What’s up everybody and welcome back to the quest for the V-tapered trunk.

So, how did your ratio measurements turn out?  (see V-Taper ratio)

Does your upper body resemble a funnel, a cylinder or, even worse, a pear?

Remember, we’re shooting for a shoulder to waist ratio of 1.6 for the athletic, lean muscle look that has the ladies rubber-necking as you walk by.

A good example of the numbers that would satisfy this equation would be to match a 30-inch waist with a shoulder circumference of 48 inches.

We’re not shooting for a meathead body builder ratio of 1.8, like some of the cartoon characters who flex and pose their way across the stage while sporting a spray-on tan and teeth so contrastingly white that you need UV 400 protection sunglasses in order to look directly at them.  But, I digress...

For those of you in the minority who already have the 1.6 ratio in check, time for you to move on to another post.  But, for the rest of you, here’s a look at 3 movements that you should be incorporating into your weekly routines to sculpt the V.

Keep in mind that these movements should be supplemented with the dozens of other lean body workouts and nutritional information on this site to address your waistline and allow tapering from your shoulders down to take place.

Also, the movements below are not the only 3 that can be utilized to achieve this look.  They should serve as a push in the right direction.

So, let’s get started...

Wide-Grip Dead Lift

The bent-knee version of the dead lift is arguably the best exercise for overall muscle recruitment.  The lower body will be taxed heavily, causing the release of muscle-building and fat-burning hormones throughout the body.

The core is called upon in a big way to perform this movement.  If not, you’re asking for back problems.

And, more specific to our V-tapering quest, the trapezius muscles of your upper back will be recruited.  Adding size and strength to your traps will create the look of a wider and thicker upper back.

Start the movement with the bar near your shins and over the front of your feet, which should be in a hip-width stance.  Grab the bar with an overhand or alternating grip at one and a half to two times your shoulder width.  Push your hips back, lift your chest, and pull your shoulder blades back and down to ensure a flat back position.

Next, activate your core as if you’re about to be punched in the gut.  This MUST be maintained throughout the entire lift.

With all these checkpoints covered, stand as you pull the bar up the front of your legs, while maintaining a flat-back, chest-up position.  Push through the heels to recruit the glutes and finish the movement by “shooting” your hips through at the top and pulling your shoulders back and down again if they had been displaced at all.

To descend, push your hips back while maintaining a flat back.  This hip dominant movement will create a forward tilt in your trunk, which is okay as long your back doesn’t round.

Once the bar reaches your knees you can begin flexing more at the knees while continuing to push your butt down.  Throughout the process, the bar should be sliding down your legs and, yes, this will often cause some scrapes along the way.  But, take that as a good sign as it means you are not allowing the bar or your body to get out in front.

Dumbbell Incline Chest Press

The incline press develops your upper chest and the front part of your deltoid muscles, in addition to hitting the triceps.  This movement will add width to the upper body.

I’d suggest using different bench angles for variety, but start with the standard incline position of 45 degrees.  The alternative would be to decline the bench to a position between 45 degrees and flat.  The flatter you set the bench, the more weight you will be able to do.

Your hand position is significant relative to the health of your shoulders.  Your palms should be facing in with a neutral grip at the bottom of the movement to allow the humeral head to rotate naturally in the shoulder socket.  As you press the dumbbells up above your shoulders, your hands will rotate so your palms are facing out at the top.

Your shoulders should be set back and down just like the dead lift, or any other movement for that matter.  This shoulder setting will raise your chest and set your scapula (shoulder blade) in a stable position and allow it to glide naturally through movement instead of winging out, as long as your elbows are tucked by your side as the weight descends instead of flaring out.

For a greater challenge and variety, alternate your presses instead of doing them at the same time.  This will require more trunk and shoulder stability as you won’t be able to counter-balance the weights.

Pull-up / Chin-up

These two similar movements are great for training the trapezius and latissimus dorsi.  The lats naturally take on a V-shape form when trained properly.

The differences between the pull-up and chin-up are often exaggerated.  The pull-up is performed with an overhand grip and will hit the lats and traps a little bit harder than the chin-up which utilizes an underhand grip and recruits the biceps for more assistance.

A wider grip will recruit the lats more, but don’t overdo it as there are diminishing returns.  Going too wide will cut down on the range of motion and also potentially compromises the rotator cuff.  You’ll also find that a wide grip chin-up will strain your wrists if you are using a straight bar.

A good rule of thumb would be to grip the bar slightly outside shoulder width and mix up your hand positions, even throwing in a neutral (palms in) grip if possible.

I’m not much for the CrossFit version of a pull-up where you swing your body around as if in convulsions so as to build momentum for assistance and tempo.  I’d rather see an individual control his body weight in a linear plane of motion and accelerate up in a 1-count, while decelerating down in a 3-count.  If you can’t execute this, ask someone to assist you at your feet or use a lat pull machine instead.

