6 Worthless Exercises

[Midpack]

I thought this was interesting, as I do (or have done) most of the "overrated" exercises. Not gospel, something to consider.

Overrated Exercise|Upgrade
Leg Press|Clockwork Lunges
Crunches|The Plank
Chest Fly|Cable Crossover
Bench Press|Push Ups
Tricep Dips|Triangle Push Ups
Pull Ups|Inverted Row

6 Worthless Exercises

 

[NotMyFault]

Nice article. Most resistance exercises are carryovers from bodybuilding and do not promote overall strength and health. The overall trend now seems to be doing exercises that involve as many muscle groups as possible. I now have 3 main moves in my workout. Clean and press, inverted rows and push ups. I still do some of the old standbys but they are no longer the core of my workout. At 45 the change of routine seems to leave me with less strength to move heavy weights but a better ability to be active and strong for sports and work. It feels like I got a new pair of PF flyers.

 

[donheff]

Good article. I have incorporated planks and pushups in my routine but I hadn't considered tilted cross over pulls or whatever they are called or inverted rows. I will check them out.

 

[ls99]

I thought this was interesting, as I do (or have done) most of the "overrated" exercises. Not gospel, something to consider.

Overrated Exercise|Upgrade
Leg Press|Clockwork Lunges
Crunches|The Plank
Chest Fly|Cable Crossover
Bench Press|Push Ups
Tricep Dips|Triangle Push Ups
Pull Ups|Inverted Row

6 Worthless Exercises

I suspect even the most worthless exercise trumps laying on a couch staring at the boob tube while balancing a can of beer on the beer gut.

 

[HFWR]

I disagree with the leg press and bench press being included in this list, though certainly incorrect form, and a lack of attention to body position and range of motion, could prove harmful on most any exercise.

Isolated, small muscle movements, like bicep curls, or crunches, are IMHO wasted effort. Big movements involving several muscle groups mimic natural movements more closely, and provide more benefit for the time and effort expended.

 

[ERD50]

Thanks, I've been meaning to update the 'back problems' thread since I've been to Physical Therapy. Short story is that after a few months, I believe the stretches I've been doing have made a huge amount of difference, and I'm not even that good at doing all of them as much as I should (though I do several of them several times a day, every day).

Planks are part of my routine. I asked the PT about crunches, as I heard they were questionable. She showed me how I could lay on my back, bring my knees up to a right angle from thigh/shin, then 'crunch up' a bit, then slowly extend my legs out and slowly bring them back to a right angle, then relax the 'crunch', repeat. Do multiple sets of 10.

At first, that felt like it was straining my back slightly, I had to be very careful. After a few weeks, the feeling of strain went away, but it was difficult for me. Now, it isn't difficult at all, and I feel my back is just so much stronger and flexible. Time will tell, but this is promising.

I'll look into these others, thanks for posting.

-ERD50

 

[Mulligan]

I disagree with the leg press and bench press being included in this list, though certainly incorrect form, and a lack of attention to body position and range of motion, could prove harmful on most any exercise.

Isolated, small muscle movements, like bicep curls, or crunches, are IMHO wasted effort. Big movements involving several muscle groups mimic natural movements more closely, and provide more benefit for the time and effort expended.

I have certainly had to alter my routines for joint relief as I am more worried about injury than looks. But my 20 year old person for the 1980s would have disagreed about the bicep curls. The shallow ladies back then always noticed the shallow mans biceps!

 

[eytonxav]

Overrated Exercise|Upgrade
Leg Press|Clockwork Lunges
Crunches|The Plank
Chest Fly|Cable Crossover
Bench Press|Push Ups
Tricep Dips|Triangle Push Ups
Pull Ups|Inverted Row

I have benefited greatly from the major lifts (squat, dead lifts, bench press, overhead press, rows) and they have helped me significantly both strength and healthwise. As to the table, while I think pushups are great, I would not put them ahead of the bench press if your BP form is good and would not say that inverted rows are necessarily superior to pull ups. I do think that dips are an exercise that you have to very careful with as it can lead to shoulder problems even if your form is good and I'm not especially a proponent of doing leg presses or leg extensions, although I do them. I feel box jumps and pushing a sled are better all around exercises for the legs given the additional aerobic effect you receive.

Of course all of us may have certain physical limitations, so you need to select exercises that work for you and do not put you at too much risk for an injury.

 

[timeasterday]

Yeah, I'd have to agree with most of those. I'm doing P90X right now and pull ups are a big part of the back workout. I do them with a foot up on the back of a chair so my position is very similar to the inverted row. Or I just use our TRX system. P90X has both dips and triangle pushups in different workouts. I don't mind the dips too much. Long ago I hurt my shoulder doing cable crossovers so those are off my list, not that I could do them at home anyway.

