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

---

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

---

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

Reposted from ProSource.net:

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 at 2:00 pm and is filed under General Health & Fitness, Training Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.