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When you have broad shoulders, a thick upper back, large lats, and a thin waist, your body takes on a V-taper shape. It exudes physical strength, twisted steel, and sensuality appeal.
It's backed up by science. According to studies, males with a shoulder circumference 1.6 times that of their hips are more attractive to women. It's referred to as "the golden ratio."
The only issue? The ideal exercises for developing a V-taper physique frequently injure your elbows and shoulders. This makes consistency more difficult. There is no need to be concerned. Seven joint-friendly lifts that target the same muscle groups are listed below.
BOULDER SHOULDERS
The most significant muscles for stressing the V-taper are the lateral and rear delts. Posture and shoulder width will improve as you gain weight in this area.
If you have the shoulder mobility to complete them correctly, barbell military presses are a wonderful exercise. Because most experienced lifters have the mobility of a pitchfork, the barbell version can cause more harm than good.
Here are three more viable alternatives:
LATERAL RAISE IN ISODYNAMIC CONTRAST
Stretching your muscles without jeopardizing your joints is the secret to developing wide, powerful shoulders. "Isodynamic contrast" simply implies that you start your work set with an isometric hold.
Holding for 15 seconds enhances your mind-muscle connection while also pre-fatiguing your delts' medial head. The majority of lifters have trouble "feeling" their delts. This procedure tackles the problem and aids in the development of a stalled muscle without putting too much strain on your shoulder joint.
HOW TO GO ABOUT IT
Choose a weight that will allow you to do 15-20 lateral rises.
Hold the crucifix posture for 15 seconds after one rep.
Perform 10-15 repeats after the hold.
Repeat for 3-5 sets, pausing for 30-60 seconds between sets.
DUMBBELL PRESS WITH ONE ARM
This exercise improves core strength and stability. Your core tries to stabilize the uneven load when you use one dumbbell instead of a barbell. The anti-lateral flexion component of the offset loading hits your obliques harder than a medicine ball to the belly.
Gradually increase the weight. Single-arm dumbbell presses can be used as a pure strength activity to help you develop bigger shoulders and a more sturdy mid-section.
HOW TO GO ABOUT IT
Maintain a shoulder-width or slightly broader distance between your feet while bracing your abs.
Extend the non-working arm to the side, on your hip, or across your body to your obliques.
Create a shelf by maintaining your elbows up to engage your lats, similar to a bilateral overhead press. This puts your arm in a more secure position for overhead pressing.
At the top of each rep, lock out. Repeat for 4 sets of 6-8 reps, finishing in a joint-stacked position.
LANDMINE PRESSES (HALF-KNEELING)
For lifters who have trouble pressing overhead, this is a fantastic option. The half-kneeling landmine press can be thought of as a one-size-fits-all exercise. Because it's a unilateral workout, it also works your core.
The exercise's unusual range of motion and arch put a strain on your shoulder stabilizers, forcing them to work harder to improve thoracic mobility and stability, which are essential for good movement and injury prevention.
HOW TO GO ABOUT IT
Keep your knees half-kneeling.
Squeeze your down leg's glute. To avoid extension and rotation, brace your core.
Keep your chin tucked and press straight. At the peak, take a breath and slowly lower yourself.
As a primary strength movement, perform 3 sets of 8 half-kneeling presses.
GET YOKED
"The yoke" refers to a muscular upper back, specifically the traps, rhomboids, and rear delts. Building a powerful yoke screams high-performance and completes the V-taper look.
It also improves shoulder stability and helps to improve your posture, so you don't look like you live hunched over at the computer. Your traps will be the main muscle you work on. On overhead press variations, they brace your scapula and provide stability.
When you retract your shoulders, your traps take on a direct loading role (think rows and face pulls). It is a large muscle with a limited range of action. Exercises that incorporate upward movement and rotation of the scapula are required to maximize the upper fibers (circumfering the neck).
Shrugs, cleans, and farmers walks all fit under this category. These variants will teach you how to shrug if you don't already know how.