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I would suggest you perform 3 to 5 sets of each lift and cycle them throughout the week by performing heavy, moderate, and light days to keep the muscles stimulated.

Now, let’s get to it and start expanding the upper torso and diminishing the waistline until we hit that magical 1.6 ratio!

Your Coach,

Brian Utley

Related Post: Workout Routines To Build Muscle

When it comes to baseball, chicks dig the long ball, but as far as the male form goes, chicks dig the V-taper.  And, by V-taper, I mean the shape from your shoulders down to your waistline.  They love the athletic, chiseled look of broad shoulders and a lean mid-section.

1.6...no, not your GPA after a year of college.  It’s the shoulder to waist ratio you would want to achieve to pull off this V-shaped torso that drives the ladies wild.

To see where you stand, measure your shoulder circumference at its widest point, and then wrap a measuring tape around your abdomen so the bottom of the tape touches the top of your hip bones.  Once you have those numbers, divide the circumference of your shoulders by that of your waist.

If you have difficulty measuring the width of your shoulders by yourself, you can use the circumference of your chest by measuring at its widest point just below your armpits.  You would adjust your desired ratio to 1.4 when using the chest circumference because your chest is narrower than your shoulders.

If you’re wondering why the focus here is on the torso it’s because research shows that women are typically more attracted to a man’s upper body than lower body.  Not to suggest that leg training doesn’t play an important role in your appeal to the fairer sex, because it does.

It’s virtually impossible to get a lean, muscular upper body without developing the metabolism and fat-burning muscles of your lower body.  Your hips and thighs produce the hormones that drive muscle growth in your upper body.

Before I go any further and provide some movements to help you achieve the V-taper appeal, I want to give you the chance to assess your body ratio and let this concept marinate over you.  Check back soon for a plan to get you there.

Your Coach,

Brian Utley

Related body sculpting posts:  Stretching for a Lean Body (make sure you're not forgetting about this key ingredient) | Split Routine Workout

Jason Statham has always been in good shape, but I really like how ripped up and bomb-diggity he looked in Transporter 3.

The guy's got some serious swag in this flick and I know there's lots of guys out there who want to rock their own Jason Statham physique.

In a previous celebrity workouts, I gave you an insider’s look at Statham’s actual training and diet regimen (Jason Statham’s Workout).

Today I’m going to give you another workout routine that you can use to get a ripped body like Jason Statham in Transporter 3.

If you take a close look at Statham’s physique, some of the things that stand out are:

---> Jason has great shoulder development, especially in the rear delts (most people neglect this BIG time)

---> He’s lean enough to have sharp abs and you can see the definition in his back muscles (you have to lose a lot of fat and get pretty damn lean to accomplish this)

---> He built a nice v-taper, which makes him look even more athletic and badass (plus, girls are naturally drawn to a guy with broad shoulders and a narrow, lean waist)

---> Jason Statham doesn’t overdo it by adding too much bulky muscle to his frame

The “Jason Statham Workout” I designed will help you build a similar body with the same impressive qualities.  Who knows, maybe you’ll be cast in the next Transporter after a few months of using this advanced workout plan.

Make sure you’re following a lean body diet plan, using the proper fat loss supplements and getting plenty of uninterrupted sleep each night.  Otherwise, no workout will give you the Jason Statham look you’re after.  Alright, let’s rock this…

Jason Statham Transporter 3 Workout Plan:

---> Complete this workout 3 days per week, on M, W, F or T, Th, Sat.  Then do at least 3 intense fat-burning workouts each week (on opposite days or after doing this workout).

---> Warm up for 5 minutes and perform functional stretching before starting.

1a. Bent-over dumbbell rows (overhand grip with hands out wide) x 40 secs

1b. Side lunges (holding light pair of dumbbells, if able) x 9 reps per leg

1c. Body weight pull-ups (overhand grip with hands out wide) x failure

---> Rest 1 minute, then start next tri-set…

2a. Dumbbell reverse flys (keep back flat, don’t round shoulders) x 40 secs

2b. Dumbbell stiff-legged deadlifts (go HEAVY, squeeze lower and middle back hard on way up) x 40 secs

2c. Body weight chin-ups (underhand grip with hands close together) x failure

---> Rest 1 minute and repeat each tri-set two more times for a total of 3 tri-sets.  After you’ve done this, finish the workout off with one round of the following circuit (no rest in between exercises)…

1a. Close grip explosive push-ups x 20 secs

1b. Jumping jacks x 20 secs

1c. Plank hold (forearms and toes, back straight) x 20 secs

1d. Tuck jumps x 20 secs

1e. Dumbbell boxing x 20 secs

1f. Burpees x 20 secs

---> Then puke and go admire your Jason Statham Transporter 3 body…

As you can see, this workout is designed to put major emphasis on the backside of the body.  By switching things up and going hard on the rear delts, lats, lower back and hamstrings, you’ll start to build a more balanced and complete body like Jason Statham.

