The V-taper is an iconic superhero physique that many gym-goers strive to achieve.
How do you build a V-shaped body with dumbbells?
A V-taper look can be achieved by doing back exercises to increase lat width and thickness, such as single-arm dumbbell rows (with your elbow out). In addition, training the shoulders will help give you a V-taper look, specifically the lateral deltoid and traps using exercises like dumbbell upright rows and lateral raises.
In order to create a V-taper silhouette, you need to reduce the amount of fat around your waist. Many people seeking a similar goal make the mistake of losing weight indiscriminately, resulting in a loss of muscle mass as well.
In this article, we will break down:
- What it means to have a V-taper
- What muscle groups should be trained to develop a more drastic V-taper
- A step-by-step dumbbell V-taper workout program
What Does V-Taper Mean?
A V-shaped body is one where the upper back, shoulders, and traps are broad and wide, while the waist is narrower.
Many people who want to change their body shape focus on working out the back and shoulders more often. This is common for bodybuilders, swimmers, and people in action movies.
Some lifters who have narrower shoulders may find it more difficult to create a more pronounced V-taper, however it is still possible.
Key V-Taper Musculature
The three muscle groups that have the most impact on creating the V-taper are the ones that should be prioritized for development.
1) Latissimus Dorsi
The lats, or latissimus dorsi, are a large set of muscles located in the upper and middle back. They originate at the lower back and attach at the shoulder, meaning they are responsible for a lot of shoulder movement. They are also responsible for stability in the spine. Because of this, movements that work the lats, such as deadlifts, lat pulldowns, rows, and pull-ups, are highly effective. Not only do they build lat size, which creates the V-shape many people desire, but they also contribute to an overall more aesthetic appearance by drawing attention to the waist.
2) Deltoids
The deltoid muscle is located in the shoulder and is responsible for a range of shoulder movements. It is made up of three sections – the front, middle and back. Developing strong deltoid muscles is an important part of creating a V-shaped torso, as it will add width to the top part of the V. Like the latissimus dorsi muscle, the deltoid contracts to stabilize the shoulder joint while moving. The best exercises for working the deltoid muscle are overhead presses and lateral raises.
3) Abdominals
The abdominals are the muscle group most associated with the V-taper. When it comes to aesthetics, well-defined abdominals are the most eye-catching element. While reducing body fat contributes most to abdominal aesthetics, specific ab-targeted exercises can increase muscle definition. The abs are often misunderstood as just one muscle; in fact, there are four individual abdominal muscles – the rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, external oblique, and internal oblique. These muscles work to control and stabilize the many movements of the trunk. There are a number of effective ab-targeted exercises, including sit-ups, crunches, and isometric holds.
Muscle Groups the Make the Best V-Taper
The muscles that are mainly responsible for the V-taper look are below.
Some people may have muscle groups that are stronger than others. However, the weaker muscle groups should be trained more often to make them stronger.
This allows your body to fully recover between sessions and puts more of an emphasis on the area you are looking to improve. If you have a “weak point,” you should train that area more than other areas of your body–two to three times per week rather than once. This allows your body to recover fully between sessions and makes more of an impact on the area you're hoping to improve.
Lats (Back Muscles)
The back muscles are responsible for providing thickness when viewed from the side and width when viewed from the front.
Rowing movements help develop a thicker back and create more pronounced separation between the sides of the back, while pull ups and pulldowns help create width.
To create a v-taper look, you need both the thickness and width of the back.
Shoulders
Constructing significant shoulder muscles will give you the look of being wider than average.
You specifically want to target your lateral and rear delts when doing dumbbell lateral raises, dumbbell overhead presses, and dumbbell reverse flys.
Traps
Working out your traps can make your upper back thicker and larger, not only by making your traps go up towards your ears, but also by making them go across your upper back from side to side.
The traps can also help create a deep split down the middle of the back.
There are several exercises you can do to make your traps bigger and give you a V-shaped torso. Upright rows, dumbbell raises and dumbbell shrugs are all good options.
