Most of today's leading protein powders offer 17 grams of whey protein per serving. However, the NNU is only 2.04 grams. That means that only 2.04 grams of the 17 grams will be utilized by your body.

The Seated Leg Extension

The myth: It’s the safest way to work your quadriceps, or thigh muscles.

The truth: Physiologists at the Mayo Clinic determined that leg extensions place significantly more stress on your knees than squats. Why? Because the resistance is placed near your ankles, which leads to high amounts of torque being applied to your knee joint every time you lower the weight. What’s more, Auburn University scientists found that people who squat long-term have tighter, stronger knee ligaments than those who don’t squat at all.

The alternatives: Free weight squats, split squats, and lunges—performed with perfect form—are all better choices for working your quads and protecting your knees.
 

The Behind-the-Neck Lat Pull-Down

The myth: The best way to perform the lat pulldown is to pull the bar behind your head, down to your upper back

The truth: Unless you have very flexible shoulders, this exercise is difficult to do correctly, and can increase your risk for shoulder impingement syndrome—a painful condition in which the muscles or tendons of your rotator cuff become entrapped in your shoulder joint.

The alternative: Simple—just pull the bar in front of your head, down to your collarbone. You’ll work your back just as hard, but with less risk for injury.  

 

The Pec Deck

The myth: It’s a super safe and very effective way to work your chest muscles.

The truth: This apparatus, also called the chest fly machine, can overstretch the front of your shoulder and cause the muscles around the rear of your shoulder to stiffen. The result: Doing this movement frequently can lead to shoulder impingement syndrome.

The alternatives: Forget the machine, and stick with exercises such as the pushup, dumbbell bench press and dumbbell incline press; they’re easier on your shoulders and the best way to build your chest overall. In fact, Truman State University researchers found that pectoral muscles are activated for 23 percent less time during the chest fly, compared with the bench press.
 

The Seated Hip Abductor Machine

The myth: This machine is the best way to work your out thighs, including your glutes.

The truth: Because you’re seated, it trains a movement that has no functional use. And if done with excessive weight and jerky technique, it can put undue pressure on your spine.

The alternative: Work the same muscles, but while standing. Simply loop a resistance band around both legs, and position the band just below your knees.  Now take small steps to your left for 20 feet. Then side-step back to your right for 20 feet. That’s one set. This is much harder than it sounds, but you can do it anywhere, and it’s also a great warmup for any sport.

 

The Seated Rotation Machine

The myth: Twisting on this machine helps melt your love handles.

The truth: It works the muscles under your love handles, but will do little to reduce the fat that covers them. What’s more, because your pelvis doesn't move as you rotate your upper body, this exercise can put excessive twisting forces on the spine.

The alternative: As long as you don’t expect to shrink your love handles, you can use rotational exercises to work your obliques. But here’s the secret to safety: Before you do any rotational exercises, brace your abs forcefully—as if you’re about to be punched in the gut—and hold them that way as you do the movement. This limits your range of motion and helps to keep you from rotating excessively at your lower spine.
 

The Smith Machine

The myth: This machine—which looks like a squat rack with a built-in bar that runs on guides—gives you all the benefits of squats, but none of the risk that comes from holding a heavy barbell across your back. That’s because the bar can easily be secured at any point during the movement.

The truth: Because the bar runs on guides, you can only move straight up and down as you squat—instead of down and back, as you would in a free-weight squat. The result: An unnatural movement that puts extra stress on your knees and lower back. Need another reason to skip the Smith? Canadian researchers found that traditional squats produced almost 50 percent more muscle activity in the quadriceps than squats done on a Smith machine.

The alternative: If you’re not comfortable with barbell squats, simply do the exercise while holding dumbbells at arm’s length next to your sides. You won’t need a spotter, and your body will be free to move through the natural motion of the squat.
 

If you wouldn't feel safe flying with the plane's gauges pegged in the red zone. Oh, you could taxi down the runway, take off, and probably remain airborne for a spell. You might even stay up long enough to enjoy an in-flight meal. But the expectation of eventually seeing smoke billowing from the engines, or hearing shards of metal snap off, would fill you with dread.

