Fulfill your pursuit of physique perfection! This three-month training program, designed to expand your shoulders and lats while tightening your core, will help you build the definitive “V” shape.

What’s the most important letter in the alphabet to a bodybuilder? A capital “V,” as in V-taper. The one made famous by men like Steve Reeves, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lee Haney, Frank Zane … legends all of them, who displayed a physique capped by round and full delts that appeared all the more impressive in comparison to a sometimes impossibly narrow waist.

They knew success in bodybuilding was all about creating an illusion on stage. And their strategy is something you can take advantage of, even if you don’t possess the genetic gifts of narrow hips and a wide clavicle structure (as many of the greatest champions in bodybuilding history actually don’t). Think of it like this: Even if you’re wide waisted, you can still create a dramatic V-taper by expanding your upper body, increasing the ratio differential between shoulders and abs.

That’s what this plan is designed to do, and it’ll have an effect no matter what shortcomings you may start with. These 12 weeks worth of workouts involve every major muscle group of your body, but they place extra emphasis on shoulder and lat width, along with a more compact midsection. Thus, you’ll accentuate your shoulder-to-waist V-taper, making you broader up top and narrower in the middle.

Ready to earn your “V” in three, as in three months? Give this plan your best effort, and you’ll make the V-taper illusion your reality.

MONTH 1: Foundation Building
In this first month, you’ll train four days per week, focusing extra attention on delts, back and abdominals while hitting all your other body parts once over each seven-day span.
Follow these general guidelines this month and throughout the program:
* Use progressively heavier weights from set-to-set of each exercise. You’ll notice that sometimes the number of repetitions drops, and sometimes it remains constant, but in either case, use the pyramid principle, pushing yourself ever harder on each successive set. The heavier the weights you can handle with good form and technique, the more productive your workout will be.
* Rest no more than one minute between sets. Each workout is about 30 sets long, so you’ll want to maintain a purposeful pace, concentrating on the task at hand and challenging your muscles to respond.
* If you need to, don’t be afraid to change up your off-days. The training split provided is only a guide, but, for instance, if you prefer to work out on weekends, this first month, you could instead take Monday off, train Tuesday and Wednesday, take off Thursday and Friday, and train Saturday and Sunday.
* Over the course of this program, you need to not only do high-intensity cardio at least four times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes a session, you need to eat a bodybuilding diet, with a gram per pound of bodyweight of complete protein each day and 2-3 grams per pound of bodyweight of carbs. (Supplements can help make this goal easier.) Now is not the time to starve yourself — your body will require plenty of clean-burning fuel to help you power through both aerobic and weight-training sessions.

Month 1 Training Split

DAY	BODY PART(S) TRAINED
Monday	Back, Biceps, Forearms
Tuesday	Chest, Middle Delts, Abs
Wednesday	Off
Thursday	Thighs, Calves, Abs
Friday	Shoulders, Triceps, Abs
Saturday	Off
Sunday	Off

Monday: Back, Biceps & Forearms

BODY PART	EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Back	Pull-Up	4	12, 12, 10, 10
	Bent-Over Smith Machine Row	4	12, 10, 10, 8
	Seated Cable Row	3	12, 10, 8
	Dumbbell Pullover	3	12, 10, 8
	Wide-Grip Pulldown	3	12, 10, 8
Biceps	Standing EZ-Bar Cur	4	15, 12, 10, 8
	Machine Curl	3	10, 10, 8
	Seated Alternating Dumbbell Cur	3	10, 10, 8
Forearms	Barbell Wrist Curl	3	20, 15, 10

Tuesday: Chest, Middle Delts & Abs

BODY PART	EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Chest	Incline Barbell Press	5	15, 12, 10, 10, 8
	Flat-Bench Dumbbell Press	4	10, 10, 10, 8
	Cable Crossover	3	12, 12, 10
Middle Delts	Standing Dumbbell Lateral Raise	4	15, 12, 12, 10
Abs	Reverse Crunch	3	25, 20, 20
	Crunch	3	25, 20, 20
	Side Crunch (on back extension bench)	3	25, 20, 20
	Plank	3	30 seconds

Wednesday: Off

Thursday: Thighs, Calves & Abs

BODY PART	EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Chest	Incline Barbell Press	5	15, 12, 10, 10, 8
	Flat-Bench Dumbbell Press	4	10, 10, 10, 8
	Cable Crossover	3	12, 12, 10
Middle Delts	Standing Dumbbell Lateral Raise	4	15, 12, 12, 10
Abs	Reverse Crunch	3	25, 20, 20
	Crunch	3	25, 20, 20
	Side Crunch (on back extension bench)	3	25, 20, 20
	Plank	3	30 seconds

