The chin-up is my favorite upper-body exercise for athleticism. All of the best athletes I've worked with can do them. It's a relative pound-for-pound strength exercise and great for strengthening the core. Plus, the full chin-up takes the shoulder blades through a huge range of motion—excellent for shoulder and upper back health. If you're not doing chin-ups (or pull-ups) yet, I think you should be!

Troubleshooting: If you're just getting started—try just holding the top position on the bar for as long as you can. Use a little assistance from your feet at first if needed. Work up to 5-second holds just at the top, supersetting on the cable machine. Then add a second eccentric hold rep. If you don't have access to a cable machine, you could substitute a band pull-down as shown.

4 x 2 eccentric 3-point holds + 4 x 6-8 cable pulldowns Start at the top of the bar. Then lower to the middle, and then to just above lockout. Hold each position for 3 seconds. If you can't do 2 reps of the 3-point holds, start with just 1. With minimal rest, superset on the cable pulldown machine. 4 sets at a challenging weight for 6-8 reps. Rest 90-120 seconds and repeat. Perform this workout twice per week. I like to go back and forth with a push exercise like an overhead press or push-up.

If you're working on your first chin-up (or you want to get stronger at them in general), try this protocol twice a week: 4 sets of 1-22 reps with 3-5 second holds at each position—top, middle, and right above elbow lockout. Superset with cable pulldowns 4 x 6-8 reps to strengthen the concentric contraction—if you have access to a machine.

4 upper-body exercises for healthy shoulders These are the four basic upper-body movements I use most often for athleticism at age 49.