 Strange, then, that most men don't sweat it when their body's most important gauge--blood pressure--rises into the red zone and stays there. "High blood pressure gives you a twofold to fourfold increase in your risk of stroke or heart attack," says Prediman K. Shah, M.D., director of cardiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in Los Angeles. "And only about one-third of individuals with high blood pressure have it under some sort of control."

 The problem is, most of us mistake the early stages of hypertension for completely normal blood pressure. In the past few years, 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) went from being classified as healthy to "prehypertensive" by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The target numbers are now 119/79 mm Hg or lower. To hit that target, and avoid a crash landing, let the steam out of the following "pressure cookers" one at a time.

Your heart and the 60,000 miles of veins, arteries, and capillaries in your body have enough work to do when you're lean. Don't make matters worse by adding a beer belly, which requires more blood supply, putting additional strain on the heart and raising overall blood pressure. "It's infrequent that people are rail thin yet have high blood pressure," says Eric Topol, M.D., chief academic officer of Scripps Health. "By bringing your weight into line with what it should be, you can produce a 10 to 29-point drop in blood pressure," says John Elefteriades, M.D., chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Yale. For men with borderline-high blood pressure, that alone is enough of a drop to eliminate the need for pharmaceutical intervention, he says.

 Do This: Eat meat. In a recent Australian study, people with high blood pressure who replaced 8 percent of their daily calories from bread, cereal, potatoes, or pasta with lean red meat experienced a four-point drop in their systolic blood pressure in just 8 weeks. Arginine, an amino acid in red meat, may help dilate blood vessels, lowering blood pressure. Plus, limiting starches lowers blood sugar and makes your body more efficient at burning fat.

 Not That: Eat a low-fat diet. Removing fat from your diet could actually work against your goal, because healthy fats are key to lowering blood pressure. For example, a study in the Journal of Medicinal Food found that men who replaced their regular cooking oil with sesame oil for 45 days experienced decreases in their blood pressure and blood sugar. Sesame oil contains polyunsaturated fatty acids and a compound called sesamin, which stops your liver from making cholesterol. Look in the ingredient list on your salad-dressing bottle for sesame oil. We like Annie's Naturals Organic Asian Sesame Dressing, which also contains heart-healthy garlic. 

"You can achieve up to a 10-point drop in blood pressure from regular aerobic exercise," says Dr. Elefteriades. A solid workout raises your blood pressure, which gives your body practice in bringing it back down. Well-trained blood vessels expand and contract easily, which helps control blood pressure, even during times of heightened or prolonged stress.

 Do This: Simply squeeze a rubber ball. It seems to help--a lot, actually. According to a study in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, people performing handgrip exercises for 8 weeks lowered their systolic blood pressure by 15 points and their diastolic pressure by five. "The blood-pressure response to grip training is greater than to aerobic exercise," says lead author Maureen MacDonald, Ph.D. All it takes is 2 minutes of squeezing, four times a day.

Not That: Train like a hamster running around in a wheel. Overdosing on cardio can limit the benefits your gym session has on your blood vessels, so add resistance training to the mix. Researchers at the University of Michigan found that men who performed three total-body weight workouts a week for 2 months lowered their blood-pressure readings by an average of eight points. 

This is a case of too much of a good thing. "Once you exceed two alcoholic beverages a day, you begin to incur complications, such as an increased risk of high blood pressure," says Dr. Shah. No one is quite sure why an excessive amount of alcohol, which dilates blood vessels, can sometimes raise blood pressure, but it does. No need for you to become as dry as a Steven Wright punch line, though. In fact, Harvard researchers recently analyzed the drinking habits of 11,000 men with high blood pressure and determined that those who consumed two drinks a day were 30 percent less likely to have a heart attack than those who drank less.

