, you know that they take grammar into account dont you?





KS

[WhiteZombie]

Originally Posted by KING_OF_SQUAT

hehe, you know that they take grammar into account dont you?





KS

Yarr, since I be a pirate, I guess I'm SOL then ain't I, yarr.

[bigcalves]

What Workout Program Will Help With Your V-Taper?




Ask someone to imagine a bodybuilder. What do they see? Chances are they see a giant "V". Having a good V-taper looks great and it is a must for any bodybuilder. The big wide shoulders, and back combined with a small waist makes the physique more appealing and pleasant. All the best bodybuilders in the past had great V-tapers. If you are especially doing a show, having a V-taper is a must and I would put great dedication towards it, because in the bodybuilding world it's what makes you or breaks you. V-tapers are a must and if you take the time to educated yourself you will see that it's not all that hard to get a great taper. All you need is consistant training and knowing what to do. As you imagine a great V-taper most people imagine a big back. Sure that's half of it, but not all.



In order to have a great V-taper you must understand what muscles contribute to it. The back is obious, but also the shoulders and the waist play a big role especially for those front poses. Sure you don't need to focus on your waist that much if your doing a back double bicep, but if you are doing a front lat spread your waist and shoulders have to be in top condition. The need to focus on deltoids is enourmous. The shoulders make that V-taper look complete. Without good shoulders it will really stand out and you will look terrible on stage. Also the waist has to be small. Sure having big abs is cool, but don't make your waist wider than it really is. If you have a naturally small waist, and you work hard to get that back and shoulders big you will look amazing.



The V-taper is a sign that you work real hard. It shows that you don't skip on workout that require more energy and are harder (back). Also it shows the consistency of your workout. Sure you can get a nice chest or big guns, but if you don't have a big back and shoulders it will really look weak compared to the rest of your physique. Also even if you don't compete you should emphasize your workout around getting a V-taper because it really completes the whole physique, not to mention that women love broad shoulders.






To your physique, how important is the V-Taper?




The V-taper can play an enormous role in your physique. Look at Jay Cutler. His waist is not that small, but his back and shoulders make up for what he has on his waist and then some. Even if you aren't born with a 29 inch waist, there is still hope for you. Jay sports a 34-36 inch waist, but if you look at a picture of him you will notice that his lat and shoulders are huge and if you had to take a guess you wouldn't put his waist over 32 inches. So imagine how big of a role the V-taper makes. It rounds you up as a bodybuilder and gives you that authentic look. Bodybuilders are the only one with great V-tapers. The reason behind that is because you need to be big, and lean at the same time. Not alot of 'athletes' can achieve that, and that's why bodybuilding is a very hard sport, especially in the pro ranks and if you don't have a great V-taper, your screwed. So how important is it to your physique? Very. If you are a pro it is a matter of life and death on stage.




What type of program can you follow, or how can you revise your program, to achieve the V-Taper?




This workout will focus on building up your V-taper. It will be 3 days a week focusing on the three major parts, back, shoulders and abs/waist. In order to achieve best results you need to have a good bulking diet that will help you put on some meat. Also resting is a very important factor in growing. Especially big muscle groups like back. Make sure to get 8 hours of sleep and also avoid cardio during the first few weeks so you can build up and then put it back in so your can maintain a nice, lean waist that will contribute to your V-taper. I also recommend taking supplements such as creatine and glutamine to help you with energy and recovery time during this workout plan. So here it is.





MON- Back and Traps
Wide Grip Pull Ups 3x 8 8 6
Lat PullDown 3x 8 8 8
Deadlifts 3x 6 6 6
Shrugs 4x 20 15 12 12



TUE- Off



WED- Shoulders and Abs
Military Press 4x 12 12 8 8
Side Lateral Raises 3x 8 8 8
Front Raises 3x 8 8 8
Weighed Crunches 2x25
5 Minute Ab Work




THUR- Off



FRI- Abs
Weighed Crunches 3x25
Stomach Vacuums 3x30 seconds
5 Minute Ab Work



SAT- Back and Shoulders
Wide Grip Pull Ups 3x 8 8 6
Lat PullDown 3x 8 8 8
Deadlifts 3x 6 6 6
Shrugs 4x 20 15 12 12
Military Press 4x 12 12 8 8
Side Lateral Raises 3x 8 8 8
Front Raises 3x 8 8 8



SUN- OFF





Bonus: What IFBB Pro Has The Best V-Taper? The worst V-Taper? Why?



