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The V-cut or “the sexy muscles,” as my ex called them. Basically, the V-cut is just a giant “screw you” to everyone who isn’t in shape. Obviously, you’re so much better than them!
Jokes aside, getting a V-cut is a lot harder than it may seem, but fear not, I’m here to help you!
So, What Is a V-Cut?
We sometimes give weird names to things in the fitness world. V-cut, V-taper, non-gym-based therapy. I mean, what even is that last one?!
V-cut refers to the area above your groin and lower abdomen. This area is usually covered in a good amount of fat in the general public, seeing as humans tend to store fat there for safety reasons – gotta protect those organs!
That said, someone with a V-cut is surely not going to be carrying a lot of fat mass in that area. See, in order for your “V” to show, you’d need to strip the fat away that’s covering the muscle underneath.
The “V” muscles are actually your obliques. These muscles curve around the sides of your lower abdomen and meet with the normal abdominals in the front.
When a person is extremely lean, this tends to be very prominent, and the obliques stand out dramatically. This is when someone has a V-cut.
A V-cut isn’t easy to achieve and comes with a few caveats:
- In general, it’s harder for females to lose weight and retain muscle mass.
- If you have shallow abs or just a low amount of muscle mass, you’ll also have a harder time having a V-cut.
- You have to have very low amounts of body fat for the V-cut to show.
One last thing to note is that more muscular people will always look shredded earlier than someone with less muscle mass. This is why we often see athletes in their off-season (carrying a lot of fat), but you can still somewhat see abs.
But enough about the nomenclature – let me give you both a gym and home workout to get the V-cut. Plus, I’ll also give you some diet tips!
Step 1 – Follow a V-Cut Workout Routine
The best way to sculpt V-cut abs is – of course – following an appropriate training routine.
Gym Workout for V-Cut Abs
Alright, you walk into the gym on a Monday afternoon. The high school boys are all doing dog-form deadlifts, and the old ladies are doing pool training. Get them gains, ladies!
But what about you? Where do you go?
Well, since the title of the article is how to get V-cut abs, we’ll be focusing on abdominal training. That said, please keep training the other muscles as well! This is imperative, as having a large amount of muscle mass will make your whole physique a lot more aesthetic.
After you’ve warmed up and/or completed your regular training, you can transition into the following ab workout:
1. Vacuum Holds – 5 sets of 15 seconds
This is an unconventional method of training the abdominals, especially the transverse abdominals. We tend to skip these when training abs, but they can help you keep your waist a lot tighter and smaller.
2. Hanging Leg Raises (Straight or Bent Leg) – 3 sets of 8 – 20 reps
The ideal exercise to target the lower abdominals. If you have the ability and strength to do these weighted by holding a dumbbell between your feet, go right ahead and do so! If not, shoot for higher reps. Take care not to swing your body.
3. Side Planks, Feet Elevated – 2 sets of 60 seconds per side
Planks get a bad rap in the fitness world, but they still have their place when you’re looking to build a sleek and controlled waist. These – along with weighted planks – are excellent.
4. Decline Sit-Ups – 4 sets of 6 – 15 reps
We end off with a full-core exercise! With decline sit-ups, you’ll hit the entire abdominal wall, and if you have the ability to use weights, you’ll make them grow even more!
(Extra) 5. Weighted Planks – 2 sets of 60 seconds
Only do these if the rest of your weekly training program allows it. Place a few weight plates on your back, get in a plank position, and try not to shake too much.
With the weighted movements, try to increase your weight and reps, as both will elicit muscle growth. The same rule applies to all your other training.
Home Workout for V-Cut Abs
But what if you don’t like the actual gym? What do you do if your mortal enemy is at the gym and you’re left to train at home?
Well, while this does limit us in regard to equipment, it doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do!
1. Vacuum Holds – 5 sets of 15 seconds
You don’t need any equipment to do these, luckily, and since they can be done standing, lying down, crouched over, or even while posing, you can do these at any time and any place.
2. Leg Raises (While Laying Down) – 4 sets of 20 reps
If we can’t hang, we’ll just have to make use of gravity in another way! Try not to lift your lower back too far off the ground when doing these. The less you need to stabilize with your hands, the better.
3. Mountain Climbers – 3 sets of as long as you can
These will definitely make you huff-n-puff while doing them, but they’re still pretty good at helping you build strong and aesthetic abs. They’re super old school, but you can make them harder by doing a slow and controlled movement with each rep.
4. L-Sit Hold – 2 sets of 5 – 10 seconds
An absolute pain! Calisthenic athletes and gymnasts are probably the only people who can do these without wincing, but they’re great for building a strong and shredded core.
Step 2 – Follow a V-Cut Abs Diet: Lose Your Fat
Now that you know how to train your abs, let’s look at what you need to do to actually see your abs. Essentially, we need to create an environment in which the body will use stored body fat as energy.
While doing this, we also need to create an environment where you don’t go catabolic, a state in which you burn muscle mass as fuel as well.
How do we even do that – burn fat but retain muscle? Well, simply by following these few rules:
- Consume a large amount of protein per day – at least 1 gram per pound of body weight. Spread your protein evenly throughout your meals.
- Consume 200 – 300 calories fewer than your maintenance calories (which you can calculate here).
- After subtracting the calories coming from protein, split the remainder of your calories between carbs and fats however you want.
- When fat loss stops (you should lose between 0.5 – 1.0% of total body weight per week), reduce your calories by another 200 OR introduce 10 minutes of cardio daily.
- Aim for consistency, not perfection. If you’re more consistent, you’ll see more results. Aiming for perfection will only leave you fatigued.
- (extra) Professional athletes and coaches alike sing their praise for higher carbohydrate diets. This allows for better recovery and potentially even better hypertrophy. You still need some fats, though, and lowering them below 0.3 grams per pound of body weight is asking for trouble.
- (extra) If your aim is to have a perfect V-cut, you might want to use foods that are easier to digest. Eating bigger meals or harder-to-digest meals could increase gut inflammation and lead to an extended stomach.
And that’s it! Those are really the only (basic) things you need to do to lose fat!
Stay consistent, and make sure you hit your macros as often as you possibly can. Make sure you get stronger in your workouts to ensure you build as much muscle as well.
V-Cut Abs Conclusion
V-cut abs are a lot harder to obtain than just being lean. It might require you to diet for 12 – 16 weeks, and even then, you wouldn’t be able to sustain it for months on end, depending on your genetics.
There are two simple steps to get V-cut abs:
- Choose a core routine to build abdominal muscle
- Follow a high-protein diet with a caloric deficit
On that last point, don’t forget the saying: “abs are made in the kitchen.”
You simply can’t out-train and out-cardio a poor diet. You have to hit those macros, you have to stay consistent, and you have to lose weight progressively. You can use cardio as a means to burn some calories, but too much cardio could actually end up burning muscle – so be careful.
The last tip – remember to lift heavy! Doing so will allow you to retain as much muscle mass as you possibly can. Not only will your abs be more prominent, but it’s more likely your whole physique package will look more complete as well.
