How to get V Abs
Alright Alright Alright………
I was at the gym the other day and I bumped into a buddy of mine. After a few minutes of joking he asked me a question that I seem to get more and more frequently.
Chris: “Bro….. how do you get the v abs? you know the sex lines, crotch muscle, v cut, super v, adonis belt, apollo’s belt, illiac furrow………”
I laughed for a second because many of the names he spat out at me I never even heard before…… However lucky for him I know exactly how to build this muscle. I took him through my v abs workout routine and he could totally feel that muscle working for the first time in his life.
What’s so great about V Abs?
Nothing really……… EXCEPT that something is hardwired into chicks brains so that when they see the v lines they somehow throw all inhibitions to the wind and go wild!
But seriously…. so many girls go ‘ga ga’ over this muscle. In fact after the movie Thor came out all I heard was girls talking about how the loved the v shape of Chris Hemsworth’s abs.
The Key to V abs?
Before you can even think about achieving the elusive v abs you must first drop any excess body fat you are carrying around. The leaner you are the more visible this muscle will be. I personally don’t like to shoot out certain body fat figures to aim for. Body Fat testing for the most part is too unreliable and results vary drastically. In addition the accurate forms of body fat testing get quite expensive. What you will need to shoot for is a narrow waist line. How narrow? Ideally 45% of your height or 1/2 to 1″ less than 45% of your height. So if your 6′ tall than you are going to multiply 72 (6 feet in inches) by 0.45. This will give you 32.4. Therefore you will want to get your waist between 31.4 to 32.4″
You want to measure your waist with a measuring tape around bellybutton level. Maintain relaxed posture (don’t suck in and don’t push out). If your waist is greater than 45% of your height you will need to reduce your weekly caloric intake until you reach the ideal range. Notice how I said weekly and not daily? This allows for cheat days.
The Best Exercises for V abs?
Once you achieve that narrow waist-line you should start to notice some v lines forming. However if you to want stand out your going to have to build and strengthen this muscle. So without further ado the best exercises for creating sharp v lines are:
1. Side to Side Knee Ups:
This is probably my favorite exercise for developing the v muscle. I was first introduced to this exercise by Rusty Moore of Fitness Black Book. This exercise involves hanging from a pull up bar with your arms locked out. From here you’re going to raise your knees up to the side alternating side to side. This exercise works best for high repetitions. Ideally you want to build up to 60 reps total (30 per side). When doing this exercise you want to keep constant contraction on your abs. Therefore you will only bring your knees down just below parallel instead of straightening your legs up completely.
2. Leg Raise From Dip Bar + Leg Spread:
Another great exercise for the v abs muscle. For this exercise you are going to support your body with straight arms on a pair of parallel dip bars. From here you are going to lift your legs up until they are parallel to the floor. From here you are going to spread your legs wide forming a large v and then your going to bring them back together and return to the starting position. Repeat for 6-15 reps. If you have very strong abs you can perform 2 or more leg spreads per rep. Ex: lift legs up, open legs, close legs, open legs, close legs and lower.
3. Renegade Rows
Renegade Rows are an awesome exercise. Renegade Rows are incredible for building super tight obliques that serve to frame the six pack and offer stability. However one thing that people don’t realize is that the v shape muscle is directly connected to the obliques. As a result by strengthening the obliques you also improve the v shape muscle.
The Kinobody V Abs Ultimate Workout
1. Leg Raises on Dip Bars + Leg Spread: 3 x 6-15 reps
2. Renegade Rows: 3 x 6 reps per side
3. Side to Side Knee Ups: 2 x max reps
4. Plank: 2 sets x max time
workout notes:
- Perform this workout 2-3x per week
- Rest 60 seconds in between sets
- You can perform this workout at the end of your usual workout routine
Want free access to the best abs training course I know?
Rusty Moore (author of Visual Impact) has created an incredible abs training course that was originally supposed to be a paid product. However he decided that he was going to offer it for free. This course has revolutionized the way I train my abs and the way my abs now look. Definitely get your hands on it.