I believe that Ahmad Haider has the best V-taper in the pro circuit today. Why? Because he is naturally gifted with a small waist and he took advantage of that. He followed all of the information I summerized in the article and applyed it to his training. He has a nicely developed back, with big round shoulders and small and defined waist. Sure he is no mass monster, but he is the perfect example of what a perfect V-Taper should look like. He has the total package and I have tons of respect for his hard earned physique and V-taper.


I believe that Art Artwood has the worst V-taper I have ever seen on a bodybuilding stage. I mean that guys waist is the size of his shoulder circumference. Who let him get on stage? Sure he comes in at a very low bodyfat but his waist must be somewhere around 40 inches if that. If you look at pictures of him you can see how thick his waist is and how underdeveloped him shoulders and back are compared to his waist thickness. But I am not the IFBB judge, but you can still see his placing and how bad he performs at contests. He is a big guy and I give him props for that, but the V-taper is the worst in the IFBB.




Good Luck!

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WEEK EIGHT:: What workout Program Will Help with Your V-Taper?

The V-taper is that famous, highly sought after look that enhances a body builders overall symmetry. It begins at the upper back, with high upper lats, that continue to angle down to a small, defined and narrow waistline, which is built upon a shoulder complex that is broad and well-developed. The V-taper can really make you or break you if you are professional body builder, giving your whole upper body that “flow” that really enhances symmetry. Symmetry is increasingly becoming a popular judging criteria at competitions, and bodybuilders are realizing this and taking up most advantage of ensuring they are doing things like building a wide upper back and delts. Read this article and find out the best techniques to use so you too can develop a V-taper.

UNDERSTANDING THE BACK MUSCLES:

The Back Muscles are the second biggest structure within the muscular system behind legs, but are probably the most complex. The back is made up of many muscles, both small large. Here is a look at a diagram:



Teres Major/minor: Two equally sized, small muscles above the latissimus dorsi, due to their high positioning, are both very crucial at attaining the V-taper. Isolated during pulldown and chin up movements.

Latissimus Dorsi: The biggest muscle in the back…where we get the term “lats” from. These span from you mid-upper lats all the way to you waist.

Rhomboids: Small muscle that Lies behind the Rear delts. Is trained along with traps on most movements, and on close grip pulldowns and chin ups.

Trapezius: Split into three sections, the bottom two located on the upper and mid back. Upper section is more assosiated with shoulder exercises, but the lower two are involved in many back exercises.

Erector Spiane: Commonly known as the ‘lower back’, and gives back thickness.


THICKNESS AND WIDTH:

We have to know that by achieving a well-developed back, there has to be a balance of thickness and width. An inbalance to either area can throw off your symmetry, and that’s the whole point of building a V-taper. Back thickness gives you more a hercuelian, masculine build, whereas a wide back will make you appear broader, and asthetical.

Its important we get an understanding of the exercises that train the back muscles. Very generally speaking, they can be divided into pulldown movements (Pulldowns, pullovers) for width, rowing movements and reverse flyes for both developing inner back and width and back extensions to target the lower back.

Generally speaking, rowing movements are more of the mass builders and pulldowns the sculptor, rowing movements more a complete exercise, pulldowns more of an isolation movement.


HOW TO BUILD A WIDE UPPER BACK?

SECRETS REVEALED:

There are so many options here, most of which people either don’t know, or forget to do. But, its time to take a mental note, because these following techniques can really impact on your V-Taper like nothing before.

• Firstly, try avoiding over developing lower lats. Lower lats will take away from your overall V-taper and make your waist look bigger.

• I can’t emphasise more on using both Strict form during each exercise, and especially contracting the muscle during the movement. Really squeeze it. This is more important for back than any other group because its so easy to let you triceps and rear delts take over most of the workload. Keep your back straight, and avoid any momentum to get the weight up.