Abs/Lower Back (Core)
Some lifters may not need to train their abs.
Some lifters find that training their abs, specifically their obliques, often increases their waist circumference, which might not contibute to a v-taper look.
I would suggest focusing on trimming the waist with a proper diet instead of doing ab exercises every day.
Step-By-Step Guide to Get a V-Taper?
Step 1 – Build Bigger Shoulders
To build bigger shoulders, you need to create width, which will give you the V-taper look. This can be done by working on your deltoids.
You can tone all three heads of your deltoids by doing shoulder presses, lateral raises, bent over reverse flyes, and front raises with dumbbells.
Training the shoulders with a variety of rep ranges is key to ensure optimal growth. Heavier loads are necessary to stimulate growth in the deltoids, while lighter loads are also important to keep the muscles growing.
Step 2 – Increase the Width of Your Back
Training the back muscles for thickness and width is an important part of creating a well-defined V-shaped physique.
You should train your back muscles at a variety of angles to effectively target all the muscles. This is because the different muscles in your back have different pennation angles, meaning they need to be worked on from different positions. So pull movements should be done from a vertical, horizontal, and anywhere in-between position.
When training the back for width, you want to focus on movements like pull ups, pull downs, and wider grip row variations that can hit the traps and rear delts.
If you don't have a pull-up bar or access to machines where you can pull down from a vertical position, it will be hard to hit the angle with dumbbells only.
The best way to develop width using dumbbells is to do wide grip rows, with your palms facing towards you and your elbows pointed out. This works the rear delts, which can help give a wider appearance to the shoulders.
To get the best results, do these exercises with moderate amounts of weight 10-15 and 15-20 times each.
You will need to do exercises that train rowing movements to help increase the thickness of your middle back and give shape to your lower lats (love handles).
Different types of rows (dumbbell low rows, reverse grip rows, single arm rows) from various angles, as well as pullovers can all help create a more drastic V-taper.
Step 3 – Lose Body Fat Around the Waist
problematic for those people who want a V-shaped torso and who already have well-developed shoulders and back muscles.
Although training the core may result in a thicker midsection, it can also create a more defined appearance.
If you want to lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories than you burn. For most people, this requires sticking to a diet for 6-12 weeks, with weight loss around the waist often taking the longest.
Be careful not to make sudden, drastic changes to your diet, as you could lose muscle mass in the process.
To lose weight in a healthy way, I recommend aiming to lose 0.5-1.0 pounds per week. This should be done over 8-16 weeks, making sure not to lose more than 10% of your current weight in one diet phase. Losing weight too quickly can cause you to lose muscle and gain fat more easily when you are done dieting.
If you are already skinny, you may want to try eating more calories and working out hard to create more muscle mass in your shoulders and back. Once you have built up some muscle, you can then cut body fat as described above.
If you are one of these lifters, increasing your overall Calories by 250-500 Calories (spread out over the course of the day) will generally be all that you need to confidently add muscle mass. This text is saying that if you are a person who struggles to gain muscle mass, you may just need to eat more calories. Increasing your overall calorie intake by 250-500 calories spread out over the course of the day should help you gain muscle mass.
If you're finding it difficult to bulk up, this article on How to Bulk with a Fast Metabolism may have some helpful tips.
Diet is a key factor in achieving the V-shaped torso, and depending on your starting point, you may need to adjust your diet and workout routine to fit your goals and timeline.
V-Taper Training Program
The provided program requires you to exercise five times a week, with one day allocated to lower body workouts and four days for upper body workouts. The upper body workouts are split into two types, with the first utilizing exercises in a horizontal plane and the second using exercises in a vertical plane. The large volume of upper body training included in the program will optimally accelerate muscle growth.It is very important that you do not neglect training your lower body and that you maintain the size and strength of your legs. The following tables provide all of the details you need to complete each training session. Pay very close attention to the superset, tri-set, and giant set exercises, as well as the rest periods that you will need to take.