——-> Abs Blueprint
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Hey man, great article.
Funny enough, I never knew that the “V” was actually a muscle. I’ll definitely have to try these exercises out to build that up once I start to cut down for summer.
Thanks man!
Awesome post on some great ab exercises. I’m loving the videos you do as well. Definitely looking forward to reading all your future posts.
Hi !
Great blog here.
I love what I discovered in Rusty Moore’s VI and Abs BluePrint.
I’ve been training my “V abs” with your “Side to Side Knee Ups” for 3 weeks now and I look totally different !
I was just wondering, when you say “60 reps total”, do you mean 2 sets of 30 reps or 2 sets of 60 reps ? Thank you very much !
Perform 2 sets of max reps. Your goal should be to build up to 2 sets of 60 reps (30 per side).
Ok thank you very much ^^
I’m doing 2 sets of about 45 reps for now but I’m doing like 2 more reps every time I perform the exercise.
Great exercise though !
Would you consider doing it let’s say 4 times a week or would it leads to overtraining ?
Thank you very much.
Oh ok I think I got it, when you say 2 to 3 times a week it’s for the muscles to recover during 2 full days of rest right ?
And, if I don’t have any Dip Bars, what could I do in order to replace the exercise ? 3 more sets of Side to Side Knee Ups ?
Thank you :)
Nice post! Love your website.
I have a slightly unusual problem. I’m 6’2″ and my waist is 30″ at the most (I’m not even really lean) which is a ratio around 40%.
Is it actually possible to make your waist a bit wider?
I wouldn’t worry too much about your waist being too narrow. That will only make your shoulders look bigger. If you pack on some muscle your waist will naturally thicken up.
I’m a girl and I can attest to the fact that we love the v’cuts’ on a guy’s torso. I never really knew what they were before seeing Ryan Reynolds in the remake of ‘The Amityville Horror’ movie – you know the scene with him running up the stairs shirtless and then flinging the bedroom door open? – yeah, that’s when I saw the ‘v-cuts’ up close. Anyway, I do a lot of the exercises you mentioned up above among other things and I actually have them too now. I wonder if guys feel the same way about women having them…
its so sexyyyyyyyyyyyyy more than big tits
salman recently posted..The Foolproof Formula For Doing Your First Muscle Up: How I Learned To Muscle-Up in 2 Weeks
Greg,
Awesome blog, awesome progress, awesome videos, awesome advice. I’m in weight loss phase, i’m in relatively good shape already (Airforce) and have been performing the Insanity workout for approx 2 months. The program did yield huge drops (incorporated with my similar 6 meal low cal diet 250-300 per) at my starting weight of 240 at 6’3 I ended at approx 205. I mixed in some ab workouts with P90X’s ab ripper and have really started to establish the v cut. Unfortunately, it seems that I have slightly plateaued and the Insanity workout is just too strenuous with its high impact methods. I think i’m around 14-16% body fat and would like to get down to the epic 8% benchmark. I notice how you are against the 6 meal ideology and am interested to try out your shake/salad diet. I’ll also be incorporating some of your HIIT / low intensity cardio 1-2 times a day as well as your strength training.
Thanks for keeping up this site and being a great role model!
-Ryan
@Ryan!
Hey! Glad you are finding the site useful. You can definitely get down to the 8% marker. But yes thats going to come down to diet.
You can drop fat eating 6 meals per day. The problem is that you will have to eat little 300 calorie tiny kiddy meals that leave you hungrier then how you were before. As well you will have to spend a ton of time cooking and preparing meals.
I prefer to eat 1-3x per day and enjoy satisfying meals. I like to fast during the day, workout on an empty stomach and look forward to my big dinner and snacks at night.
Hi Greg,
I was wondering how to perform the “swinging motion” correctly for Swinging Knee Ups?
When I do it, it feels as if I’m swinging to much on one side.
You do it very well. :-)
After watching the video, I noticed that your arms hardly move (which is incredible)! Perhaps I need to improve my grip and arm strength.
I also noticed that when I do regular knee ups, I can feel my body wants to swing (forwards and backwards). How do you prevent that?