BODY PART	EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Thighs	Smith Machine Squat	4	15, 12, 10, 10
	Hack Squat	4	12, 12, 10, 8
	Leg Extension	3	12, 12, 10
	Romanian Deadlift	3	12, 10, 8
	One-Leg Machine Curl	3	12, 12, 10
Calves	Standing Calf Raise	3	20, 15, 15
	Seated Calf Raise	2	20, 15, 15
Abs	Hanging Knee Raise	3	15, 15, 15
	Decline Crunch	3	20, 20, 20
	Decline Twisting Crunch	2	20, 20

Friday: Shoulders, Triceps & Abs

BODY PART	EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Shoulders	Seated Barbell Press	4	15, 12, 10, 8
	EZ-Bar Upright Row	4	12, 10, 10, 8
	One-Arm Cable Lateral Raise	3	15, 12, 10
	Bent-Over Dumbbell Raise	3	15, 12, 10
	Barbell Front Raise	2	12, 12
Triceps	Lying EZ-Bar Triceps Extension	4	12, 10, 10, 8
	Straight-Bar Cable Pushdown	3	12, 12, 10
	One-Arm Dumbbell Overhead Extension	3	12, 10, 8
Abs	Rope Cable Crunch	4	15, 15, 12, 12

Saturday & Sunday: Off

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MONTH 2: Growth Tactics
These next four weeks, you’ll drop an off day and work out five days per week. You’ll also switch up exercises both to challenge your muscle groups and maintain your motivation. Like in month one, you’ll train abs, back and delts more often than the rest of your body, putting extra emphasis on middle delts to build width at your shoulders, lats to enlarge your wingspan, and each specific area of your abs to put the squeeze on your core.

Month 2 Training Split

DAY	BODY PART(S) TRAINED
Monday	Back, Forearms
Tuesday	Chest, Middle Delts, Upper Abs
Wednesday	Off
Thursday	Thighs, Calves, Lower Abs
Friday	Shoulders, Lats
Saturday	Arms, Abs
Sunday	Off

Monday: Back & Forearms

BODY PART	EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Back	Wide-Grip Pulldown	4	15, 12, 10, 10
	T-Bar Row	4	12, 10, 10, 8
	One-Arm Dumbbell Row	3	12, 10, 8
	Straight-Arm Pulldown	3	12, 10, 8
	Pull-Up	2	To failure
Forearms	Behind-the-Back Barbell Wrist Curl	3	20, 15, 15
	Reverse Dumbbell Wrist Curl	2	20, 15

Tuesday: Chest, Middle Delts & Upper Abs

BODY PART	EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Chest	Incline Dumbbell Press	5	15, 12, 10, 10, 8
	Flat-Bench Barbell Press	4	10, 10, 10, 8
	Incline Dumbbell Flye	3	12, 12, 10
Middle Delts	Standing Cable Lateral Raise	4	15, 12, 12, 10
Upper Abs	Machine Crunch	3	20, 20, 15
	Arms-Overhead Crunch	3	25, 25, 20
	Twisting Decline Crunch	3	25, 20, 20

Wednesday: Off

Thursday: Thighs, Calves & Lower Abs

BODY PART	EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Thighs	Barbell Squat	4	15, 12, 10, 10
	Leg Press	4	12, 12, 10, 8
	Leg Extension	3	12, 12, 10
	Romanian Deadlift	3	12, 10, 8
	Lying Leg Curl	3	12, 12, 10
Calves	Donkey Machine Calf Raise	3	20, 15, 15
	Seated Calf Raise	2	20, 15
Lower Abs	Hanging Leg Raise	4	15, 15, 15, 12
	Incline-Board Reverse Crunch	4	20, 20, 20, 15

Friday: Shoulders & Lats

BODY PART	EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Shoulders	Seated Smith-Machine Press	4	15, 12, 10, 8
	Dumbbell Upright Row	4	12, 10, 10, 8
	Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise	3	15, 12, 10
	Reverse Pec-Deck Flye	3	15, 12, 10
	Cable Front Raise	2	12, 12
Lats	Pulldown To Front	4	12, 12, 10, 8
	Dumbbell or Machine Pullover	3	12, 12, 10