Do This: Make it a Bloody Mary. According to a study in the American Heart Journal, the antioxidant lycopene in tomato juice can boost your beverage's blood-pressure-lowering power. When participants in the study swallowed tomato-juice extract for 8 weeks, they experienced a 10-point drop in their systolic BP and a four-point fall in their diastolic measure. Add a stalk of celery for extra protection. High in fiber, celery has been used for centuries in Asian medicine to drop blood pressure.

 Not That: Drink on an empty stomach. Keep your bar tab in check, and don't drink any alcoholic beverage without eating something along with it. Researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo found that a man's risk of high blood pressure increases nearly 50 percent if he boozes between meals. Eating while you imbibe may slow you down and help limit the total amount of alcohol you ingest, the researchers say.

The white stuff causes your body to retain water, which increases blood volume and, consequently, blood pressure. The results are deadly: The more sodium you eat, the shorter your life, according to researchers at the University of Helsinki. They reviewed more than a dozen studies and found that people who reduced their sodium intake by 30 percent lived an average of 7 years longer than those whose sodium intake remained high. (The national average is over 4,000 milligrams (mg) a day--1,600 mg more than is recommended.)

Do This: Mix up a DIY salt substitute. Australian scientists determined that diluting regular salt with potassium salt and Epsom salt lowers arterial blood pressure by six points. Cooking with the concoction reduces overall sodium intake and boosts blood levels of potassium, a nutrient that naturally regulates blood pressure. Pour 65 percent table salt, 25 percent Morton Salt Substitute (potassium chloride), and 10 percent Epsom salt into a small bowl, mix well, and funnel into a saltshaker. You won't taste the difference.

Not That: Skip the saltshaker altogether. You need some sodium in your diet to survive. (One recent study revealed that too little of the mineral can actually increase your risk of death by 37 percent.) Instead, focus on eliminating supersources of salt, such as processed foods. One frozen dinner can contain as much as 2,000 mg sodium, a cup of cottage cheese packs 918 mg, and a single slice of deli ham packs 240 mg.

There was a time when stress saved your life. Blood pressure goes up in response to tension, when your body's fight-or-flight response causes adrenaline surges. But chronic stress, like the kind you experience every day at the office, can permanently increase your blood-pressure set point.

 Do This: Clean the house. Researchers reporting in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise equipped 28 people with BP monitors and asked each person to do housework to burn 150 calories a day. After 2 days, their BP levels fell an average of 13 points. Daily chores lower BP, and not only because of the exercise. Having a clean house may reduce psychological stress, according to the study authors.

 Not That: Slack off on relaxation. "Most people don't have acupuncture or perform relaxation techniques regularly enough for a lasting effect," says Dr. Shah. Reduce the chances you'll skip a de-stress session by choosing a tension reliever that's convenient and can be scheduled in advance. One option? Make a standing weekly appointment with a masseuse near your office.

A study by researchers at the University of South Florida revealed that people who received three 10-minute massages a week experienced an 18-point drop in their systolic blood pressure and an eight-point drop in their diastolic BP.

Thanks to their DNA, some men can do everything right and still have high blood pressure. If your numbers are more than 20 to 30 points out of range or your blood pressure doesn't budge with exercise and diet changes, you may need a pharmaceutical solution, says Dr. Elefteriades.

Do This: Pop more than one pill. "Many patients need additional medications to see a benefit," says Dr. Elefteriades. In fact, a new study by researchers at Trinity College, in Dublin, reveals that people who took a low dose of four different blood-pressure drugs watched their readings drop 19 points. The combination, which included a calcium channel blocker, a beta-blocker, a diuretic, and an ACE inhibitor, outperformed each of the drugs on its own by as many as 10 points.

Not That: Pop painkillers for headaches. Lay off acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and other over-the-counter pain relievers if you have high blood pressure in your genes. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that men who regularly take painkillers have a 38 percent higher risk of developing high blood pressure.

An inaccurate blood-pressure reading can cause more trouble than no reading at all--and everything from your shirtsleeve to your last meal to how you sit can skew the score. Follow these tips for a true measure.