Hi Greg,
First of all, great website… tons of useful information.
I had a question on how to develop a FLAT and DEFINED “rectus abdominus” as in the picture you have at the top of this article. I understand planks and stability ball planks make the abdominal muscle more dense, thus producing a flat midsection. However, do planks also produce the “lines” or “creases” within the abdomen to give you a six pack/four pack? I read that Rusty Moore did nothing but planks for six years and got fairly sharp looking abs, but would exercises such as the ab wheel rollout help develop the “creases” within the abs?
Thank you! Once again, great website!
-David
@David
Stick to the abs routine from this article. Diet is going to be a huge factor here. If you can get down to a low body fat your abs will look great.
Hi Greg,
Just wondering, i have a quite visible V abs, i have a six pack, however, i still have those love handles, and most of the fat are at my lower back. Although this might be unrelated to this post, i would greatly appreciate it if you could share some exercises on losing the back fat/love handles. I know cardio and diet is the main thing, and spot reduction is not possible, but still, basically all of my body parts are in a good shape, except for the love handles.
Please advise.
Thanks.
Hey Greg,
Your blog posts are pretty inspiring and i have to say your in amazing shape. However, i have an important question about my training routine. I am currently incorporating this ab workout, and i do hiit training in the morning and low intensity cardio 3 times a week and strength training twice a week with kettlebells. My stat’s; height: 5’9″, weight: 200lbs, bodyfat %: 28% and waistline: 34″. As you can tell i am currently trying to get down my bodyfat % to achieve that lean muscular physique, somewhere around 12 – 10% bodyfat. So my question to you is how long would it take to reach my goal? And as for my nutrition, i generally eat healthy, low calories on my cardio days and high calories on my strength training days.
Much appreciated for your help in advance, cheers!
hi, how can I avoid to get a round chest? i want a maschuline squared chestand dont know how to do that….
You need to be very lean – under 10% body fat. You also need to really emphasize your upper chest. 2/3 of you chest training should be on an incline.
thank you, what do u suggest for chest training??
hi, how can I avoid to get a round chest? i want a maschuline squared chestand dont know how to do that….
greets
daniel, 22
Greg, thanks for the videos. Saw your main video when it went viral a year ago. Congrats on all the success.
What kind of power cage are you working on in this video?
I just picked one up from a local gym. Wasn’t expensive, got it for like $350.
you told me that 2/3 of chest training should be on an incline
what do u suggest for chest training??
For most people looking to add muscle to their chest I would recommend the following. You would probably do fine with just two exercises (incline and dips/flat bench). But for faster growth a third exercise would be beneficial.
Incline Barbell Bench Press: 3-4 sets of 5-8 reps
Low Incline Dumbbell Bench: 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps
Flat Bench or Dips: 2-3 sets of 6-10 reps
you have an awesome body! just wondering if these exercises will work the same for women? thanks!
Yes, these are great for women as well. These exercises will help firm and tighten your stomach.
I am a girl can I get these same results? Can I do the first to exercises laying down?
Yes and yes :)
hey man i wat to build a nice phsique i am skinny. How much time i need to get a nice square chest!(not realy big but very good sculpted) and v cut abs? from now to sumer wil be ok ?
salman recently posted..The Foolproof Formula For Doing Your First Muscle Up: How I Learned To Muscle-Up in 2 Weeks
Depends! If you’re already six pack lean then it may only take you 3 months.
i can berly see my abs the v line i can see it wen i flex only and for my chest
hey man i wat to build a nice phsique i am skinny. How much time i need to get a nice square chest!(not realy big but very good sculpted) and v cut abs? from now to sumer wil be ok ?
salman recently posted.
hey man i wat to get a nice sculpted chest i dot care abut mass what exercises do you recomend
Incline Bench, Dips
hey man i would like to build a nice body six packs and v cut but the problem is that i have a not to much but a little of stomach fat ! what exercises do you recommend me to remove fat and get a six pack faster?
manuel recently posted..Achieving the Warrior Physique Part 1 – Diet
No exercise to remove fat. That is a matter of diet.