Saturday: Arms & Abs

BODY PART	EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Triceps	Incline EZ-Bar Triceps Extension	4	12, 10, 10, 8
	Rope Pushdown	3	12, 12, 10
	Dumbbell Kickback	3	12, 10, 8
Biceps	Standing Barbell Curl	4	15, 12, 10, 8
	EZ-Bar Preacher Curl	3	10, 10, 8
	Alternating Incline Dumbbell Curl	3	10, 10, 8
Abs	Rope Cable Crunch	4	20, 15, 15, 12
	Lying Leg Raise (off end of flat bench)	3	15, 15, 15
	Plank	3	45 seconds

Sunday: Off

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MONTH 3: “V” For Victory
Get ready for your sprint to the finish line in the final four weeks. You’ll train hard five days per week, with some different exercises and combinations that’ll keep your body off balance and thus responding. By now, you should be noticing major improvements in strength and muscle development. At the end of the month, it’s time to evaluate — if you’re happy with the changes you’ve made, you can move onto a balanced training program. But if not, there’s no reason you can’t return to month 1 and start again, as this plan is solid and can continue to deliver results over the long haul.

Month 3 Training Split

DAY	BODY PART(S) TRAINED
Monday	Shoulders, Lower Abs
Tuesday	Chest, Triceps
Wednesday	Back, Middle Delts, Upper Abs
Thursday	Off
Friday	Thighs, Calves
Saturday	Lats, Biceps, Forearms, Abs
Sunday	Off

Monday: Shoulders & Lower Abs

BODY PART	EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Shoulders	Seated Dumbbell Press	4	15, 12, 10, 8
	Dumbbell One-Arm Lateral Raise	3	15, 12, 10
	Barbell Upright Row	4	12, 10, 10, 8
	Alternating Dumbbell Front Raise	2	12, 12
	One-Arm Bent Over Dumbbell Raise	3	15, 12, 10
Lower Abs	Weighted Knee Raise*	4	20, 15, 12, 12
	Reverse Crunch	4	20, 20, 15, 15
	superset with
	Leg Raises (off end of flat bench)	4	20, 20, 15, 15
	* Hold a medicine ball between your knees.

Tuesday: Chest & Triceps

BODY PART	EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Chest	Incline Smith-Machine Press	5	15, 12, 10, 10, 8
	Hammer-Strength Chest Press	4	10, 10, 10, 8
	Decline-Bench Dumbbell Flye	3	12, 12, 10
Triceps	Close-Grip Bench Press	4	12, 10, 10, 8
	Lying EZ-Bar Triceps Extension	3	12, 12, 10
	Reverse-Grip One-Arm Pushdown	3	12, 12, 10

Wednesday: Back, Middle Delts & Upper Abs

BODY PART	EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Back	Bent-Over Barbell Row	4	15, 12, 10, 10
	Pull-Up	4	12, 10, 10, 10
	Barbell Deadlift	3	12, 10, 8
	Pulldown to Front	3	12, 10, 8
	Dumbbell Pullover	2	12, 12
Middle Delts	Standing Dumbbell Lateral Raise	4	15, 12, 12, 10
Upper Abs	Decline Crunch (holding medicine ball)	3	20, 20, 15
	Rope Cable Crunch	3	20, 15, 15
	Twisting Crunch (on bench or floor)	3	25, 20, 20

Thursday: Off

Friday: Thighs & Calves

BODY PART	EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Thighs	Leg Extension	3	15, 12, 12
	Barbell Squat	5	12, 12, 10, 10, 8
	Hack Squat	4	12, 10, 10, 8
	Seated Leg Curl	3	12, 12, 10
	Romanian Deadlift	3	12, 10, 8
Calves	Standing Calf Raise	3	20, 15, 15
	Seated Calf Raise	3	20, 15, 15

Saturday: Lats, Biceps, Forearms & Abs

BODY PART	EXERCISE	SETS	REPS
Lats	Pull-Up	3	12, 12, 10
	Reverse-Grip Pulldown	3	12, 12, 10
	EZ-Bar Preacher Curl	4	15, 12, 10, 8
	Alternating Dumbbell Curl	3	10, 10, 8
	Dumbbell Concentration Curl	3	10, 10, 8
Forearms	EZ-Bar Reverse-Grip Curl	3	20, 15, 15
	Barbell Wrist Cur	2	20, 15
Abs	Hanging Leg Raise	3	20, 15, 12
	Machine Crunch	3	20, 15, 12
	Side Crunch (on back extension bench)	3	20, 20, 20
	Plank	2	60 seconds

Sunday: Off

Ready to win the battle against body fat and improve your cardio fitness? This step-by-step plan will help you run stronger and longer — and get you leaner in the process — in one month.

Necessary evil? Maybe. But whether you love it or loathe it, cardio is an essential component of crafting a better physique, from your shoulders to your six pack.

