V-taper

[Jake Fires]

how the hell do i get a more impressive V-taper. this is my back routine

im currently 170lbs 5'11. and 23 years old
Back Workout:
10 pullups after 5 min warmup.
lat pull downs( cracking that egg with my shoulder blades )
straight leg dead lifts.
ghetto T-bar rows
cable rows. ( back straight no movement besides my arms )
then cable rows one arm at a time.
followed by pull ups till i fail which is around 5 ( 3x's )

rest between sets is no more that 2 mins.

any suggestions?

 

[uncheelstar]

honesty the best thing for the big ol back is BB bent over rows.... lats pull downs are great as well... i think going slowly and like you said tighten that back as much as possible, and i think regular DL are better than straight legs, because it puts more weight on you back and legs

 

[hypo]

The key to the taper that a lot of people neglect is a small waist. You've got to lose the fat for the taper to come through. Also, large protruding deltoids add to the shape a lot.

If you can do 10 body weight pullups, you should move on to weighted pullups. Use a dip belt and go back down to the 6 rep range, and stay there while you increase the weight. This is a much better exercise than pulldowns, IMHO.

Straight leg deads, if you're doing them right, are actually more of a hamstring movement (the back muscles are isometrically worked, but the hams actually contract as the hips rotate on the femurs). Try regular deads or rack deads for back.

 

[Jake Fires]

i do reg deadlifts on my leg days sometimes but i really feel the straight deads in my whole back.

knees slightly bent and shoulder blades back and i bend over and keep my back straight. alot like good mornings.

 

[EasyEJL]

honesty the best thing for the big ol back is BB bent over rows.... lats pull downs are great as well... i think going slowly and like you said tighten that back as much as possible, and i think regular DL are better than straight legs, because it puts more weight on you back and legs

from my opinion, pendlay bb rows are probably the best

 

[Jstrong20]

Ha only way is to keep adding muscle. Probably no secret routine but stretching your lats after you work them like "extreme stretching" might help. Also Lat shrugs may be of some help. Keep switching the grip around until you feel it mostly in the lats. For me supinated grip and pronated wide grip work well. You can also do bb rows with a really wide grip as they seem to really hit the lats hard.

 

[ZiR RED]

Don't forget your deltoids and the muscles of the upper back that keep your shoudlers retracted.

Br

 

[DAdams91982]

The V-Taper doesn't only come from the primary back exercises.

Make sure you have a strong base since the legs queue the body to generate the most testosterone that will help add mass to every part of your body. Do not neglect chest in the area of flys and decline press.

Add Rack Chins to your back workout... get rid of cable rows and use free weight.

Most of all focus on your waist circumference. Lower cort to shrink your waist.

 

[JThaR3ason]

on your cable rows, try hooking up two handles. it will crush the outer most portion of your lat

 

[Jake Fires]

ya maybe i wasnt thinking of the literal V-taper but more of my lats. good point though with working out the legs, ill agree with ya on that with the higher T levels it produces will add more mass all around.

i guess i can switch some cable rows with db rows.

 

[DAdams91982]

ya maybe i wasnt thinking of the literal V-taper but more of my lats. good point though with working out the legs, ill agree with ya on that with the higher T levels it produces will add more mass all around.

i guess i can switch some cable rows with db rows.

Definitely add in Rack pulls though.... that hits lats harder than any other movement I have performed.

 

[waynaferd]

I like weighted low rep pull ups, DB rows pulling too hip, and heavy heavy pull-downs.

 

[Jake Fires]

im gonna add some rack rows and DB rows to my workout and swap out 2 others. well see how it goes soreness wise.

 

[votum]

I like to think my V is pretty decent, it looks good in my avatar photo anyway.

Regular DL I believe is the biggest attributer. After that WIDE grip pull ups. I mean as wide as possible. And do as many as you can, or add weight. Like I do 3 sets to failure on back days at the end, currently doing around 15, 12, 10 or so. No kipping, keep your legs straight, control your descent. The wider the grip the wider your back will get at the shoulder blade level.

Also, I learn this in every BB book I read. Walk around with your lats flexed as much as you can. Just do it at home if you are embarrassed, but flexing your muscles constantly will actually make them grow. It's something to do with mind muscle connection. Maybe it tells them they need to be bigger or something, not sure, but it does work.

I'm not a fan of lat pull downs, but everyones different