Shed your outer layers. Nurses and doctors don't always ask you to take off your shirt before measuring your blood pressure, but wearing a sweatshirt or bulky sweater could lead to an artificially raised reading. Thick sleeves boosted systolic pressure measurements by as much as 22 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) in men with high blood pressure in a Tel Aviv University study. Dress shirts and thin sweaters are fine; a study in the journal Blood Pressure revealed that measurements taken over bare skin were the same as those taken through sleeves less than 2 mm thick.

Elevate your arm to heart level. The blood-pressure guidelines set forth by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute are based on measurements taken from people holding their arms at heart level. Most doctors and nurses slap the cuff on your arm when it's resting on a desk or chair, which can raise both diastolic and systolic pressure by six to nine points, according to a study by Dutch researchers.

Sit for 16. In a study published in the American Journal of Hypertension, researchers discovered that patients who sat for 16 minutes before having their blood pressure checked received more accurate readings than those who sat for less time. When you stand or move around, your blood vessels constrict, and the longer you sit, the more time they have to return to normal size, lowering blood pressure.

Hit the men's room. Holding back your bladder can artificially raise your blood-pressure reading by making your nervous system think you're stressed.

Avoid finger cuffs. All our experts panned finger cuffs. "The closer to your trunk, the more accurate monitors become," says John Elefteriades, M.D., chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Yale. Finger cuffs are also susceptible to shifts in body temperature and finger position.

There are three exercises that you will do one right after another. All three make up one complete set.

Pushups: Do these very strict with slow deliberate movements. But, spend one day finding out how many you can do, then rest a day or two and start the total exercises.

When you find out just how may you can do (your Maximum number) then split that by three (3). For example, if your Max is 21, then you will do seven (7) wide grip, seven (7) narrow grip and seven (7) regular grip, all with out stopping. (The idea is to do the maximum number of pushups you can do.)

Dumbbell Flyes: Lying flat on your back on the floor, have the dumbells on each side. Do the most that you can do without resting.

Dumbbell Presses: Keep the dumbbells in your hands and start pressing them straight from the shoulder to arms length. Do as many as you can.

Do all exercises with control and slow movement.

Once you have done one set, then do another set.

It is important to rest properly, usually two days total before doing again.

Tips on Losing Fat Without Really Trying

Healthy eating is very important. Here are some tips on losing weight without really trying.
Fill up on fiber. Choose whole grains, fruits and vegetables, high fiber cereals, dries beans, lentils, or other legumes.
Your goal is 25 to 30 grams daily. Food high in fiber make you feel full without lots of calories. 
Drink a glass of water before each meal and you'll get a feeling of fullness. By sipping water throughout the day, you'll know when you're really hungry. Drink at least eight 8oz. glasses of water daily. 
Eat more fish. Fish and poultry have less calories then beef, lamb and pork. Veal has the lowest calories of the meats, but it is higher in cholesterol than beef or lamb. 
Limit your salt intake. Instead spice up your diet with pepper, lemons, basil and oregano (or Mrs.. Dash) and you'll never miss salt. Your blood pressure will improve and you'll lose fat faster! Buy salt-free salsa and sugarless jam as snacks. They taste great on baked tortillas or whole wheat crackers. Also find lower fat substitutes that satisfy your taste preferences. 
Think "healthy eating" instead of "diet".

A "Diet" is an on again off again thing, healthy eating is a life long process.
So if you're still hungry and it's not time to eat, take a walk, call a friend, or put on a swimsuit and check on the airfare to Jamaica!

DIET TIPS

1)  Water. Did you know that water is essential for weight loss? Water helps to flush your body clean of toxins & fat. Drinking ample water each day allows your bodily functions to work optimally. One of the biggest benefits of drinking water while losing weight is that it makes you feel full. If you always have a full water bottle with you & drink it throughout the day, it will take away your "extra" hunger & help you from snitching unwanted calories. Aim for at least 64 ounces of pure water a day.