Here, we provide a month’s worth of aerobic workouts that steadily and progressively get more challenging as the month goes on, helping you build your cardio fitness while burning body fat. Whether you find cardio difficult but need to improve to fire up your weight loss efforts, or you’re looking for a new and demanding routine to replace the one you follow now, this challenge is for you.

DAY 1: Power Walk
Time: 25 minutes
Instructions: You’ll start off your month with what should prove to be a swift but relatively easy outdoor walk, where you simply walk vigorously at a rapid pace. If you’re extremely motivated because you’re just starting off on this 31-day venture, you’ll probably be tempted do more, but hold back. Don’t worry, this program increases in intensity quickly, and exceeding the recommendations each day could push you into an overtrained state, where your body struggles to recover from bouts of exercise (especially if you’re also either starting or continuing a weight-training program concurrently with this cardio plan, which we strongly suggest).

DAY 2: Power Walk
Time: 30 minutes
Instructions: Today, you’ll power walk again, increasing your time by five minutes. As a note here and throughout the program, a critical component of cardio is your athletic shoes. A good general rule of thumb is, if your shoes cause foot discomfort or pain, or even worse, shinsplints, replace them immediately.

DAY 3: Power Walk Hill Repeats
Time: About 25 minutes
Instructions: For this, you’ll need to find a challenging hill in your area that’s about a 4-6% grade. After a five-minute walk on a relatively flat terrain, power walk up to the top of the hill as fast as you can without breaking into a run, then walk back down. Repeat the up-and-down sequence for 15 minutes, then take a five-minute walk again on a relatively flat surface as a cool down. If you need to do this indoors for lack of a hill or because of inclement weather, it can be replicated on a treadmill with an incline feature (something to keep in mind for any of the outdoor cardio prescribed in this program).

DAY 4: Rest

DAY 5: Elliptical Trainer
Time: 25 minutes
Instructions: The elliptical provides a rhythmic, low-impact cardiovascular workout that’s great whether you’re doing a steady-pace session (as you’ll do here) or an interval training workout, as you’ll complete later in the month. After a three-minute warm-up at a pace around 4* on the perceived-exertion scale, you’ll up your speed to a consistent pace in the 6-7 perceived exertion range — you should break a sweat but not be caught out of breath at any point during the activity. Slow back down gradually to your warm-up velocity in the final three minutes of your 25-minute bout.

* For most of your cardio workouts this month, you’ll judge your exertion on this 1-10 scale: 1 is a resting state, 3-4 is low intensity, 5-6 is moderately challenging, 7-8 is high intensity, and 10 is an absolute maximum effort, one which you could only keep up for a short time. Be honest with yourself for best results.

DAY 6: Treadmill Jog
Time: 30 minutes
Instructions: Start at a pace of around 4 on the exertion scale for 5 minutes, then increase to 6-7 (adjusting the speed of the treadmill to meet this exertion level). At the start of the 25th minute, gradually slow to your original warm-up gait. If you prefer, you can do this workout outdoors.

DAY 7: Rest

DAY 8: Stationary Bike Intervals
Time: 25 minutes
Instructions: For this session, you’ll get your first taste of interval training, which consists of bouts of medium-intensity activity interspersed with short all-out bursts. In the workout, you’ll start off with five minutes at an exertion of 3-4, then speed up to a faster (5-6 exertion) pace for two minutes. From there, watch the timer on the machine — every time it hits a minute mark starting at 8:00, go as hard as you can for 15 seconds, then drop back down to the 5-6 exertion pace for 45 seconds. Continue that pattern, sprinting 15 seconds every minute, until the last five minutes, where you return to your warm-up speed for a cool-down.

DAY 9: Power Walk
Time: 40 minutes
Instructions: As in Day 1 and 2, you’ll hit the great outdoors (or your nearest treadmill), this time for 40 minutes of fast-paced walking.

DAY 10: Treadmill Jog
Time: 35 minutes
Instructions: Follow the instructions for Day 6, with a five-minute warm-up and cool-down and a 6-7 exertion pace in between, this time for five more minutes total.

DAY 11: Rest

DAY 12: Elliptical Trainer Intervals
Time: 30 minutes
Instructions: Perform the same workout as described in Day 8, except you’ll try your hand at intervals on an elliptical instead of a bike, and add five minutes of training time.

DAY 13: Stationary Bike
Time: 40 minutes
Instructions: Start at a pace of around 4 on the exertion scale for 5 minutes, then increase your pace to 6-7 (adjusting the tension and your speed to meet this exertion level). At the start of the 35th minute, gradually slow to your original warm-up tempo. If you have a mountain or road bike, you can also perform this workout outdoors.

