7 Gym Exercises You Need to Avoid

Can anyone describe the "tabletop" and "prayer" exercise names as better alternatives for sit-ups? I'm always looking for a better ab exercise.

Thanks!

Question about upright rows: Is the same movement OK with a separate dumbbell in each hand, so that the hands can move apart as you bring them up? I'm not sure if that's what's meant by "lateral dumbbell raises".

That is a glute/hamstring machine and it is awesome.

The alternative is stiff leg deadlifts and good mornings.

I've always preferred free weights to machines, mostly because the free weights are cheaper and I don't have room for all those machines in my home gym. I used to like the Smith machine because it held the barbell steady so I wasn't afraid of dropping it or anything, but I actually found that I got better results by holding dumbbells by my shoulders and doing squats that way.

I always thought doing crunches on the ball were GOOD because they utilized a greater range of motion than the floor crunches. So is it only sit ups on the ball that are bad, or are crunches on the ball just as bad?

Thanks for posting this. I'm relatively new to weight training, and I am always trying to gain knowledge on the subject. I have waisted a great deal of time on useless exercises, and I have done some of these without knowing that they were harmful. I'm wondering the same as Spectra. I was always under the impression that ab exercises were good on the ball because of the greater range of motion. Are there good ab exercises for the ball?

Oh wow, this is the first I've heard this list -- I am guilty of doing many of those exercises! Amazing how misinformed we are. I am really glad I read this now before I threw out my back or something worse.

This is really helpful. I've noticed a lot of people at my gym using the equipment wrong. Honestly, It's a lot better just to go for a long walk than it is to injure yourself doing exercises you don't understand. One of the best decisions I ever made was to pay for an hour's worth of training at my gym so that I could learn to use the equipment correctly.

That's a bit frightening, actually - most of these exercises were required in gym class at my high school, so I figured they were safe. Guess I'll avoid those machines next time I'm at the gym. Thanks for posting this!

I'm rather curious of your actual credentials or qualifications. Almost all of these machines can easily be used correctly and without putting any negative stress on your joints or tendons. Upright Rows and the Ab Twist Machine are about the only two on the list that should be 100% stayed away from.

I'm with Ego on this -- What are your credentials or qualifications, Mr. Mike Howard? I use most of those machines with great success. You have to listen to your body and not overdo it. Pay attention to your form and what part(s) of your body is actually doing the work in each rep. If you're paying attention and concentrating on doing the exercise correctly, you'll gain positive results safely. I'm speaking from experience here.

The internet is notorious for people posting "dogmas" on weight training and exercise that people end up taking way too seriously. There's a wrong way to do just about every exercise, and maybe that's what your article is getting at. But there is no exercise that you could do in moderate amounts and proper form that will hurt you. The body is excellent at adapting, but only when you do things in moderate amounts. Ever wonder why people who never exercise end up having the most joint problems as opposed to people who do a little bit of exercise (even if they do it wrong). Don't get me wrong, doing really heavy weights on the leg press too often will damage your cartilage. However, by sometimes adding in very low weight/high repetition exercises into your workouts, you'll build up your joints and avoid having knee or hip problems.

I hate preaching dogmas, but if I must do it once:
If you're lifting heavy to get big, throw in high repetition workouts (20 reps per set) once every two weeks to promote cartilage repair and growth. (If you want a good research paper on this, send me an e-mail and I'll send it to you)

I speak from my personal experience in weight lifting and education in anatomy, physiology, and science. I also take from the experience of people who trained me.

What do they say - you can't do a wrong thing right! And some of these machines are just downright awful.

Ok, so what else are the worst exercise machine? do you have more list rather than this?

Adding pic's or examples of the alternative suggestions would be helpful.

I didn't think that some of these would be bad. I do know that the smith machine is horrible, but the inverted leg press? or the upright row? Those two I am not sure of, but the rest I can agree with...maybe. But you are the expert, so I concede to your wisdom :)

I applaud your straight-forward approach and respectful approach to my post. I half expected a defensive and nearly offensive post so that is rather refreshing.

As far as my opinions on the matter. Like I said, the upright rows I completely agree on as they are, hands down, HORRIBLE for your shoulder girdle and rotator cuff. There is absolutely NO safe way to do them.

