Since the dawn of lifting man, every guy has been obsessed with achieving a physique that commands respect from their fellow bros, and leaves the ladies’ hearts’ racing.
Even though society seems to have some vendetta against people who want to look sexy (naked) – and I agree that there is more to being healthy and fit than an ‘aesthetic’ physique – who doesn’t want to look good too?
While ‘beauty is [most certainly] in the eye of the beholder’ there are some traits we do know that make a physique more ‘attractive’.
You see, while we have evolved past a point of needing to have these traits to be successful or survive in modern times like our ancestors would have needed to, these traits are ingrained into our DNA. Hence why, when we see a lean and muscular physique, we automatically associate it with virility and good health.
So, what exactly does this entail? What exactly is the ‘cover model’ look? More importantly, how do we acquire it?
Great question. Lets begin.
1.The V-Taper
Chances are that even if you aren’t heavily clued in on fitness jargon, you are familiar with the term ‘The V-taper’ or ‘The V’ – the “holy grail” of physique composition, and the biggest feature you should be focussing on when developing your own ‘cover model’ look.
This includes: Broad shoulders, narrow waist and muscular arms. Acquiring the ‘V-taper’ will not only help you look good in clothes, but also when stripped down to your CK’s.
Acquiring the ‘V-taper’ will not only help you look good in clothes, but also when stripped down to your CK’s.
Delts
The shoulders are the key to this look. Wider shoulders will naturally make your waist look smaller, even if you are cursed with women hips (sorry for your lots). Giving your physique the illusion of the ‘V’.
Focus on training the shoulders with a compound, lift like the military press or overhead press, that allows you to push more weight. Keep this movement heavy aiming for reps between 3-5 and focus on increasing the reps or weights every week to keep stimulating growth (progressive overload).
Accompany the military press with an accessory movement, such as the lateral raise, to really create that ‘3D’ effect.
Due to how much the shoulders are involved in day to day activities, they have a much higher work capacity, so higher rep ranges should also be utilised in optimising deltoid gains.
Using ‘dropsets’ can be highly beneficial when performing the lateral raise:
-Do a set of 15-20 reps
-Drop the weight do another set of 15
-Drop the weight and do a set of as many as possible
-Repeat for 2-3 sets.
Wider shoulders will naturally make your waist look smaller, even if you are cursed with women hips.
Narrow waist
Even though how narrow your waist will be is mainly going to be determined by your genetics, that doesn’t mean that you can’t make certain adjustments to create the *illusion* of a smaller waist.
The main factor here will be getting down to and maintaining a low level of body fat. No amount of ”illusions” are going to hide a beer belly. Sorry bro.
You will often hear personal trainers or fitness gurus advise against certain exercises like the squat or deadlift because ‘it will make your waist blocky’ – Bullshit. Continue doing your big heavy compounds without fear young padawan, as these movements will definitely lend themselves to a thicker, sexier set of abs.
One additional movement I will advise, not just for the purpose of aesthetics – but for generally strengthening your core, is the Ab rollout.
Perform 2-3 sets of 15-20 rollouts after your leg workout, and really focus on staying tight and bracing your core throughout the movement.
Even though how narrow your waist will be is mainly going to be determined by your genetics, that doesn’t mean that you can’t make certain adjustments to create the *illusion* of a smaller waist.
Arms
Regardless of what the hippies may say, muscular arms are totally (effin’) badass. Anyone who tells you otherwise is merely hating because they lack development themselves.
For arm training, keep it simple. Don’t worry about all these “exotic” bicep and tricep exercises. A simple DB curl is the most effective when it comes to bulking up your biceps.
Don’t be afraid to vary your rep ranges when it comes to arm training. The biceps and triceps are ‘mixed-fast twitch’ fiber types. This means they will benefit from reps varying anywhere from as low as 6 to as high as 15-20.
2. Balance
No, this isn’t the part where I recommend you take up yoga, or do single legged pistol squats on a bosu ball while overhead pressing a cheerleader.
I’m referring to balancing your physique.
A common error guys make is an over-emphasis on training the ‘mirror muscles’ – i.e the chest and arms, and giving less priority to their back musculature. This is a major no-no when we are trying to build an attractive physique.
Keep your pulling to push ratio roughly 2:1 – this means, if you perform a push exercise, (bench press, for example) you perform at least two back exercises (one vertical pulling movement like chin ups or lat pulldowns, and one horizontal pulling movement like the bent over row).
A key exercise that will prevent you looking like Quasimodo and more like a cover model – while keeping your shoulders healthy and injury free, is the face pull.
Keep the reps high for this exercise, and really focus on your form and performing the exercise properly.
Before we move on, one important point I want to address:
A common exercise that is doing your physique more harm than good is the ‘front raise’.
Due to how much work your anterior delts get from all the other pressing movements, the front raise is a redundant movement. It will do nothing but totally screw up your posture and the balance of your physique. Remove this movement from your programme.
A common error guys make is an over-emphasis on training the ‘mirror muscles’ – i.e the chest and arms, and giving less priority to their back musculature. This is a major no-no when we are trying to build an attractive physique.
3. Lift Heavy
Not only is lifting something heavy off of the ground (or on your back) totally badass, it will also help you in acquiring a cover model worthy physique.
When it comes to muscle growth, there are two types : Sarcoplasmic and Myofibrillar. These will dictate how impressive (or not) your physique looks.
Sarcoplasmic growth, simply put, is the increase in the fluid in your muscle tissue (water, glycogen, etc) and is what is associated with the ‘pump’ style training you associate with traditional bodybuilding routines.
