Slab like pectorals, developed top to bottom with a sharply defined, lower pec line

The chest is often one of the easiest muscles to bulk up. Compounded with the fixation most bodybuilders have on the bench press, this contributes to over development of the pecs relative to the rest of the body. Part of symmetry is balance, and overdeveloping an easy to grow muscle group throws your physique out of balance.

What’s even worse is when the lower pectoral muscles become overdeveloped and body fat creeps up even slightly. This results in the appearance of “bunched up, droopy” pectorals (guys, it’s pecs you want, not boobs!)

The ideal pectoral development is not a hanging bulbous mass, but a muscle that is slab like in appearance and fully developed from top to bottom. The slab runs all the way up to the clavicle. The lower pecs must developed well; combined with low body fat, a sharp, flaring lower pec line clearly delineates the lower-outer pec border. Exercise physiologists always freak out and say there is no inner and outer pec, but if you look in any anatomy book, you will see that the pectorals are fan-shaped, and the “lower” and “outer” fibers are one in the same.

To hit the “lower and outer” pecs, lay off the flat bench presses for a while and focus on dips on the wide end (32”) of a V-bar. To hit the pecs with dips, you should keep your feet underneath or in front of you, flare your elbows out, round your back and look down with your chin on your chest. Another exercise that will help you achieve a nice pec line is the decline cable flye performed with the handles meeting above the groin (not over the chest).

NOTE: If you’re female, all the tips in this article apply to you as well, except the previous advice about pec development. It’s the upper, clavicular portion of your pecs you’ll want to emphasize because that’s the portion of the muscle that is most visible. Incline bench work will do the trick nicely).

Small hips and glutes

Squats may be the best leg size builder, but performed improperly or excessively, they can throw off your symmetry. Powerlifters squat with the bar low on the upper back, with the butt sticking out and the upper body leaning forward. They do this because more weight can be lifted by recruiting your hips, butt and low back. That’s great for powerlifting and power sports, but terrible for symmetry.

The bodybuilding squat is much more vertical: it’s called a high bar squat, where the bar is high on the traps/shoulders, the torso more vertical and the stance narrower. This hits the butt and hips less and throws more stress “lower down” on the quads. Better still, you could use more front squats and hack squats, which isolate the quads and reduce hip and glute involvement.

Appearance of long legs

Why are high fashion models always tall with very long legs? Simple answer: Visual aesthetics! Some people were born with long legs, while others have short, thick, “stubby legs.” Fortunately, if you were not born with long legs, you can create an “illusion” of the long legged look through training.

First, you want to develop the entire thigh from top to bottom. Many bodybuilders suffer from what Vince Gironda called “turnip” thighs, overdeveloped in the middle and upper portion (with a big butt) and no lower quad. Vince said that a perfectly developed thigh would nearly as wide in circumference at the mid portion as the bottom portion.

Powerlifting squats and heavy partial range leg presses overdevelop the upper thigh, hips and butt. The lower quad (vastus medialis, or teardrop near the knee) can be developed with a narrower stance and emphasis on the bottom range of motion on any squatting movement, avoiding lockout at the top. Three quarter hack squats and front squats are particularly effective, and so are one and a quarters: squat down full, come up one quarter, go back down to full, then come up just short of lockout; that’s one rep. Try a few weeks of those and see what happens to your “teardrop.”

If your knees can take it, the sissy squat is a superb thigh “shaper” because it’s one of the few exercises that hit the rectus femoris all the way up into the hips, creating an illusion of long legs. The rectus is the muscle visible in the upper thigh, which when fully developed, makes your legs appear longer.