1.Sit-Ups
The worst thing that has ever happened to the fitness industry was the creation of the sit up. Far too many people believe that performing this horrible exercise will give them a six-pack.
While this exercise will indeed cause fatigue of the abdominal muscles, you are doing it at the expense of your spinal health.Performing sit-ups is not a functional movement of the human body. Aside from getting up from bed in the morning, how often do you flex your spine from a lying position?
2. Smith Machine Squats
Squatting on a Smith machine might look like a safe alternative to the squat rack. In reality, it’s anything but. When you lower into a squat using a Smith machine, your back stays straight and almost perfectly perpendicular to the ground, which compresses and stresses the vertebrae, says Lou Schuler, C.S.C.S., co-author of The New Rules of Lifting Supercharged. Also, since using the Smith machine requires leaning back into the bar, you overly stress your knees, never fully contract your glutes or hamstrings, and don’t train your core.
3. Upright Row
The upright row is an exercise which intends to work the lateral deltoids and even traps. But the problem is they cause too much internal rotation of the shoulders which can cause impingement issues.
Now, a lot of people get away with doing this exercise but issues aren’t always immediate. The strains that we place on joints now, can most certainly cause problems down the road. So, it’s just best to skip this one altogether.
Our joints can often come back and kick us in the butt when we least expect it. So, be safe and allow your body to move through as natural of a movement as possible when training.
4. Tricep Kick Backs
This exercise is just worthless.
First of all, too many people do it with incorrect form, AND they lack the flexibility to perform a full range of motion.
Secondly, you are severely limited by the amount of weight you can use in this exercise. It’s just too awkward to use any significant resistance as your shoulders have to be in an extended and externally rotated position.
5. Machine Leg Extensions
How often do you just sit around and kick out your legs? Probably not often—if ever. So why do so in the gym? “There’s no functional benefit to leg extensions,” says strength coach and personal trainer Mike Donavanik, C.S.C.S., C.P.T. (Functional exercises use your body’s natural movement in ways that apply to real-world motions.) Plus, your knees aren’t designed to carry weight from that angle, which could cause injury. While your injury risk is low if you have otherwise healthy knees, why take the risk if the exercise isn’t even functional to begin with?
6. Behind-the-Neck Cable Lat Pulldown
Here’s another exercise which can potentially jack up your rotator cuffs.The behind-the-neck lat pulldown places your shoulder joints in a compromised position. And the stress on your joints ain’t worth it! So, like the plague, avoid it.
Plus, the behind-the-neck pulldown is less effective for muscle stimulation than the front-of-the neck pulldown according to one study. Best alternative: Front-of-the-neck pulldown
7. Pseudo Pull-Ups
The pull-up is a fantastic exercise. So is the chin-up.Some people have claimed that pull-ups are to the upper body what squats are to the lower body.
I agree.
I believe everyone should do pull-ups on a regular basis. (I personally have a pull-up tower so that I can do them at home regularly.
Unfortunately, the name “chin-up” has done this exercise a great disservice.Somehow, people have assumed that the point of the exercise is to get your chin above the bar.
8. Ab Machines
Sure, ab machines are a lot more comfortable than arms-behind-the-head sit-ups, but they can make it awkward to activate your ab muscles correctly, says Jessica Fox.
Try Instead: Planks
9. The Dumbbell Chest Fly
The shoulders seem to take the brunt of injury due to bad upper body exercises. And the dumbbell chest fly is an issue for the shoulder health of many people.
But the problem with the movement is that your coracobrachialis muscles are being stretched rather than your chest when arms are fully extended during the fly. The pectoralis muscles can only stretch so far and increased leverage from extended arms will only increase the risk of tearing a pec muscle.
Best Alternative: Single-arm cable crossover with arms bent
10. Chair Dips
Dips are traditionally a great compound exercise for the upper body. In essence, they are a much more difficult variation of a push-up. However far too many people are trying to perform this advanced exercise without adequate preparation.
Even worse, a lot of workout programs recommend that beginners do a scaled variation of this exercise on a chair or a bench.
The chair makes it easier because your feet are flat on the floor taking away a lot of the weight that you need to lift. However, this is an awful exercise because many people do not have adequate shoulder range of motion to perform this movement safely and effectively.
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Sources:www.whitecoattrainer.com,www.shape.com,www.fitnessvolt.com
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