DAY 14: Jogging Hill Repeats
Time: About 25 minutes
Instructions: Follow the instructions for Day 3, but this time, instead of power walking up the hill, you’ll jog.

DAY 15: Rest

DAY 16: StepMill
Time: 30 minutes
Instructions: Today introduces a change of scenery equipment-wise. The StepMill is a little akin to walking up a down escalator, and it’ll get your blood pumping. In between a five-minute warm-up and cool-down at an exertion of 3-4, perform a steady rate of stair climbing at an intensity of about 7.

DAY 17: Treadmill Intervals
Time: 30 minutes
Instructions: This is a similar workout to Day 8 and 12, except you’ll do intervals on a treadmill instead of an elliptical or bike. Also, extend your max-effort sprints to 30 seconds every minute instead of 15.

DAY 18: Elliptical
Time: 45 minutes
Instructions: Follow the instructions for Day 5, except extend your warm-up and cool-down from 3 to 5 minutes, leaving 35 minutes for a steady-state workout at a 6-7 on the exertion scale.

DAY 19: Stationary Bike
Time: 50 minutes
Instructions: Follow the instructions for Day 13, increasing your workout time by 10 minutes.

DAY 20: Rest

DAY 21: Incline Treadmill
Time: 40 minutes
Instructions: Follow the instructions for Day 6, with a five-minute warm-up and cool-down and a 6-7 exertion pace in between, this time for 10 more minutes total. Also, instead of running on a flat surface, use the incline feature, inclining 2-5% depending on your level of fitness — adjust it up and down during the workout for variety.

DAY 22: Elliptical Trainer
Time: 50 minutes
Instructions: Follow the directions for Day 18 — this time, the core of your workout (between the warm-up and cool-down) will be 40 minutes at 7 on the exertion scale.

DAY 23: Sprint Hill Repeats
Time: About 25 minutes
Instructions: Follow the instructions for Day 3 (and also performed on Day 14), but this time, instead of power walking or jogging up the hill, you’ll do sprints at full speed.

DAY 24: Rest

DAY 25: Treadmill Jog
Time: 55 minutes
Instructions: Use the guidelines for Day 6, keeping up the 7 exertion pace for an additional 25 minutes (for 45 minutes total) between the 5-minute warm-up and cool-down.

DAY 26: StepMill
Time: 45 minutes
Instructions: Follow the directions for Day 16; the core of this workout will be 15 minutes longer in between a five-minute warm-up and cool-down.

DAY 27: Elliptical Intervals
Time: 40 minutes
Instructions: This interval workout extends the max effort sprints to a full minute, with two minutes of medium-intensity exertion in between. Follow the chart below.

Pace Minutes Exertion (1-10 scale)
Slow (warm-up) 5 3-4
Medium 2 5-6
Near-max effort 1 7
Medium 2 5-6
Max effort 1 8
Medium 2 5-6
Max effort 1 8
Medium 2 5-6
Max effort 1 9
Medium 2 5-6
Max effort 1 9
Medium 2 5-6
Max effort 1 8
Medium 2 5
Max effort 1 8
Medium 2 5-6
Near-max effort 1 7
Medium 2 5-6
Near-max effort 1 7
Medium 3 5-6
Slow (cool-down) 5 3-4

DAY 28: Rest

DAY 29: Treadmill Intervals & Stationary Bike
Time: 60 minutes
Instructions: This workout combines treadmill intervals and a steady-state stationary bike ride. You’ll start with the below interval workout on the treadmill for 30 minutes, then finish with 30 minutes on a bike at a 6-7 pace on the exertion scale (without the five-minute warm-up, as you’ll be plenty warm already).

Pace Minutes Exertion (1-10 scale)
Slow (warm-up) 5 3-4
Medium 2 5-6
Near-max effort 1 7
Medium 2 5-6
Max effort 1 8
Medium 2 5-6
Max effort 1 8
Medium 2 5-6
Max effort 1 8
Medium 2 5-6
Max effort 1 8
Medium 2 5-6
Near-max effort 1 7
Medium 2 5
Slow (cool-down) 5 3-4

DAY 30: Sprint Hill Repeats & Outdoor Jog
Time: 60 minutes
Instructions: To start, follow the instructions for Day 3, but, like on Day 23, you’ll sprint up the hill instead of power walk; also, add 5 minutes to the work time so you’re sprinting up the hill and walking down for 20 minutes instead of 15. Finish your training session with 30 minutes of a steady-pace jog at an exertion level of 6-7. With that, congratulate yourself — you’ve completed the ProSource Cardio Challenge!