Getbig Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness Forums
Getbig Bodybuilding Boards => Training Q&A => Topic started by: Domthemilky on March 11, 2012, 04:31:47 AM
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There are alot of threads on here about what people like the most and find the most effective, exercise wise in the gym. But what do you guys consider the worst and most pointless exercises?
I think anything involving medicine balls and ab workouts is really pointless and a waste of time. I also think dips between benches is really stupid and is just an excuse not to do full bodyweight dips. think wrist curls are pointless and a waste of time aswell. I can't see how using a light dumbell for wrist curling is going to be more effective than heavy shrugs and deadlifts for stimulating growth in ur forearms and hands. Though if you are an arm wrestler I guess it makes sense to do them.
What about you guys? I think barbell curls are pretty abused also in this gym. too much swing, not keeping elbows pinned etc. But they can be done pretty effectively so I wouldn't consider them useless.
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behind the neck press, behind the neck pulldown or chin. upright rowing motion, bent over rowing all cause more harm than good in my humble opinion esp if you want any longevity in the sportof moving iron.
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But what do you guys consider the worst and most pointless exercises?
Performing compound upper-body movements on a swiss ball to "develop core strength."
If you want to train chest or triceps, then train chest or triceps.
If you want to train your core chain, then train your core chain.
It is my opinion that it's counterproductive do both at the same time during the same exercise.
When doing skull-crushers while balancing your ass on a bosu ball, the only thing you're working on is an accident.
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Maybe not so much about worse exercises but the worse way's a lot of guy's perform most exercises.
Most misunderstood exercises are cheating exercises. There is a correct way to do these and they do have a place in any protocol. Example might be cheat BB curls. A very affected mass builder, when approached with control of the weight and a pace to the movement. Seems to work very well with stubborn biceps. Same can be said for DB cheat lateral raises and increasing shoulder thickness & width. Cheats are not meant to be a main stay in workouts, but during a training year, they do have their place. Remembering that cheating does not mean sloppy performance or lack of control in any exercise.
Two of my favorite exercises are Upright rows & Press behind the neck. Sometimes SS'ed. Would not suggest these movements for everyone. Just seems that I was born with the correct bone/muscle inserts that give better leverage to these movements (not my fault). But these two might be held up as an example of some of the worse performed exercises by most trainee's. And than injury sets in and they wonder why. Good Luck..
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behind the neck press, behind the neck pulldown or chin. upright rowing motion, bent over rowing all cause more harm than good in my humble opinion esp if you want any longevity in the sportof moving iron.
disagree with you there, thats just your personal experience of them
id say the worst exersizes are the obvious that put you in an unnatural position ie behind neck anythings..
but to get deeper, its any exersize thats not suited to your individual body type
one example using my self would be wide grip chins, now i love these for the lats, but my forarms dont love them so much as i keep getting small tears , so there a poor choice for me but a great choice for somone else
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Honestly I don't think that there is such a thing as a list of worst movements. There are movements that are very often misapplied, whether due to incorrect loading or not taking the person's individual body structure and mechanics into consideration.
There is a tool for every job, some are more blunt and general like benches, squats, and deadlifts. Others are more precise like extentions, lateral raises, face pulls, etc....
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I believe they all have their place at a given time, but some people either don't do the movement correctly or their body isn't built for it.
Take me for example, i cannot start my chest routine with ANY incline movement. It absolutely destroys my shoulders no matter what i do for a warm up. I have tried DB, smith machine, BB, machines...doesn't matter, my shoulders are wrecked and in pain by the end of the workout. However, if i do a few light sets of flat bench, flyes or dips, i can do incline after that with zero problems and my shoulders do not bother me at all.
I have tried every variation i could find and it has always been like this over the last 7 years that i can remember. If i do a few light sets of DB flat bench, i can then do any incline movement with zero pain.
Those balance balls crack me up. I see people laying back on them doing DB presses and it looks ridiculous. To each their own i guess.