2) Fiber. Fiber is a wondrous fat loss aid. Eating foods high in fiber throughout the day will really make you feel full & help to keep your appetite in check. Try to incorporate about 5 grams of fiber
each meal (about 25 total for the day). If you are currently not up to par with your fiber intake (& chances are you are not) gradually increase to 25 grams a day to prevent bloating. High fiber foods:
vegetables, nuts/seeds, beans, whole grains (like oatmeal, granola, non-sugary cereals) & many fruits.

3)  Eat 5 meals a day. Some may think that sounds like an awful lot of food but eating 5 small meals during the day will really help you lose fat. It may take some getting used to but your body will adjust & you will start to lose unwanted pounds. If you eat 5 small, balanced meals a day you will not be hungry, you will have higher energy levels through out the whole day & food cravings should virtually disappear.

4) Be prepared. It is so much easier to eat healthy when you plan ahead. Bring some healthy meals to work, make leftovers at dinner for lunch the next day, keep good food in the fridge at work or even in your drawers (nutrition bars, shakes & a shaker bottle, nuts & seeds, fruit or other favorite healthy snacks).

5) Free day. Yippee! A day of eating anything you want, anything you desire is allowed! Not only is it allowed, it is also encouraged. By completely denying yourself of all sweets & snacks, you may be setting yourself up for a disastrous fallout. Allow yourself one day a week where you can have a piece of your favorite dessert or a Pina Colada or whatever your favorite treat may be. Allowing yourself a little breathing room for just 1 day a week can really help you maintain the correct mindset to stay focused & committed to your weight loss efforts.

The Do's and Don'ts for Effective Fat Loss

This seems to be the question on everyone's mind, and for good reason, fat is so easy to acquire and so hard to get rid of.  Most bodies love to store fat, it's good security for when you run out of food. This is unlikely, but your body doesn't know that. Unfortunately, the body loves storing fat so much that it will burn anything else available (muscle tissue, stored carbohydrate, etc.) before digging into the fat reserves. 
Unless you trick it.

The first thing your body will burn is stored carbohydrates in the form of glycogen.  The next is muscle tissue, only then does it grudgingly dip into the fat stores.  This is why most diets don't work, especially "starvation" diets.  When you suddenly cut off the food supply, a survival mechanism kicks in causing the body to store every little bit of fat that it can!  This results in weight loss, but not much fat loss, and as soon as you DO eat
something, it immediately gets stored as fat to replace any that was used.  This is NOT what you want, so you have to fool the body into thinking it doesn't need fat.   Here is a list of effective ways to do this, and you won't even have to starve yourself! It's never easy though.

Change your eating habits
Don't diet! Make a permanent change in how you eat:
1)  Limit, but don't cut out high fat foods:  Dietary fat can be stored if taken in excess, however, some fat intake must be maintained to prevent the body from storing every bit of fat it does get. (see #6 below).
2)  Limit high sugar and high glycemic index foods (including fruit):  Simple sugars (and many "complex" carbohydrates) get easily converted into fat, and can also be the cause of high cholesterol.   Glucose, fructose, and sucrose are all simple sugars and malto-dextrin (common in many "weight gainer supplements) has a very high glycemic index putting it in the same category as simple sugars.  I'm not saying not to eat fruit, as they contain many beneficial vitamins, just don't overdo it.  Keep it to 2 or 3 pieces a day.
3) Eat more frequently:  Yes, you read that right!  Eat 5 or 6 smaller meals a day (or 3 main meals and 2 -3 healthy snacks, protein shakes work well).   There are several reasons for this, they are:
With smaller servings, your stomach will shrink and you will get full faster. 
Digesting burns a surprising amount of calories, eat more often and burn more calories! 
When you eat a large meal, the body takes what it needs, and saves the excess as, guess what?  FAT.  Smaller meals prevent this even if you eat the same amount overall.
4)  Never eat before bed:  Plan your last meal to be at least 2 hours before bed.  
5)  Eat slowly:  It takes your stomach about 20 minutes to signal the brain after it is full.  If you eat too fast you will think you are still hungry and eat more.  If you're still a bit hungry after eating, do something to take your mind off food for at least 20 minutes and you'll most likely forget
about the eating.
6)  Don't totally cut out fat:  Keep some fat in your "non-diet", as it helps get your body into a "fat burning mode".  Keep it "low to moderate fat" not "no fat." Try to stick to the "good" fats such as those from fish, flax oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, olive oil, peanut oil.
7)  This won't be easy so give yourself a break sometimes.  Allow yourself one "treat" a week, or even a day where you can eat whatever you want, and really enjoy it! 
8)  Eat foods that take lots of energy to burn:  These include most vegetables (especially the fibrous ones) and protein sources such as meat.   Cut the visible fat off of red meat and remove the skin from chicken. Water-packed tuna is very good (if you like it). 
9)  Take it easy on complex carbohydrates as any excess gets easily converted to fat.  This includes rice, pasta, potatoes, and any "starchy foods".  Eat these regularly, but not too much at one time.  If you want to lose fat faster, cut down on these foods and replace with protein and fat. 

