Building a "V" shaped upper body or V taper, is a desirable goal that many trainees wish to attain. A "V" shape gives you the illusion of a small waist and wide shoulders.

Having wide and developed shoulders and a wide and thick back is what sets apart serious muscle builders from weekend warriors.

A wide upper body will also make you stand out everywhere you go form the beach to the bookstore. There are three main muscle groups that you need to focus on the most in order to build an impressive V taper.

Step #1: Build The Lats

The lats (latissimus dorsi) are the muscles that cover the sides of your middle back, inserting into the armpits. As a bodybuilder, you'll stand out by building bigger and wider lats.

There are two main exercises you'll need to perform in order to build lat width and thickness. The first and best lat widening exercise is the chin-up or pull-up. Chin-ups and pull-ups will build mostly back width and some thickness as well. The second exercise you'll want to focus on is the row, with both barbells and dumbbells.

Step # 2: Build Your Deltoids

The deltoids are the muscles that cover the shoulder joint, giving the shoulders a round shape. Your main focus when you are trying to build an impressive V taper needs to be to build a strong, round pair of deltoids. This will give your shoulders a massive and wide "capped" look.

The best way to build wide and thick deltoids is to use both a heavy pressing compound movements and isolation exercises. On dumbbell and barbell presses, use as much weight as you can without sacrificing good form. Dumbbell raises should always be done under control, never by swinging the weights.

Exercises that will build impressive shoulder width and thickness are: seated dumbbell presses, barbell military presses, dumbbell lateral raises, bent over dumbbell lateral raises, and cable lateral raises both to the front and behind the back.

Step #3: Build & Tighten Your Abs

While you might not consider abs an important element in building a V taper, having well developed abs is just as important as having wide lats and shoulders. Having a compact midsection sets off the shoulders and contributes to the V shape.

In order to build an impressive V taper, you'll need to focus on building the abdominal muscles only and staying away form any exercises that might thicken your obliques and waist.

Therefore, I recommend that you stay away form doing side bends and any other exercises that might thicken the obliques such as very heavy (2-3 rep) deadlifts and squats. Concentrate most of your abdominal routine around crunches, leg raises, sit-ups, hanging knee raises and machine crunches.

To sum up, building an impressive V taper requires not only a well developed and wide set of delts, but also a wide and thick back and a small, well developed midsection.