What is an aesthetic physique?
An aesthetic physique is characterized by broad shoulders and a slim waist; this physique is also commonly referred to as a V-taper. Generally, this physique has sharp, defined abs. It also typically features powerful arms and lean, athletic legs.
What Muscles do you need to Target:
Shoulders
Shoulders are the main standout feature in an aesthetic physique. Large front and side delts will be the main contributors to mass, while good rear delts will help contribute to give your shoulders the capped rounded look. The best exercises for shoulders are:
- Overhead press: This movement is quite self-explanatory. Set a barbell at around armpit height, and grab it with your hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Then, press up so that the barbell moves in a straight line upwards, and control the negative downwards. Try and avoid leaning excessively backwards. You can also perform this movement with dumbbells, and you can perform while seated on a bench. Alternatively, you can also use a shoulder press machine
- Lateral Raises: The most common way to perform this movement is to hold two dumbbells at your side while standing or seated. A good cue is to lead with your elbows first. It’s ok if your forearms drop a little bit below your elbows but your arms overall should stay relatively straight. You can also perform this exercise with a cable.
- Bent Over Lateral raises: This is similar to the lateral raise. Start in the same position, hinge at your hips, and then raise the dumbbells up. When done properly, it should look like a backwards fly motion. A good cue is to imagine you’re trying to wrap your elbows around your back. Don’t bring them too far back though, as that will then engage your back muscles more than your rear delts. Bring your elbows to around parallel with your back.
Lats
Training lats will build back width which will help push your shoulders outwards, giving you a broader shoulder to waist ratio. The best exercise to build your lats is:
- Pull Ups: Grab a bar around shoulder width apart and pull your bodyweight up. If you cannot do this movement yet, you can use resistance bands to make it easier or use a lat pulldown machine instead. If this movement is easy for you, you can add weight by wearing a backpack with weights, or using a dip belt. You can also switch between using an overhand, underhand, and neutral grip.
Upper Chest
The upper chest is really what’s going to catch light and stand out from the three parts of your chest. The best exercise to build the upper chest is:
- Incline Bench Press: Set your bench at a 30-45 degree incline. Grab the barbell with hands shoulder width apart and perform a bench press motion. Flare your elbows out between a 45-90 degree angle. The more flared they are, the more chest activation you will get. However, don’t flare them to a point of discomfort as this could lead to a shoulder injury. Stay within a comfortable pressing range. Make sure to pull your shoulders back and down. This exercise can also be done with dumbbells, or an incline chest press machine.
Arms
Big arms will always make your physique stand out. It’s important to train both Biceps and Triceps. Forearms are also important but usually back and bicep training is enough to hit the forearms effectively too. The best exercises to build your arms are:
- Chin-Ups: Perform the pull-up motion with an underhand grip. Use the same progressions described for pull ups.
- Dips: Set yourself up on two parallel bars. Lower down with control until your arms form a 90 degree perpendicular angle, at which point push back up. You can use resistance bands to make this exercise easier, or use a backpack or dip belt to add weight and make it harder.
- Seated Incline Bicep Curls: Set a bench at a 60-75 degree angle. Holding dumbbells, hang your arms off the incline so that your elbows are behind your torso. Perform the curl, and then lower down with control until you feel your triceps contract.
- Tricep Push-Downs: Set a cable at a height above your head. You can use the straight bar, V-bar, or rope attachment. Lock your shoulders in position and lock your elbows in position by your waist. Push your chosen attachment down towards your legs while simultaneously pulling it towards you. It should travel in a diagonal line.
Legs
The greatest physiques usually have lean, athletic legs that are well proportioned with the rest of the body, neither massive nor too small. The best exercises to give your legs this look are:
- Bulgarian Split Squats: This is a single leg variation of the squat. Put one leg on an elevated surface behind you, and then perform the squat motion on the remaining leg. It should look similar to a lunge when done right. Get comfortable doing this with your own bodyweight first. Do some calf stretches beforehand as this movement involves bringing your knees over your toes. You can use some external support initially. When ready, add weight by holding dumbbells or kettlebells at your side, wearing a backpack filled with weights, or by holding a barbell on your back (same position as a normal back squat).
- Romanian Deadlifts: this variation of the deadlift is designed to emphasize your hamstrings and glutes. A lighter weight is generally used for this exercise when compared to the standard deadlift. Lift the bar off the floor in the same way as a deadlift; grab it with your arms around shoulder width apart, straighten your back, brace your core, and push up with your legs. Then, lower the bar by hinging back with your hips, and raise it again by driving your hips forwards. Keep your core braced and back straight the entire time. Don’t let the bar come to a dead stop; keep it off the floor until your last rep. You can also perform thai exercise with dumbbells.
Abs
While it’s true that diet is what will contribute most to making your abs visible, building abdominal muscle is also necessary to give your abs a sharp, defined, look. The best exercise to train your abs is:
- Hanging Leg Raises: Grab a bar slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Keep your legs straight and raise them up until they form at least a 90 degree angle with your upper body. Doing some hamstring stretches beforehand will help. If this is too hard for you, you can start by only raising your knees and keeping your legs bent. If it is too easy for you, you can try to go past 90 degrees and raise your legs up further.
How many workouts, sets, and reps should you do?
Spread these exercises throughout 2-4 workouts a week. Do 1-3 sets per exercise as close to failure as possible. A good rep range to aim for is 6-10 reps generally. Once you can do at least 10 reps per set you can increase the weight. Below is a simple full body workout for beginners that incorporates the essential exercises you need. Perform it 2-3 times a week. A good schedule is to do it Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