Back Extensions are great for your back, though. Remember I said done correctly. A back extension is merely that an extension NOT a hyper-extension as you mentioned.

Sit-ups are also great for working your entire abdominal complex while tying in your erectors and hip flexors into a completely functional movement which you do encounter often throughout the day. Unfortunately the alternatives you suggest will, often times, lead to even further injury through undertraining of many of the stabilizers in your back and abs and further inhibit an already large problem which you and I both see on a daily basis, which is people unable to perform simple daily activities due to atrophy and CNS disconnect.

I understand the underlying motivation of your post as it's EXTREMELY difficult to give fitness advice to the masses. I have rarely (if ever) seen someone come in with good form, muscle activation and the ability to coordinate it all into meaningful and functional movements.

In essence I will agree that many of these exercises performed incorrectly can and will cause long-term issues but the answer isn't avoidance, the answer is education. Nearly all of the exercises can be done in very positive ways that would influence your fitness in a very good way and offer many different courses of advancement.

"may", "risk", "can cause"... you can say this about anything and any exercise, including the cherished barbell squat and deadlift.

So...not a very informative article, especially for those of us who have seen gains using some or all of the 7 exercises listed.

Justin

While I think there is some cause for some of these exercises, I do think each one can provide certain benefits to certain people if done properly.

And interesting article and discussion; thanks to all of the contributers.
I had a moment of hope when it seemed as though prayer might be good for your abs, but I suspect that it's just another exercise. I look forward to your post describing better alternatives.
And it does seem to me that one variable is whether you have someone instructing you in the use of the exercises and machines or not. A lot of us just stroll into the gym and try to guess how to use the equipment.

Thanks so much for writing and posting this! I have found that free weights give me more results than machines. However, I had no idea that some of these machines could be so dangerous. When I first started with weights, I was told to use machines because they would teach me proper form. I got bored with them because I wasn't seeing results. The "Body for Life" book is what got me using free weights, and I've been thrilled with the results.

Ego & Mike H

Great discussion. I just read the entire thread and for a while I was expecting a verbal fist fight complete with lots of @$#%&*@ and *&%$#$@!!.

Hopefully your back and forth made this subject more understandable to the newbies in the audience.

I disagree with this post. Should these exercises be performed with correct technique they are actually very good exercises.

Woa, this post is very timely, as i've been doing it all wrong for a long time.

Hi Mike,

Are you a kinesiologst?

PS. Very concerned citizen.

This is very good information! Machines with light to moderate weight are good for recovery, but that's about it.

I would recommend looking into exercises by Paul Chek. His training videos, website, books are great. Just get them at your library! I did, liked them so much, I purchased them.

He's done a lot of research into natural body movements, from Feldenkris (bad spelling?), eastern disciplines, etc. He is very focused on core work.

Wow, I didn't expect to see sit ups in this list. What about 'hanging sit ups' -- doing chinups and curling your legs up at the same time? It's a similar motion but approached quite differently.

Come onnnn... Calling for his credentials? That's just idiotic.

Mike should have said, up-front, that these exercise cause trouble if not done right or are done by people who have majority biomechanics. He goes on to say as much in many of the descriptions.

I totally agree with the Smith machine and upright rows, for instance. However, I've never experienced trouble, or the beginnings of trouble, with the leg press or back extensions.

There is a certain degree of "different strokes for different folks". And in weight lifting, folks can perform the exercises utilizing different strokes, which might cause them to be safer or more dangerous.

One exercise that I would add to the list are bench dips. That's sitting up-right, with feet on one bench and hands on the other, wrists extended and fingers pointing backwards, then lowering one's body toward the ground and back up again.

Inherently biomechanically dangerous to the shoulder, though I'm sure it works for some. Just... be careful.

This is my first time posting. Kind of off topic, regarding Squatting. I've been steadily doing cardio for a couple of months, I.E. : 30 minutes on the Treadmill, 15 on the Stairmaster, and 15 on the Elliptical per day. I've lost a good amount of weight, upwards of 35 pounds or so.

Straight to the point. I just started squatting a couple of days ago. My legs are just peachy, but I half ass messed up my shoulder blade muscle yesterday. It feels fine today.

