The Worst Exercise
Any exercise can become the worst exercise if you perform it incorrectly. That said, certain exercises deserve the title of the "worst exercise ever" simply because of the low reward, high risk nature of it. In this video, I show 5 of the worst exercises for building muscle and what you can do instead.
Each of the exercises listed in this video is included because of the high risk low reward that it offers. As a physical therapist and strength coach for professional athletes, I have to know where to draw the line between the two. If a quarterback or pitcher of mine wants to do max overhead snatches, I'm going to tell them it's a bad idea. Why? Because there are other ways to train upper body explosiveness without jeopardizing their career on one …show more content…
Upright Rows - I've already discussed just how bad this exercise is for the integrity and health of the rotator cuff muscles of the shoulder. What makes this shoulder exercise one of the worst is the position of the elbows and hands at the end of the movement. The exercise puts your shoulders into a provocative position for testing impingement. Instead, you want your elbows below your hands (as in the high pull) to still get the benefits of the abduction of the shoulders without the internal rotation.
4. Good Mornings - This is actually not a terrible exercise for your back as it loads the entire kinetic chain in a functional way. The problem is that most people don't have the necessary thoracic extension to pull it off with proper form. One slip up from here with the load positioned out in front of the body as it is, and you're likely to slip something else...a disc in your lower back.
5. Leg Extensions - This is a no brainer for me. This open chain leg exercise lacks any true function when compared to the numerous closed chain options you can be doing instead. Throw in the shear stresses, ACL tension, lack of hamstring co-contraction, and the imbalance of rectus to VMO firing and you've got a recipe for
Each of the exercises listed in this video is included because of the high risk low reward that it offers. As a physical therapist and strength coach for professional athletes, I have to know where to draw the line between the two. If a quarterback or pitcher of mine wants to do max overhead snatches, I'm going to tell them it's a bad idea. Why? Because there are other ways to train upper body explosiveness without jeopardizing their career on one …show more content…
Upright Rows - I've already discussed just how bad this exercise is for the integrity and health of the rotator cuff muscles of the shoulder. What makes this shoulder exercise one of the worst is the position of the elbows and hands at the end of the movement. The exercise puts your shoulders into a provocative position for testing impingement. Instead, you want your elbows below your hands (as in the high pull) to still get the benefits of the abduction of the shoulders without the internal rotation.
4. Good Mornings - This is actually not a terrible exercise for your back as it loads the entire kinetic chain in a functional way. The problem is that most people don't have the necessary thoracic extension to pull it off with proper form. One slip up from here with the load positioned out in front of the body as it is, and you're likely to slip something else...a disc in your lower back.
5. Leg Extensions - This is a no brainer for me. This open chain leg exercise lacks any true function when compared to the numerous closed chain options you can be doing instead. Throw in the shear stresses, ACL tension, lack of hamstring co-contraction, and the imbalance of rectus to VMO firing and you've got a recipe for