10)  The breakdown should be about: 40% protein, 30% complex carbohydrate, and 30% fat.  This can be varied but keep the protein high and control your body-fat by manipulating the carbohydrate content.  Most of the fat in your diet will come from the protein sources (meat and dairy).

Honest Abdominal Training

Ever read those fitness articles that allegedly tell guys how to develop their abs? I'm sure you've seen the images of a guy holding a broom handle or light barbell over his shoulders and twisting his torso from left to right as a means to lose his love handles. A waste of time! Or holding a dumbbell in each hand and bending from side to side. Forget it!

 It's just as important to know what doesn't work as it is to know what does work. If you spend weeks in the gym doing ineffective and inefficient exercises you'll get discouraged and give up. That's why most people by a year-long gym membership then stop going after a dozen or so visits. By contrast, there is nothing more motivating and encouraging than steady, measurable progress toward a specific goal!

 Why TV Abdominal Machines Are a Joke

 You've seen all those exercise gadgets on late night TV - lightweight gizmos that make it easier for you to rock back and forth while doing a crunch. Have you noticed that none of them allow you to add serious weight to increase intensity? Some have rubber bands or similar devices to add a bit of overload but it's a trivial amount.

 Really! So fiddling around with cheap exercise equipment or those electric belts that "stimulate" your ab muscles using the minuscule power of two flashlight batteries is beyond laughable. Let's see two AA batteries generate the power to lift a man's torso and 300 pounds 20 times in one minute. Please.

 Goals and Measurements

 The first thing you need to know is that 'love handles' are created by the deposition of extra fat around the midsection. (This is common in men, whereas women tend to have extra fat deposited in the hips and thighs.) So to target this specific area and create specific goals we need to know the measurement of your midsection. Wrap a tape measure around your abdomen at the widest area of your 'love handles' and record the measurement. Also, you really should measure your body fat percentage since one of our principal goals will be to reduce fat.

 Once we are armed with 'before' measurements of your abdomen and your body fat percentage we can create a program and monitor progress every step of the way. Remember, measurement prevents wasting time on things that don't work and it offers very motivating feedback regarding what is working.

 Step 1: Burn More Calories

 There is no real secret to losing fat; you need to burn more calories than you consume. A great way to do that is to engage in low intensity aerobics such as walking on a treadmill, using a stationary bike, or whatever. The real key is to make certain that the intensity is low enough so that you can do it every day of the week. That means you should be able to carry on a normal conversation or talk on the telephone while you're doing this exercise. Higher intensity than that requires time off between workouts and that means less activity and fat burning. Over the longer term, nothing beats adding more muscle to your body as it increases your 24/7 calorie burn and makes it easier to keep the fat off. (Easier to do lots of things, in fact.)

 Step 2: Tighten Abdominal Muscles

 The most intense exercise you can do to target your abdominal muscles is to perform weighted crunches. Adding weight to crunches increase the overload to the target muscles and allows you to employ progressive overload, which is an indispensable condition to muscular hypertrophy.