I have a very low body fat percentage (below 10%) and I still have fat around my obliques. How do you recommend I get rid of them to get a ripped midsection?
You’ll probably need to get leaner.
Hey Greg
I’d like to widen my waist by about 2 inches (they look a bit feminine), how do you think I should do this without getting overly muscular obliques?
Focus on adding a bunch of muscle to your abs and lower back. Hanging leg raises, renegade rows, squats and deadlifts will do it! As well you’ll want to eat more and get in a surplus.
Will squats and deadlifts not make my legs too big?
Really depends. If you’re new to squats and deadlifts you probably have a long way to go before you need to worry about that. If you’re squatting and deadlifting 300-400 lbs for reps then your legs are probably gonna be getting too big.
Hey! I like your website, nice work dude :)
I got a little problem though, I do Muay thai training 2 times a week which is very intens for one hour and a quarter, and I run one time for 1h30. I also swim to times a week for about two hours each time.
I am not thin (about 15% bf i guess) but I have some muscle and I’m very tall like 6ft 2, I have quite wide shoudlers.
So the problem is that I have wide hips like bumps on the side of the stomach.. and I’m at a stage(for a long time now) where the upper abs are starting to show but there is still some centimeters of fat on the lower part..
So between the shoulders and the hips, it does make the bumps noticable…
Do you got any tips for me to get rid of the bumps and the fat on the lower abs?
Thank you in advance
is there a technique to leg raise from dip bar + legspread for beginner?
You can lift your legs up with bent legs.
Thanks! :)
What do we do if this workout starts getting too easy? After the dip bar leg raises its pretty much smooth sailing. Using 45s for renegade rows now. It’s been about a month since I started and want to do it for 2-3 months but haven’t been getting sore really at all.
Abs shouldn’t really get too sore from a workout. You can do renegade rows with your legs raised on a box/bench. You can do weighted side to side kene ups…..
Hey Greg, I’ve been trying out this Ab workout and I’m really liking it. My gym doesn’t have grips on the Smith Machine, so the only way I can do the Knee Ups are on the ‘Assisted Pull Up/Dip Station.’ I tried it yesterday and I realized I may need to get stronger and work at it, but is there an alternate excerice that works as good? The station was kind of uncomfortable, but I blamed me not being able to do the motion on me not being strong enough in my arms and abs. Also my gym has round dumbbells and not square ones, so ive been doing 6 reps with one arms, and then switch and do 6 reps with the other. It doesnt feel as effective as alternating, but i avoid rolling my wrist and possible injury. You think this is fine or what do you recommend? Thanks man, awesome website.
Keep working on the knee ups and it will come. Round dumbbells are definitely trickier for renegade rows. That method you described should work.
Hey! I like your website, nice work dude :)
I got a little problem though, I do Muay thai training 2 times a week which is very intens for one hour and a quarter, and I run one time for 1h30.
I am not thin (about 15% bf i guess) but I have some muscle and I’m very tall like 6ft 2, I have quite wide shoudlers.
So the problem is that I have wide hips like bumps on the side of the stomach.. and I’m at a stage(for a long time now) where the upper abs are starting to show but there is still some centimeters of fat on the lower part..
So between the shoulders and the hips, it does make the bumps noticable…
Do you got any tips for me to get rid of the bumps and the fat on the lower abs?
Thank you in advance
Hey Alex! A lot of people go through this.
You’ll likely need to drop to 10-12% body fat to lose the fat around your love handles and make your waist very trim. There is nothing specifically you can do to get rid of the fat in that area. Keep dropping fat and it will tighten up.
Thanks for the response but what can i do with the bumps? its not fat but bone.
Nothing, you can’t alter your bone structure.
Hey bro,
I thank you for the article but, tbh, I need a little help I think and no matter where I go or what I do, it just doesn’t seem to work. Like at the point where I want to give up. I don’t really check this, so could you please shoot me an email or tweet or something? I just need a mentor with this to start out. Wow thanks so much man
Ryan