For the other two trap-building lifts, here are some options:
FARMER’S WALKS – FOR 2 MINUTES
Because your traps' upper fibers have a restricted range of motion for elevating your scapula, more time under strain and reps will benefit them.
Try two-minute farmers walks with a small shoulder shrug instead of the herky-jerky shrugs seen at most gyms. At the end of your back or pull days, do three sets of two-minute walks with 90 seconds of recovery.
The two-minute farmers walk will test your grip, force you to control your breathing while maintaining proper posture, enhance your stability from head to toe, and put a lot of stress on your traps.
HOW TO GO ABOUT IT
Dumbbells, kettlebells, farmers walk implements, or 45-pound plates with handles are all good options.
Retract and slightly shrug your shoulders as you stand tall.
For two minutes, walk heel-to-toe while keeping your chest tall.
Repeat after a brief rest of 1-2 minutes.
DUMBBELL HANG CLEAN & PRESS
This is a total-body workout that requires movement from the wrist, elbow, shoulder, ankle, knee, and hip joints. Because of this, the clean is a better value for money than practically any other exercise.
To accelerate a substantial resistance, support the spine, and explosively transmit force, the appropriate muscles that span each of those joints must function together.
When you add a press to each rep, the exercise becomes one of the most effective ways to bulk up your traps and shoulders. You don't even have to use a barbell to achieve it. Simply take a pair of dumbbells.
Try a hang-clean, squat, and press variation for a more joint-friendly option.
HOW TO GO ABOUT IT
In the "hang" position, squat down with weights at your sides just below the knee.
Extend the hips and knees aggressively with the dumbbells slightly below knee level and shoulders retracted.
Shrug and draw the elbows upward as the dumbbells pass your hips, rotating your arms until your triceps are parallel to the ground.
While in the squat position, pull your body underneath the dumbbells.
Stand up as soon as you reach the bottom of the squat.
Place your hand above your head.
Repeat with the dumbbells in the hang position.
COBRA LATS, ANYONE?
Large shoulders and a slim waist are emphasized by wide lats. Cobra-like lats can be achieved by combining horizontal and vertical pulls. Pull-ups and chin-ups receive all the attention, but most lifters lack the relative strength and shoulder mobility required to complete them correctly. The final result is a set of battered elbows and shoulders, as well as a set of weak lats.
Instead, try these:
BENT-OVER ROW WITH TRAP BAR
This is a spine-friendly method of developing strong lats and broad shoulders. The wider-grip grips keep your traps and back delts under continual tension. Because the load is centered on the trap bar, you can target your lats without having to worry about your lower back getting in the way.
Because of the neutral-grip hand position, the trap bar allows for a safe and simple setup, and you'll be able to use a wider range of motion. Trap-bar rows can be used instead of barbell bent-over rows. You'll rapidly notice that you're gaining muscle without any pain.
HOW TO GO ABOUT IT
Stand within a trap bar with your hips pushed back and your back flat until your hands can reach the handles.
Squeeze the handles and pull your elbows back to do a row from the "deadlift" position.
Lower slowly and steadily while keeping a neutral spine position.
JACKKNIFE PULL-UP
If you have shoulder or elbow pain, this is a nice one to try. It'll also be a better option for hypertrophy if you can't accomplish 8-10 regulated chin-ups or pull-ups. The jackknife pull-up eliminates the mobility and relative-strength issues that standard pull-ups cause for most lifters.
You can lower the strain on each exercise and have more control by raising your feet and altering your body angle. Add it to your workouts in the same way that you would any other vertical pull.
HOW TO GO ABOUT IT
Use a rack, Smith machine, or rings to secure a barbell.
Place your feet on a bench or a box to raise them.
Make a 90-degree bend in your knees.
Depress the shoulders initially to engage them. The pull-up will now be a back-dominant movement.
Pull yourself up and down with your elbows. Pause at the peak and slowly lower yourself, concentrating on engaging your lats.
To adapt the exercise, you can change the tempo, add a weight vest, and adjust the body tilt slightly.