Would you like to resemble a bodybuilder or "superhero" actor with their remarkable V-tapered physique?
This is the article for you.
The shoulders and lats are two crucial muscle groups to work on in the gym if you want to develop a V-tapered physique.
You may learn the five workouts you need to undertake to develop a V-shape physique by continuing to read. I'll also go into the science behind why these are the best workouts for developing muscle in these regions, as well as the best way to perform them.
All of the workouts suggested in this post are a part of my weekly workout schedule.
Big Broad Shoulders
Big, broad shoulders are typically the first feature of a V-shaped physique that people notice. Wide shoulders give the appearance that the waist is slimmer.
Three separate sets of fibres make up the shoulders: the anterior (front), lateral/medial (side/middle), and posterior (rear) deltoid.
The three heads of the shoulders should generally be worked to increase shoulder growth. However, we must concentrate on the side head if we want to maximise our shoulder width.
Pushing motions are the main way shoulders are taught. The greatest strategy to maximise shoulder growth is to combine high reps and low reps because they have both fast- and slow-twitch muscle fibres.
Aim for 15-20 total sets when working out your shoulders twice a week.
Barbell overhead press
The barbell overhead press is the best exercise for developing our shoulders.
The barbell overhead press works more than one joint (compound), therefore in addition to working the shoulders, it also engages the pectorals and triceps.
As a result, it's a fantastic exercise for boosting both our general athletic performance and physique.
The standing form of the overhead press trains the core and has a stronger total activation of the delts since it needs more stability and balance through the spine than the sitting variation.
A 2009 study found that due of their stabilising function, a free weight overhead press activates our side delts better than a machine like a Smith Machine.
The exercise (standing and dumbbells) that required the most stability also showed the strongest neuromuscular activation in the deltoid muscles. — 2013 Saeterbakken & Fimland
The overhead barbell press allows for a greater weight overload than utilising dumbbells. Since strength is a long-term factor in muscular growth, it is better for increasing our strength.
Although the front head of the deltoids receive the majority of the activation from the overhead press, 2013 research demonstrates that all three deltoid muscle groups are engaged during the overhead press.
Exercise advice: Place the bar in a squat rack at around armpit height, the same height you would use for a squat. Put a moderate to heavy weight on the bar and perform sets of 5–10 repetitions.
With a grasp that is somewhat wider than shoulder width, unrack the weight. While bending your legs and hips slightly, get your shoulders under the bar. To help stabilise the bar, I try to squeeze my lats as tightly as possible; this is crucial while lifting high loads.
Straighten yourself up and move away from the rack a few paces. Put your toes slightly out and firmly plant your feet shoulder-width apart.
To lift the weight over our heads while standing, the standing overhead press demands a stable base. As a result, our core muscles must be activated to produce a stabilising force during the activity.
Externally rotate your shoulders while angling your elbows outward.
According to a 2010 study, the barbell overhead press is most effective when performed across its whole range of motion. As a result, the barbell rests on top of our chest, directly over our wrist joint, to start the movement.
Take a deep breath, flex your glutes to maintain a neutral spine, then press the bar straight up and then back to lock out your elbows at the top. Tilt your head back when the movement starts to allow the bar to pass your chin. Pushing your head forward and returning it to the neutral position will stop the bar from passing your chin.
Keep your knees, hips, and shoulders still to prevent momentum from taking control of the movement.
Drop your elbows to your sides at a 45-degree angle, stopping completely at the top of your chest, to lower the weight. Before the following rep, take a deep breath.
Alternative activity: The seated dumbbell press is a close second to the standing overhead press as an overall shoulder exercise.
According to a 2013 study, using dumbbells causes greater front deltoid activation. However, Kohler et al. (2010) found that for the same activation, we only need to lift dumbbells at about 86% of a barbell press load. This is because we cannot lift as much weight with a dumbbell press.
Dumbbell Side Lateral Raises
Heavy presses are excellent for developing the entire shoulder, but they don't isolate the lateral (side) deltoids (shoulders).
Since the shoulder is a ball and socket joint, it serves many purposes.
Abduction, or raising our arms to the sides, is the main purpose of the side delt.
The ideal exercise to target your lateral delts is the dumbbell lateral raise, which was supported by a 2013 study.
Because of the position of the fibres and the strain on them, internal rotation of the shoulders should biomechanically result in greater activation of the medial delts.
Exercise advice: Because the lateral raise is a solitary exercise, you should choose a moderate weight that you can lift easily and concentrate on your mind-muscle connection. There should be 10 to 20 reps every set.
Your pinky finger should be positioned closer to the middle of the dumbbell when you hold the weights at your sides.
Stand with your knees slightly bent and your feet slightly closer together than shoulder-width apart. You want to be somewhat hunched over and leaning forward rather than being entirely upright.
Focusing mentally on raising yourself up from your elbows rather than your hands is a helpful cue for the movement. Start the raise's concentric phase by leading the weight upward and outward with your elbows.
You won't have absolutely straight elbows that are at your sides. When you raise your arms, they move around 15-20 degrees to the front from each side of your torso. Consider using the dumbbells to sweep out and up while flexing your lateral deltoid.