• Choose a balance of free weight and machines/cables. Free weight will give you thickness as well as width, so they shouldn’t be ignored.

• Variety is the essence to any good workout. Ensure you are selecting exercises with different range of motion within each group, such as for rows: One arm rows and seated cable rows.

• Exercises that require you to be in a standing position, such as bent over dumbbell rows, are ideal for thickness because they cause you lower and mid back to become stablisers.


MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR EXERCISES:

There are more different variations within each rowing movement than any exercise. Slight alterations will mean you are targeting different muscles. Take advantage of this opportunity to sculpt your own symmetry. Consider these things when training:


• Keeping your arms tucked into your sides will better hit your lats, whereas letting them flair out will shift the attention to the back thickening traps.

• When rows are performed on a bench, the higher the incline you use, the more you hit the rhomboids and traps, the closer to flat the more you get in your lats.

• Tthe wider your grip on rows, the more of the inner back you hit, such as wide grip barbell rows, and the close the grip, the more traps are involved.

• Although its important to contract your shoulder blades back and in to target your traps, if your goal is width, doing this will detract away from targeting outer back.

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HERE WE GO… THE EXERCISES TO BUILD THE IMPRESSIVE BACK:

Here are a variety of back exercises that will target back width. Whether creating a new program, or revising the one your own, try to select two exercises from the following groups when designing your program. Select 3 movements from the ‘width’ group if ‘width’ is your weak point. Remember, V-taper provides symmetry, but DON’T only do back widening exercises, find a healthy balance of thickness and width exercises. Remember too, that just width will make you look stupid if you have a solid foundation, or 'slab' or thickness to your back. You might look wide, but you won't look big.

Note: I would recommend you avoid Behind the Neck Pressdowns. These can be potentially dangerous to your shoulders. Instead, choose either front pulldowns, or chins.


WIDTH EXERCISES:


PULLDOWNS:

Cables: Medium and Wide Grip machine pulldowns, Reverse, wide-grip pulldowns.

Bodyweight: Medium and Wide grip chins, wide grip pull-ups.


ROWS:

Free weight: Close Grip, underhand Barbell Rows, Close Grip, underhand Dumbell Rows, one-arm rows.

Cable: V-bar Seated cable Rows, One arm Seated cable rows, Wide grip high pulley cable rows.

Machines: Seated High Row, Machine one arm row.


PULLOVERS:

Free weight: Dumbell, Barbell, EZ bar.

Cables: EZ bar, one arm or two arm variations.

Remember, to go deep on pullovers and feel a stretch. Its an idea to pause at the bottom point before coming back up.



BACK THICKNESS:

Remember, The act of contracting the shoulder blades back acts to hit the inner back.


ROWS:

Free weight: Standing, wide grip, overhand barbell rows, Standing dumbbell rows, T-bar rows.

Cables: Medium-grip, overhand seated Cable Rows – Remember to contract the back.

Machines are not my first choice for back thickness. Due the fact your body is put in a fixed position, you aren’t maximizing the affect stablisers will have on developing thickness.


BACK EXTENSION:

Bent-Knee, stiff back Deadlifts – Dumbell, Barbell

Stiff-Leg, stiff back Deadlift – Dumbell, Barbell,

Back Extensions.


Don’t forget Reverse Flyes, again remember if you want to target the back, contract, otherwise its more of a rear delt exercise.

THE ROUTINE:

Back should be given its own day in my opinion. It’s the second largest bodypart, and deserves this attention. As Back width is the main goal here, these exercises have been used at the beginning when the body is primed.

Perform each exercise with 3 sets of pyramiding reps – 12,10 followed by 8 reps. Take all sets to failure, and be sure to warm up before hand.

SAMPLE PROGRAM:

Keep the more important exercises towards the start, and the less taxing ones towards the end. Its an idea to order exercises in a way that best prevents fatigue if you wish. To do this, alternate between rowing and other movements to give muscles a break while you move onto another exercise.



Chin ups – 5 sets, max reps.

V-bar Seated Cable Rows

Bent-knee, Stiff-Back Deadlifts.