 

[Midpack]

As to the table, while I think pushups are great, I would not put them ahead of the bench press if your BP form is good.

Just to pick one of your statements, where do you disagree with the websites assessment? I've never had a routine that didn't include BPs, though I quit emphasizing weight over reps years ago (as I have with all exercises).

Though research has shown this staple gym exercise to be excellent for building chest and triceps strength, some bench press-related shoulder injuries are common enough to have earned the nickname “bench-presser’s shoulder.” Also, the bench itself limits natural movement in the shoulder blades, putting tremendous stress on rotator cuffs. As such, some fitness experts have deemed bench press unsafe.

 

[eytonxav]

Just to pick one of your statements, where do you disagree with the websites assessment? I've never had a routine that didn't include BPs, though I quit emphasizing weight over reps years ago (as I have with all exercises).

I didn't read the article, but was just disagreeing with the table showing pushups as an upgrade to bench press. Sure BP may cause injuries for some depending on your shoulder health, range of motion and form. BPs with dumbbells may eleviate some of that concern. Of course like everything else YMMV.

 

[frank]

what are the plank and the inverted row?

 

[Midpack]

what are the plank and the inverted row?

The link in the first post in this thread shows pics of each exercise...

 

[donheff]

I sent myself an email with he link to this article and forgot to include the link. When I wanted to look up the exercises I forgot that I had gotten the reference here so I Googled the topic (I eventually went into browser history and found the darn link). In any event, Googling "useless exercises" brought up more sites than you can shake a stick at. Almost everything you can do is debunked by one expert or another. Still, I like the triangle pushups and I already do planks. Inverted pull ups? Where the heck do you find that setup?

 

[ERhoosier]

I suspect even the most worthless exercise trumps laying on a couch staring at the boob tube while balancing a can of beer on the beer gut.

+1. Be active while avoiding injury.

As Woody Allen once said- 90% of life is just showing up.

 

[Koogie]

I disagree with the pullups one. I find chinups/pullups to be one of the most effective exercises I do (YMMV).

But the main reason I disagree with it is because I believe in working out to achieve "functional strength" ie: strength you can use in everyday tasks. That is why I like bodyweight exercises over machine exercises or even lifting weights.
That being said, I can imagine scenarios in daily life where I'd have to lift my full bodyweight off the ground and up to and over something. An exercise that prepares me for that is useful to me. An exercise where I lie on my back on the ground and use my arms to pull me up two feet and lower myself back down ? Not useful, in comparison.

 

[imoldernu]

I do SO envy your exercise routines. At this age, afraid of breaking or dislocating something, so exercise is limited to walking, biking and canoeing.

That said, years of good living have helped. Not so bad for a 77 year old.

 

[eytonxav]

I do SO envy your exercise routines. At this age, afraid of breaking or dislocating something, so exercise is limited to walking, biking and canoeing.

That said, years of good living have helped. Not so bad for a 77 year old.

I assume you are not trying to pass off this photo as yourself, as it looks like Dr Life to me.

 

[Swamp Fox]

I don't think these are worthless exercises. Seems like that is excess condemnation. there are good alternatives to them to try.

 

[johnrlawjr]

There was an article in our local paper where a noted orthopedic doctor/surgeon recommended that older gents like me stay away from pushups. He claimed from his studies that participants risk joint damage.

 

[johnrlawjr]

Here is a link for the previous post about the danger of pushups. FYI

Well Being: A push-up enthusiast is warned to lay off - Philly.com

 

[steve88]

I do SO envy your exercise routines. At this age, afraid of breaking or dislocating something, so exercise is limited to walking, biking and canoeing.

That said, years of good living have helped. Not so bad for a 77 year old.

deleted

 

[W2R]

From the article, speaking of the fly machine:

this machine puts your shoulder joint in an extremely vulnerable position, as it simultaneously rotates and abducts, according to Matthews. While this is especially dangerous for those with shoulder problems, using this machine can also cause injury in otherwise healthy exercisers.

I think that is a good point, at least for some of us. In fact, due to my occasional rotator cuff injuries I have been using no more than 30-35 pounds on the fly machine during the past few months, about half the weight I once used on this machine. I also do it last, at a leisurely pace with cooling down more on my mind than heavy exertion.

 

[Dawg52]

Wheww......I was afraid wrist curls would be on the list.

 

[Richard8655]

Adding golf.