Try This 5-Minute Dumbbell Workout to Shred Your V-Taper
IF YOU'RE TRAINING to achieve aesthetic muscle goals, you know the term V-taper. For those uninitiated, it refers to the shape of the torso, and how a finely-tuned physique narrows from the shoulders to the waist.
Lots of guys aim for this outcome, but it's not just for vanity's sake; when you take on the types of workouts that can help to shape the V, you'll also need to perform movements that build balanced muscle, training your chest, core, and your back to get there.
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Why You Should Try This Dumbbell Workout
When you're low on time, you can still make sure to hit most of the important muscle groups to get closer to accomplishing your V-taper goals. That's the objective of this quick workout from trainer Mat Forzaglia, creator of the new MH 20-Minute Muscle program. The four workout series, available now for MH MVP Premium members, is designed to give you a fully-formed plan that you can use to build balanced muscle in limited time with limited gear.
This session is a great example of the type of training you'll see in the 20-Minute Muscle program. Forzaglia uses just three exercises to push you within a limited time frame (here, just five minutes). All you need is a pair of dumbbells, gear-wise—but you'll also have to bring all of your focus and effort to the workout, too.
The 5-Minute Dumbbell V-Taper Workout
Perform each exercise for 30 seconds, resting for 10 seconds before the next movement. Repeat for 3 total rounds.
Eccentric-Focused Push Press
How to Do It:
Stand holding a pair of dumbbells in a neutral grip (palms facing one another) at shoulder height in a rack position. Squeeze your shoulder blades, abs, and glutes to create tension.
Dip slightly by bending your knees, maintaining core tension, then drive through your heels and extend your hips to stand straight up and punch the weights overhead, using the momentum created to help power the movement.
Lower the weights back down slowly, using a three-count to descend back to the starting position.
Wide-Grip Bent-Over Row
How to Do It:
Stand holding a pair of dumbbells in a neutral grip. Push your butt back, then hinge at the waist to lower your torso into a bent-over position, keeping your arms straight with the weights in front of your body.
Row the weights by raising your elbows up and out away from your body. Squeeze your upper back and pause for a brief count at the top of the movement.
Reverse the movement, lowering the weight back to the starting position under control.
Hollow Hold Dumbbell Pullover
How to Do It:
Get into a hollow hold position on the floor holding one dumbbell with both hands by one end. Your lower back should be planted on the floor, with your legs extended and your feet and upper back slightly elevated. Squeeze your abs and glutes to maintain tension.
Extend your arms up above your chest. Keeping your arms straight and bracing your core, reach back behind your shoulders as far as you can while maintaining your position.
Move your arms back to the starting position, fighting to keep your hollow hold posture.
How You Can Try the Whole 20-Minute Muscle Program
Ready to try more workouts from the series? MH MVP digital-only subscribers can check out this upper body arms and abs session now. You'll get access to the whole program—along with hundreds of other workout videos—when you subscribe to MH MVP Premium.
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