One-arm dumbell rows

T-bar rows


Additionally, perform Pullovers on chest day as its both a chest and back compound movement, and reverse flyes with your delts. This is good, because it gives you more room to sculpt your back here.

Be sure to maximize all of the techniques listed in the previous section:

• GRIP
• WIDTH OF GRIP
• THE INCLINE AT WHICH THE MOVEMENT IS PERFORMED.
• CONTRACTING BACK OR NOT?


BUT THAT’S NOT ALL FOLKS:

There are two more important criteria in achieving that famous V-taper – having a narrow waist and broad shoulders. A narrow waist creates the illusion you are broader on top and looks asthletical. Broad shoulders on the other hand, make your waist look smaller and make you look rugged and masculine. Together with high lats, it will create the perfect flow to your physique that will make even Dorian Yates jealous.

CREATING SUPER-WIDE DELTOIDS:

The key to achieving this “flow” when it comes to deltoids is creating a balance of overall symmetry to each head of the deltoid, with a focus especially on width. Width is primarily created by developing you medial deltoids, and having solid rear delts behind them, which also round the shoulders.

Like back, its important to remember the key to any good physique is balance. When it comes to deltoids, this means a balance between the three heads – anterior, medial and posterior heads, and also a balance between pressing and raises.


READY TO HAVE FULL BLOWN DELTS THAT ENHANCE YOUR V-TAPER?

Here are the exercises to do this.


MID-DELTS:

Select 1-2 exercises from this group:

DUMBELL LATERAL RAISES:

These target the mid and rear delts, giving you width from a front on view and creating a V line which separates the mid delts from the arms. Usually the resistance used if performing the exercise with the strictness form is insufficient to blow the delts up to V-taper standard, so its OK to vary the movement, so the arms are slightly more bent, and so that the hands face forward, rather than towards the sides. Also remember during the exercise keep the elbow up to maxmise stress on these areas.

Variations: one arm/two arm, Seated/Standing.

These above two exercises I prefer to use as they are free weight and effective, but there are more “raises” variations you can try.

Other Variations of Lateral Raises: One-arm Cable lateral Raises, supine cable lateral raises, lying lateral raises and incline lateral raises.


WIDE-GRIP PRESSES

Traditionally performed military press with a medium, shoulder width grip will hit the front delts, but using a wide grip will hit the mid delts. This exercise is particularly useful because it allows you use enough resistance to stimulated this hard to develop head for maximum hypertrophy.

Alternatives: Wide grip machine press, Behind the neck wide grip presses.

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REAR-DELTS:

Select one exercise from this group.

BENT-OVER DUMBELL LATERAL RAISES:

These are a rear delt exercise. Depending on your aim of the exercise, choose to either contract shoulder blades back or not. This exercise can be performed at varying angles – the closer you body is to upright, the more of the medial delts are working, the more bent over you are, the more rear delts become involved.

Variations: Seated, standing.

Subsitutes: Bent over or incline cable lateral raises, machine reverse-flyes.


UPRIGHT ROWS:

This exercise is one of the most underated exercises. The impact it has shoulder structure is amazing. The separation it brings to the rear delts will really add to affect the shoulders have on your V-taper. I understand some people dislike this exercise due to several mechanical flaws, but I won’t go into them here. Ultamitely, its your choice. My choice is to use them purely based on the amazing shoulder sculpting results they've given me.

Note: Ensure you are using a wide grip, anything too close will shift the attention away from the rear delts, and to the traps.

Substitutes: Dumbell Upright Rows, Cable Upright Rows.


Also, don’t ignore training the anterior delts.

Exercises for anterior delts:

COMPOUNDS: Dumbell overhead presses, Dumbell or Machine Arc Presses, Arnold Presses, Machine presses, close-medium grip barbell overhead presses.

ISOLATION: Dumbell front raises, barbell front raises, cable front raises.

As these get a lot of work through heavy pressing, they don’t need a lot of sets to effectively stimulate.

SUPER-DUPER DELT-BLASHER ROUTINE:

Want the perfect delt routine for full blown, symmetrical delts? Look no further! Keep the volume in proportion with the volume you used in your back routine. I find a 2:3 ratio is balanced, and works well. So, if your back routine is 15 sets, perform 10 sets for delts. The volume is not as important as ensuring you are working muscles equally, which will ensure symmetry on all levels.

