Best Exercise for V-Taper

Posted by AK on Dec 14, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments

One of the most visible signs of a person in great shape is a trapezoidal, “v-tapered” torso.

The wide-shouldered, narrow-waisted look is certainly easier to attain if you’ve been handed a good set of genetics; but you need not fret if you weren’t a huge winner in the physique DNA lottery.

In addition to eating the right foods to keep your waistline in check, there’s one exercise in particular you can do that will dramatically bring out the sweep of your lats and rear deltoids.

The common forward-facing grip pull-up beats practically everything for overall latissimus dorsi development, as well as for other areas of the back. Yes, you can find many other effective back exercises to blast your dorsal side, but few are as functional or as simple as front-grip pull-ups.

If you’ve never done them, or aren’t used to hauling up your own bodyweight, you can try them assisted with a stable chair or a partner boosting you on the concentric (up portion) initially.

Keep your movement smooth and controlled, as this will give your muscles maximum stimulation and help prevent injury.

There’s really no limit to how many you should do in a given set. For more muscle thickness and shorter sets, you can hold a weight with your feet or wear a special belt with a chain attachment from which you can suspend weight plates. But for simplicity, you can also just blast out high reps. Either way, you’ll vastly improve your functional strength while doing an exercise that translates directly to a more powerful, fit appearance.