To reduce the danger of injury, keep your scapula (shoulder blades) retracted throughout the exercise. Once the movement has stopped at 90 degrees (horizontal), carefully lower the weight back to the starting position.
Lift your pinky higher than your thumbs to inwardly rotate your hand just before it reaches 90 degrees. This instruction will assist in shifting some of the focus from the front deltoids to the side delts.
Generally speaking, when it comes to overworking a muscle, momentum is not your friend. Therefore, you can carry out this activity while seated to reduce hip-thrust momentum.
Having said that, you can overburden your delts with extra weight by performing the exercise while standing. In the higher rep ranges (10+), it's also OK to use momentum to slightly cheat the final few reps in order to get a few more reps.
Wide Upper Back
The upper back is the second crucial muscle group to develop for a V-shaped body. To taper down into a slim waist, we need to make our upper back wider.
Pulling exercises are mostly used to train our back. Vertical pulls and horizontal pulls are two categories into which the pull can be divided.
A horizontal pull is a row like a cable or barbell row, but a vertical pull is a pull-up or pull-down.
The latissimus dorsi is the muscle that most significantly contributes to the width of our back (lats).
The lats serve two purposes. The lats' primary job is to abduct the arm. To move it closer to our body when our arm is outstretched, to put it another way. When our arms are out in front, the second job of the lats is to extend our shoulders, bringing our arms closer to our sides.
As a result, in order to engage our lats, we must execute activities that develop shoulder abduction and extension.
Pull-Ups
Given that it works many muscle groups, pull-ups are likely the most important exercise for developing a bigger and stronger back. We may easily increase the resistance, which will act as a strong overloading stimulation.
The pull up is ideal for developing the broad lats needed for the V-taper because it engages shoulder extension and abduction.
The Teres muscle, which is located immediately above the lats, is also worked during a pull-up.
Pull-ups have the extra benefit of helping you grow your arms because they involve using your biceps and forearms to help pull your body up to the bar.
Your gym might include a pull-up machine with an aid platform if you are unable to perform pull-ups. Alternatively, if your sole option is a bar. or enlist the aid of a band or spotter.
The objective should be to build up to performing pull-ups.
Many people are unable to perform a decent pull-up. Pull-ups are probably difficult for women and overweight people.
You must have a good strength to bodyweight ratio to do the movement. Therefore, a 300-pound man who can deadlift twice his body weight might have trouble pulling up, even when he weighs 100 pounds and has never exercised.
Exercise advice: Aim for 5–10 reps for each set while using your entire range of motion. It is much better to complete 8 solid reps than to labour through a few subpar ones.
To gradually overload the exercise, gradually add more weight to it over time (or do more reps). Gaining strength in important compound lifts is an excellent starting point for gaining strength in other exercises.
Lat Pull Down
The second crucial exercise for increasing your back width is the lat pulldown.
The pull-down is equally as effective as the pull-up for lat activation, as I just said. It's not as effective overall for growing your back, though, as pull-ups are because it's not the same compound movement.
The pull-down is less exhausting because it concentrates on the lats and doesn't train as many other muscle groups, thus isolation exercises have their advantages. Exercises that isolate muscles have their place because fatigue hinders our ability to develop stronger and add muscle in the gym.
Seated Cable Row
In addition to really working the lats, the seated cable row also works the forearms, biceps, hamstrings, and glutes as stabilisers.
A cable row engages the lats through shoulder extension as another pulling exercise.
On a particular cable machine with a bench and footplates, the exercise is carried out.
Exercise advice: Perform seated cable rows with a modest weight for 10 to 15 repetitions.
You should concentrate on the mind-muscle connection rather than shifting as much weight as you can, just like with the lat pull-down.
The exercise has the advantage of being adaptable to work various back muscle groups. Move your arms to your sides while bringing your elbows in and tucking them into your sides to increase your lat dominance. It must be a weight you can easily lift; form and experiencing a stretch in your lats are more crucial than the amount of weight you are hauling.
To target the lats through shoulder extension, use a handle attachment with a close-grip (v grip if possible). Wait until you are in the corrective position before beginning the movement while holding the handle loosely.
Knees slightly bent, place your feet firmly on the footrest. Maintain a tight core throughout, an erect trunk, and an elevated chest.
Discussion and Conclusion
The five workouts you should be performing to develop the muscle needed for a V-tapered physique have been covered in this article.
It's crucial to note the significance of our diets, though.
First, 0.7–1 Gms of protein per pound of body weight must be consumed for muscle growth.
To effectively highlight the V-shaped torso, however, we also need a slim waist. We can never pull off the look if we have a tyre around our middle.
A low body fat percentage is the only approach to achieve a slim waist. Some people inherit this trait. The majority of people reduce their body fat by calorie restriction.
To lose weight, you must create a calorie deficit. Consuming fewer calories than necessary to maintain our current weight is known as a calorie deficit. But it should just be a slight deficit. We lose muscle when we lose weight too quickly. We lose the V taper if we lose muscle!
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