Well, my question is, where should the barbell be resting while I'm squatting? On my shoulder blades? Top of my neck?

I'm 6'3'' 225 pounds, if that helps answer my question.

With the Ab twist machine, there are two versions of that machine. The other one is having your lower body move and your upper body stable. I've used both and I prefer the one I mentioned. Are they both wrong?

The list is OK but needs to stress how the exercises it says to avoid are good for some people. There is NOTHING absolute about exercise, except for the fact you should be doing it.

I'm with abbey and would love an answer to that question. The gym I go to just replaced the old one that twisted at the top with a new that twists at the bottom.

This list sucks. YOU meaning me? You don't know me so your list has absolutely no meaning for me. I have performed the leg press machine for 20 years and I have never had an injury.

Sorry but the list is poppycock!

Although most of these arguments on the page have some flaws, the one that stood out to me enough to make me feel like I had to comment was the stability ball crunches.

The proper way to perform a stability ball crunch is to arch the back over the top of the ball so that the abdominals are stretched (with a greater stretch for those with more experience and vice versa). From the starting position, tucking in the chin, the back should slowly peel off of the ball starting with the neck and shoulders. Once the angle at the hips is about 135 degrees (DO NOT SIT ALL THE WAY UP), movement should stop and the back should be brought back down to the ball slowly to repeat. This movement is considered a full range of motion (ROM) for the abdominal muscles.

Sitting all the way up so that the torso is vertical is going past the ROM of the abdominals and starts to recruit the hip flexor muscles. If one wants to focus on the abdominal muscles, the end of the ROM should be before reaching vertical. If one wants to work both the abdominal and hip flexor muscles, they can do so safely by performing the exercise to vertical with slow and controlled movements, engaging the core muscles and not straining the neck or going so fast that they start to bounce on the ball.

Compared to a sit up on the floor the stability ball is far superior! Imagine performing a bicep curl starting with your forearm parallel to the floor- that is similar to a crunch on the floor. Because you are on the floor, your back cannot be slightly hyperextended, which disallows a full ROM for the abs.

Now, for people with lower back injuries, crunches in general might not be a good idea, but for a healthy person stability ball crunches are a wonder. Make sense? Maybe further research should be done on this and the other exercise before confusing the already confused public on exercise methods.

Oh my god. Thank you so much. Now I know why my shoulder hurts so much. I wish I hadn't done all that upright row stuff. DAMNIT!

I'm going to have to disagree with the back extension machine being a risk to the facets. It is also a great machine for strengthening the "closed packed" position that protects the lumbar discs. I'd throw all the machines away but this one and maybe the Smith rack to hang towels. Also, the upright rows, done correctly are not bad for the shoulders. The picture drawn is actually pretty good.. elbows high. Good list otherwise .

I thought I'd expound a little bit on the upright rows. Perhaps a sumo-deadlift with high pull would be more appropriate exercise as a compound movement. The bone on bone that you speak of in the upright row, I assume is the humerus bonking on the AC joint... well, that is where the scapulo-thoracic joint comes in to play. Lateral raises are a biomechanical nightmare for the shoulder... unless you like supraspinatus tendonitis. Too many lateral raises and you'll be in rehabbing a rotator cuff injury.
Have a nice day and good work with the blog.

The only one I might avoid completely is the ab twist. Otherwise all of these machines can be effective if used properly. It comes down to the user knowing his body and knowing how to perform the exercises.

As a physical therapist and personal trainer, I can understand the arguments in the above article. But, I caution people to take a black and white approach to good and bad.

The two that I include in many programs are the back extension and sit ups on the ball.

There is a lot of research that shows that strengthening of the lower back muscles is an effective way to treat lower back pain and in many physical therapy clinics across the country the back extension machine is a staple in the rehab process.

And in regards to sit ups, they don't put as much stress on the lower back as running and jumping. So if you are an athlete who runs and jumps you should probably do sit ups to strengthen your core.

Now of course, if you have injuries any exercise can be bad for the injury and you should seek the advice of a health professional.

The body is complex and many studies are one dimensional, so keep looking at exercise from as many angles as possible.

http://www.ab-core-and-stomach-exercises.com

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