Upper 1 (Horizontal) Session
| Exercise | Sets x Reps | Rest (s) |
| A1 – Barbell Bench Press A2 – Band Pull Aparts |
4 x 5 4 x 25 |
– 120 |
| B1 – Single-Arm Dumbbell Row (Pronated Grip) B2 – Alternating Dumbbell Incline Bench Press |
3 x 8 – 10 3 x 8 – 10 |
60 60 |
| C – T-Bar Row | 3 x 10 | 60 |
| D – Dips | 2 x 6 – 8 | 60 |
| E1 – 1.5 Inverted Row E2 – Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly |
3 x 12 3 x 12 – 15 |
30 30 |
Upper 1 (Vertical) Session
| Exercise | Sets x Reps | Rest (s) |
| A – Bottoms-Up Kettlebell Press | 2 x 6 | 45 |
| B – Chin-Ups | 4 x 4 – 6 | 90 |
| C1 – Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press C2 – Leaning Lat Stretch |
3 x 8 3 x 30 |
90 60 |
| D – Eccentric Lat Pulldown | 3 x 6 | 90 |
| E1 – Leaning Lateral Raise E2 – Dumbbell Lateral Raise E3 – Shoulder Circle (front to back) E4 – Shoulder Circle (back to front) |
3 x 8 3 x 8 3 x 8 3 x 8 |
0 – 30 0 – 30 0 – 30 60 |
| F – Jackknife Pull-Up | 3 x failure | 60 |
Lower Session
| Exercise | Sets x Reps | Rest (s) |
| A – Squats | 3 x 6 | 120 |
| B1 – Barbell Hip Thrust B2 – Feet-Elevated Side Plank |
3 x 8 3 x 45s (per side) |
60 60 |
| C – Snatch-Grip Romanian Deadlift | 3 x 10 | 60 |
| D1 – Dumbbell Walking Lunge D2 – Hollow Body Hold |
3 x 12 3 x 45s |
– 60 |
| E1 – Kneeling Cable Crunch E2 – Sprinting Sit-Up |
3 x 12 3 x 12 |
30 30 |
Upper 2 (Horizontal) Session
| Exercise | Sets x Reps | Rest (s) |
| A – Cable Face Pull | 3 x 15, 12, 10 | 0-30 |
| B1 – Split-Stance Dumbbell Row B2 – Dumbbell Bench Press |
4 x 6 4 x 8 |
60 60 |
| C – Chest-Supported Row | 2 x 12 | 60 |
| D1 – Ring Isometric-Hold to Row D2 – Ring Push-Up |
3 x 8, 8, 10 3 x 8 – 12 |
60 60 |
| E1 – Chest-Supported Incline Shrug E2 – Prone Dumbbell Swing |
3 x 12 3 x 25 |
45 45 |
Upper 2 (Vertical) Session
| Exercise | Sets x Reps | Rest (s) |
| A – Half-Kneeling Cable Scapular Slide | 2 x 12 | 45 |
| B – Barbell Overhead Press | 4 x 4 – 6 | 90 |
| C – Pull-Ups | 3 x 8 – 10 | 60 |
| D1 – Arnold Press D2 – Leaning Lat Stretch |
3 x 10 – 12 3 x 30s |
60
|
| E – Wide Lat Pulldown | 4 x 8 – 10 | 60 |
| F1 – Dumbbell L-Lateral Raise F2 – Bus Driver |
3 x 8 3 x failure |
45 45 |
Nutritional Considerations for V-Taper Development
studies have shown that both strength training and nutrition are important for changes in body composition. Carrying excess body fat will interfere with creating the V-taper. It is necessary to lean down to the point where muscles become more visible. If body fat percentage is too high, these muscles will be hidden under a layer of body fat thus impact overall aesthetics. To facilitate substantial changes in body fat, look to restrict your calorie intake on non-training days to place you in a deficit. During training days, consume for maintenance.
Final Word
The V-taper program recommends specific training and nutrition principles that, when followed, will result in substantial changes to body composition, leading to the attainment of the V-taper.