All exercises other than lateral raises should be performed using 3 sets of pyramiding reps – 10, 8 followed by 6.


Standing dumbbell lateral raises (4 sets here)

Wide Grip Behind the neck presses.

Bent-over lateral raises

Ensure you are using good form, and lifting the weight in a control fasion.

THE NARROW WAIST:

All is not over yet. To achieve this V-taper, a narrow waist is a must. It enhances the look of your whole physique, giving you an incompariable flow that is hard to achieve with a wide mid section. It makes both your back and shoulders appear larger and broader. Unfortunatly, genetics plays a major role in how big your hip structure is. But don’t loose hope, here are some awesome tips of maintaining a slim midsection.


• It’s important to first note that to have a lean waist, you need low-body fat levels. This can be achieve by carefully controlling calories, and engaging in moderate cardio.

• Avoid training the obliques with added resistance. This can widen the waist. But, like any other body part, obliques shouldn’t be ignored. Training them with body weight exercises shouldn't affect the width of your midsection.

AVOID: Dumbell Standing Side-bends, Weighted machine twisting crunches:

INSTEAD DO: Swiss ball Twisting crunches.


• If you are overly cautious you might get too wide, then monitor the amount of heavy lifts with stablisation involved, such as barbell squats, where your abs and obliques help stablise the weight. If you genetically have a big waist, then consider Smith Machine Squats which fixes your body into a position where it is already stablised.

What you can do to narrow your waist isn’t a lot, in fact, a narrow waist is more of an illusion that anything else. One that is created by having a sweep to your upper lats and broad shoulders. If you have a genetically larger waist, try bringing up delts and lats using the techniques I have described earlier.


QUADS: The outer sweep:


With less of an impact than upper body muscles, but still worth mentioning, is your outer quads. An example of well developed outer quads is Ronnie Coleman. They really give your body an impressive outline, and create not only a V, but an X. How do I get quads like this? Try to utilise a close stance on quad exercises such as leg presses and squats. The wider your stance, the more your inner quads are worked. Try these and see overall symmetry you only thought you’d see in body building magazines.



BONUS QUESTION: What IFBB Pro Has The Best V-Taper? The worst V-Taper? Why?


All you need to do is look at all the winners of the Mr. Olympia title to know how highly regarded the V-taper is on a professional stage. All of the winners had a massiveness to their lats that was/is incompariable – Dorian Yates, Ronnie Coleman, Lee Haney. So which pro has the best V-taper? It would have to be a close call between the three Mr. O’s I listed above. Ronnie has the best thickness, Dorian has amazing outer lats and Haney had lats that gave his physique an incredible flow. But, the winner? I think Ronnies pure combination of size, width and symmetry can’t be beaten. In fact, I don’t think this man will ever be beaten. Dave Henry, Dexter Jackson and Jay Cutler are other IFBB Pro's with nice V-tapers.

The Wost v-taper? Considering the nature of a good v-taper involves several muscles, alot of body builders fall into the category of having one part of the v-taper, but not the other. Dennis James, as an exmple, genitically has a wide waist, and his short stature only serves to make it looken even wider. But he has incredibly wide delts at the same time. Then there are those whos lat width don't meet their thickness such as former powerlifter Johnnie jackson, a man who is known for his herculian thickness.

Then there are those IFBB pro's who don't meet the criteria for any of the requirements of a good V-taper - wide delts, well developed lats and a small waist. I would say a man called Stan Mccrary is one pro who fits into this category more than any other. His delts aren't up to the standard they need to be to detract away from his large waist, and his lats aren't that good. Overall, although he has some good poses, such as side chest and most muscular, his lack of V-taper is one of the reasons his physique is so unbalanced, and why he consistently places outside the top 10 in Pro Shows.

Anyway, I hope you found this article helpful. Following the advice I’ve given in this article gives a good ground of information for you to sculpt your own upper lats, broad delts and narrow waist. All that you have to do now is put it too good use. Implement any techniques into your program you find useful, and start creating a flow to your physhique like no other.

Good luck!