Myofibril growth is what refers to the actual growth of the muscle fibers. This is the growth that occurs when you employ progressive overload (increase in weight lifted or reps done workout to workout).
This is where the average gym Bro goes wrong. They spend the majority of their time lifting for ‘the pump’ (and then spend an equal amount of time having a stare down with their reflection in the mirror), this causes them to end up with the soft, puffy look that occurs with an overemphasis on sarcoplasmic growth.
For you to actually build muscle and strength (prerequisites for a cover model physique) at least 50% of your training programme should have you working in the 3-5 rep range, with an emphasis on getting stronger (workout to workout) in the compound movements such as:
- the bench press
- squat
- overhead press
- chin ups
- bent over rows
Increasing strength won’t just help you look awesome (naked), it also is a great gauge of muscle gains. Gaining muscle is an extremely slow process, and even visual aids like the mirror or photographs can only show you so much. But, rest assured that as long as your strength is going up, the muscle gains are also occurring.
Think of myofibrillar growth as your clay and sarcoplasmic growth as your chisel. One will put the ‘meat’ on you and the other will be used to ‘tweak’ and ‘refine’ your physique, and make sure everything is balanced and in proportion (see points 1 and 2).
Not only is lifting something heavy off of the ground (or on your back) totally badass, it will also help you in acquiring a cover model worthy physique.
4. Conditioning
Cardio has long been the villain of the lifting world, but no more.
More and more studies are beginning to show that small amounts of cardio will not ruin your physique – on the contrary, it can actually help enhance physique composition if done in conjunction with strength training.
Still not convinced? Here’s a few more reasons that may make you want to reconsider.
Improved Nutrient partitioning
One of the most important factors when it comes to building a Badass Physique is nutrient partitioning (fancy word for more of the food you eat being stored in the muscles and not around your midsection – aka #winning). Nutrient partitioning is partly genetic, but it is also something you can influence through the addition of aerobic exercise.
Helping Aid Recovery
When your average Bro thinks of recovery, the image of laying on the couch, cracking open a can of beer and watching the football comes to mind.
This is also referred to as ‘passive recovery’ – not the kind we want when trying to get rid of those dreaded DOMs the day after a gruelling workout.
‘Active recovery’ should be your go to recovery method.
Light cardio – think walking on an incline or cycling at a moderate intensity – can be extremely beneficial.
Getting blood back into the muscles will help ‘flush out’ the built -up lactic acid while delivering nutrients to the muscle to help speed up recovery.
Improved Work Capacity
There’s nothing worse than your lungs giving out before your legs do on a set of squats. But, this is a common trend amongst the average gym goer. You, my friend are not average. You are looking to achieve the upper echelon of Physique Badassery, and for this, improving work capacity is essential.
Strength based training (heavy weights, low reps, long rest intervals) can lead to trainees becoming ‘deconditioned’. This means it takes longer for you to recover in-between sets and workouts. Having some conditioning work in your programme will also allow you to tolerate more volume (amount of sets or reps performed) in a given workout, which naturally lends itself to more gains.
What types of conditioning work ?
Totally up to you. Make sure it’s something that you enjoy so that you will stick to it. Personally, I recommend cycling due to it being lower impact and also having the added benefit of increasing quad hypertrophy. If you’re suffering from the dreaded ‘chicken legs syndrome’, this could be your saving grace (thank me later).
Aim for 2-3 light cardio sessions a week of 20-30 mins. This will ensure that you are getting all the above benefits without hindering your muscle and strength gains.
If you enjoy playing a sport outside the gym, this is another great way to get in your conditioning work.
I recommend cycling due to it being lower impact and also having the added benefit of increasing quad hypertrophy.
5. The Cover Model Lifestyle
So, now that you know the theory and science behind constructing a [Badass] cover model physique. We need to discuss the most important, yet commonly overlooked aspect: making it a lifestyle.
Mindset
The key to achieving and maintaining your physique starts in your head. When you commit to making this a lifestyle you will have a greater chance of sticking to it and overcoming setbacks. No more 2 month cuts for summer and then neglecting your physique (and health) for the next 10 months.
Eat a flexible diet
Trying to restrict yourself from eating certain foods will make it damn hard for you to make this a lifestyle. A flexible diet – eating any foods you like (in moderation) – is a lot more effective than a restrictive dieting method, which means you will have no problem being able to maintain your physique for life.
Make sure that 70-80% of your diet consists of whole, nutritious foods and feel free to fit in any (junk) foods that you like with the remainder.
Adam Ali used flexible dieting and the other methods in this article to get a cover model physique.
Relax And Enjoy
You aren’t going to stick to something if you try go #beastmode everyday, 365 days a year. Remember, its a LIFEstyle. So make sure that your physique goals are worked into your life not vice versa.
Most importantly, enjoy it! You’ve worked hard to achieve the upper echelon of physique badassery, not a lot of dudes will get here. So don’t be afraid to go out and have fun because you think missing one training session is going to ruin your physique.
Conclusion
So there you have it. Your blueprint to acquiring the coveted cover model physique.
Now put it to good use, and who knows, I may see one of you guys on the cover of a fitness magazine next time I walk past the magazine aisle.
About the Author
Adam Ali is a self-proclaimed Geek, ‘Coffee Connoisseur’ and evangelical Badass at Physiqonomics.com, where he writes (rambles) about things - fitness, nutrition and badassery related and helping guys achieve a Badass Physique whilst making this fitness thing a lifestyle. Piqued your interest ? You can stalk Adam here : www.physiqonomics.com
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