 Lie on your back with the handle of a low pulley behind your head. Grasp the handle and pull the slack out of the cable. Using your abdominal muscles, raise your shoulders and upper torso off the floor while lifting the weight stack. Use a weight you can only hold in a static contraction for five seconds. Each time you do this exercise try to increase the weight ten percent.

  Step 3: Widen Your Upper Body

 A wider midsection can be visually minimized by a having a wider upper body. While you are whittling down your midsection, it can only help to add a little more size to your upper body and create more of the vaunted 'V shape' that is so desirable. The single best exercise for this is the lat pull down. You can perform this exercise in the conventional way but if you really want to increase efficiency and intensity try doing it with a weight that is so heavy you can only hold it for five seconds in the first two inches of the downward range. You have to feel it to believe it!

 Step 4: Measure, Measure, Measure!

 Once per week you should measure the girth of your midsection and your body fat percentage. Even the slightest improvement in these measurements in one week is enormously motivating. When you have a goal it is very important to be able to measure progress toward that goal. Don't forget this important step.

 In a Nutshell

 Reducing 'love handles' is a simple matter of reducing overall body fat through daily low intensity aerobics and tightening the underlying muscles to improve shape. Perform the recommended aerobics every day and perform the recommended exercises twice per week in your first month and once per week for as long as your weights increase. If your weights do not increase add two extra days off until they do.

 Soon you'll have a tight, hard midsection, lower overall body fat and a great V-shaped taper to your torso.

Chin Ups

Let's have a quick look at the muscles involved in a chinup:
Primary Muscles:
  - Lattisimus Dorsi (Lats or mid-back)
Assisting Muscles:
  - Pectoralis Major (Chest)
  - Biceps (Front of arm)
  - Brachioradials (Forearms)
  - Rhomboideus (Upper Back)
  - Trapezius (Upper Back)
  - Deltoids (Shoulders)

Since the lats are the primary muscles, we will concentrate on those to start off.  For the next 8 weeks, do the following exercises, twice a week, at the beginning of your workout. Do not do any other exercises for your mid-back: Note: After week 4, take 1 week off from this routine, then continue with the remaining 4 weeks.

- Do as many chin ups as you can.
- No Rest
- Get yourself ready in a chin up position. Arms fully stretched.
Now only pull your shoulders up (like a shoulder shrug), without bending your arms.
- No Rest
- Assisted chin ups.  (Use a chair if need be and push off a little with your feet to get you up)
- Rest 2 minutes
- Continue with your regular workout

You will notice that every week you will increase your full and partial chin ups, while getting that nice V-shape in your back.

Are you having trouble doing chin ups? 

The wide grip overhand chin up involves a lot of muscles, Front of Arm (Biceps), Upper back (Rhomboids), Shoulder (Deltoid). If you work out one of those body parts too hard before doing
your chin-ups you won't perform well, and the remaining parts won't get a good workout, making your chin-ups... useless...

If you do have a well balanced workout program,  chin ups can give you good back blast.  Here's another routine if you have trouble increasing the number of chin-ups you can do: (Have 4x 5lb ankle weight available) Let's say the maximum amount of chin-ups you can do in a row is 8.

(Minimize the rest in between sets, 20-30 seconds should give you enough time to put on the ankle weights)
Start with 4 chin-ups.
Attach a 5lb ankle weight on each ankle, and do 4 more chin-ups
Attach another 5lb ankle weight on each ankle (10 lb each ankle total), and do chin-ups to failure. With failure this time I mean continue going until you can't pull yourself up another inch.
Rest a 2 minutes max, and do lat pull downs to failure with 60%-70% of your bodyweight.
(note: if you don't have a home gym and can't do lat pull downs, put a chair under your chin up bar, and assist slightly with your legs)

Perform this routine every 2 weeks for 8 weeks.  The weeks in between, concentrate on other shoulder, upper- and lower back exercises. Your chin ups will improve. Do slow, controlled movements, keep your legs crossed at the ankles.