Best Exercises for a V-Taper

Training comic · June 23, 2026 · 6 slides

To build a V-taper physique, focus on key upper body muscle groups including the lats, lateral delts, teres major, rear delts, and upper chest. Effective exercises for these areas include pull-ups, lateral raises, rows, face pulls, and incline presses. Targeting these specific muscles helps create the visual illusion of a wider upper body and a narrower waist.

The GainFrame mascot, depicted as a muscular cartoon figure with a camera-viewfinder head, flexes his right bicep to introduce the best upper body exercises for building a V-taper physique.
Gainframe Guy. Best exercises for a V-taper (Upper body edition).
The GainFrame mascot demonstrates pull-ups and lat pulldowns to target the latissimus dorsi muscles, which are highlighted in red on an anatomical diagram of the back.
Latissimus dorsi (Lats). Pull-up. Lat pulldown.
The GainFrame mascot performs cable lateral raises and dumbbell lateral raises to target the lateral deltoids, highlighted in red on a shoulder anatomy diagram.
Lateral deltoid (Side delts). Cable lateral raise & dumbbell lateral raise.
The GainFrame mascot performs chest-supported rows and one-arm cable rows to target the teres major muscles in the upper back, highlighted in red on an anatomical diagram.
Teres major (Upper back). Chest-supported row & 1-arm cable row.
The GainFrame mascot performs reverse pec deck flyes and face pulls to target the rear deltoids, highlighted in red on a back anatomy diagram.
Rear deltoid (Rear delts). Reverse pec deck & face pull.
The GainFrame mascot performs incline presses and low-to-high cable flyes to target the upper chest muscles, highlighted in red on a chest anatomy diagram.
Upper chest (Clavicular pec). Incline press. Low-to-high fly.

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