Two figure pros showcase their methods to achieve your ideal physique by developing the perfect mix of features: a wide upper back; capped shoulders; a small, tight waist; and shapely thighs.
For shoulders: Leaning one-arm side lateral raise, behind-the-back one-arm cable lateral.
For back: Straight-arm rope pulldown, wide-grip chinup.
For quads: Single-leg press, narrow-stance hack squat (add a pulse or half rep at the bottom).
For waist: Ab vacuum.
TRAINING NOTES
“The key to creating that V-taper look is to work on rounding out your shoulders, widening your lats, keeping a lean, tight waistline, and getting a bigger quad sweep. If you can keep your abs at least somewhat visible you are able to achieve that look year-round. But for that tight waist, your diet needs to be 90% perfect in the off-season. Focus on keeping your diet clean and eating carbs around your workout so your muscles can best utilize them.”
Candice Keene IFBB Figure Pro
KEY MOVES
For shoulders: Lateral raise, front raise with pause hold, upright row.
For rear delts: Bentover dumbbell flye, seated high-cable row with wide pulley bar, rope face-pull.
For back: Pullup (wide and narrow grip, overhand and underhand), wide-grip lat pulldown (overhand and underhand), V-bar close-grip pulldown, barbell row (overhand and underhand), dumbbell row, cable pullover.
For quads: Leg press, leg extension, squat, lunge, and plyometrics.
For waist: Plank variations.
TRAINING NOTES
“Developing a solid mind-lat connection is the ‘secret sauce’ for a beautiful V-taper. Prior to rear-delt and shoulder training, I like to perform scapular-retraction activation exercises with a resistance band: Hold arms in front of you, gripping the bands. Without engaging traps or bending elbows, squeeze shoulders together and down. To create shapely thighs, target the outer quad muscles by keeping feet together in squats, presses, and extensions. Finally, to create a tight waistline, focus on the deep abdominal muscles.”