Training like this will definitely help you build a better v-taper.  Also, by filling out the back of your shoulders, you’ll have a much more powerful and explosive look to you (see Jason Statham’s picture...having great shoulders really makes or breaks your body).

Since we’re using tri-sets and going as heavy and hard as possible during the weight training, you’ll also be burning fat like it’s going out of style.

Notice how we’re lifting for time and not reps on most exercises – this is done on purpose to give you the best combination of muscle building and fat loss during (and after) the workout.

You can swap the order of the tri-sets, or the order of the exercises within the tri-sets, every couple of workouts.  Also, try to add more weight as the weeks progress.

That’s a wicked and very strategic workout to have you ripped like Jason Statham in Transporter 3.  All you have to do now is put this workout plan into action and you’ll be losing stomach fat and adding lean muscle fast.

If you want more expert guidance and advanced tips on how to carve a lean body in less time, make sure you sign up for my free VIP list in the blue box below.

Your Coach,

Brad Campbell

LL Cool J

What's even more impressive is that Big L has managed to peak and actually look his best after turning 40 years old.  LL Cool J is also the first person to make the cover of Men's Fitness magazine more than once.

Hmm, I wonder if his image has anything to do with his ability to stay on top of the music biz for so long...

... and if being lean and muscular has allowed him to grow as an entertainer into other lucrative industries, such as TV, commercials and movies.  I'd say HELL YES (just another example of how People In Great Shape Live Better).

Let's take an in-depth look at LL Cool J's workout routine to see how he's built such a show-stopping body.

I just hope he can break away from the mediocre garbage that most celebrities are calling workouts (for example, see my review of Nelly's workout plan or worse yet, Megan Fox's workout).

LL Cool J's Workout Routine:

--> LL Cool J works out 5 times per week with his trainer and his workouts go a lil something like this...

--> 3 sets of 5-6 reps seated dumbbell presses, followed by 10 push-ups with a 45 pound plate on his back

--> Immediately goes into an ab circuit (what's up with celebrities and their damn ab routines?)

--> 20-30 juggle crunches, 15 sledge-abbers, 10 weighted crunches, 10-20 standing sit-ups, 30 elevated crunches, then jump rope for 1 minute

--> This is one set.  He then rests for one minute and repeats for 6 total ab circuits

--> Next, LL's cardio workout begins with boxing drills, transitions into resistance sprints (trainer holds elastic band attached to harness) and finishes with 45 minutes of interval training (thank god) on a treadmill

--> LL Cool J's diet consists of 6-7 small meals per day, with emphasis placed on boosting metabolism

--> Popular food choices include chicken, oatmeal, fish and asparagus

There you have it...that's how LL Cool J sculpts and maintains his magazine-cover-worthy physique.  I'm shocked to say that this is one of the first celebrity workouts I've reviewed that didn't totally suck.  He's actually doing a lot of things right with his workout regimen.

The first and most important thing that sticks out is that his diet plan is ideal for getting lean.  This accounts for as much as 85% of your fat loss and toning results...and it's clear LL knows this.  He's also got great consistency with his workouts, training 5 days per week.  This helps keep his metabolism in fat burning mode and promotes the building of lean muscle mass.

LL uses heavy weights, lower reps and attacks the shoulders first in his workout.  This is a great strategy for improving his v-taper, which in turn makes his abs and overall frame look even more bad a*s.  Although slightly excessive, doing explosive sprint intervals with added resistance and finishing off with a grueling 45 minutes of treadmill intervals, is truly hardcore and gets my advanced fat loss approval.

The only real beef I have with LL Cool J's workout is the ridiculous ab circuit.  Maybe he's just trying to fit in with all the other celebrities, who seem to think it's mandatory to do 30 minutes of ab training every day if you want to have a good stomach.  I personally hardly ever do any direct ab training and have no problem sporting a 6 pack.

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After all, it's all about having a low enough body fat percentage to let those babies show through.  In fact, too much ab training will only build the abdominal muscles and make your waist look thicker and more pushed out.  If you're doing the right kinds of weight training and cardio, trust me, you're already doing enough ab work...and this type of ab training is more practical to everyday life...so please, quit with all the damn crunches and fancy ab circuits, people.

In the comments section below, I want to know your favorite LL Cool J song of all time... dude's got a lot to pick from.  Pretty tough to beat Momma Said Knock You Out... that's such a classic old school song.

Your Coach,

Brad Campbell

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