8)
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Balance balls should be shoved down the users collective throats!! ;D
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upright rows,Behind the neck press/chins. I also find wide over grip chins to the front not as good as shoulder wide undergrip pull-ups. I used to chin wide to the front and back but i do not think my lats got so sore as with undergrip pull-ups raising myself as high as i can to upper chest height. Oh well... ;)
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Wes: Maybe shoving a deflated balance ball down a users throat and them slowly inflating it might be better?
Balance balls are meant to be used by real sport athlete's, and really have no place in true BB'ing. As are plank rollers, effective for sport training also.
One arm DB benches (not on a balance ball) have been used in training. The other non active arm is meant to be free,not grabbing anything for support. Whole different feel to this exercise. May be a struggle at first, but you can adjust to it fairly shortly. Getting into heavier DB's may require holding onto something, less you fall over to one side.
The other version is holding DB's in both hands and doing alternate, or see-saw, presses. Again, a whole different feeling to chest training. Might note also, that overhead alternate/see-saw DB presses work well with delt training. Good Luck.
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disagree with you there, thats just your personal experience of them
id say the worst exersizes are the obvious that put you in an unnatural position ie behind neck anythings..
but to get deeper, its any exersize thats not suited to your individual body type
one example using my self would be wide grip chins, now i love these for the lats, but my forarms dont love them so much as i keep getting small tears , so there a poor choice for me but a great choice for somone else
true that's why i said in my humble opinion. but your right as far as body types spectific exercises.
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Balance balls should be shoved down the users collective throats!! ;D
8)
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any exercise done improperly is the worst......
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IMHO
Upright rows
standing calf raises
hack squats
behind the neck presses
behind the neck pulldowns
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t bar rows but i never liked them leg extensions are not very useful as they are an open chain exercice . some say behind back triceps dips are bad for shoulders . how about the vertical leg press used 25 years ago .
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IMHO
Upright rows
standing calf raises
hack squats
behind the neck presses
behind the neck pulldowns
1st time ive seen these on one of these lists?
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barbell curls being tall I have bad thoughts on many squats is not my favorite either although I can be a decent squatter,
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No offense to anyone, just my view:
Interesting......standin g calf raises and hack squats (assuming that's the BB version) are included in the danger zone of exercises.
One thing I like about BB Hacks, over regular squats, is they zero in on my quads, rather than including the glutes that much. More so when having the heels elevated. Either raised or flat, Hacks give the advantage of less stress on the lower back than squats. Not to have any doubts, BB Hacks can be a very good mass builder.
Even favor BB Hack squats over the regular floor DL's because the body has a better straight line in the lift, while most guys have to worry about leaning too far forward to scrape pass the knees (mostly taller men) when Dl'ing which allows more lower back stress. If having trouble with the lift , just drop the bar, it doesn't have far to go to hit the floor. Hacks will build traps and the grip also.
Standing calf's raises are one of the better inline movements, where the body is held straight up & down. The only flex/contraction of the calves are from the ankles. One exercise that would offer less chance of injury, I would think. Suggest also, to never lock the knees, even allowing a slight bend to them. Good Luck.
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standing calf raises get a bad name because they, when useing very heavy weight can stress the lower back. I worked in a gym where the boss only had a seated calf machine for this reason..most people did calf raises on the leg press machine and got good results. I like standing one legged Dumbbell raises myself.
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I am not against them..i think as they say "one mans meat is another mans poison"
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If were talking about the yoke style calf raise device/machine, than yes that can be very misused. Most every gym have guy's who would load it up to 300-400lbs and do something that was akin to a combination of a 1/16 of an inch calf raise and 1/8th knee breaks. Which did nothing for the calves at all, and they wondered why no improvement. Best to lower the weight and do the exercise the correct way, going for reps and not weight used. (this calif machine/yoke can be a good exercise for working the traps, with hands free shoulder shrugs, something like the old Hise Shrugs..an excellent exercise. And no worry about the grip ever giving out)
Donny suggested probably one of the best, if not the best, calf movement around. That is the one legged calf raise, while holding a DB. Attention to a full stretch and being on the (mostly) two toes at the top position, as high as you can is the most important, for you want that full muscle contraction of the calves.. The weight does not have to be extreme at all, but the reps should be quick and powerful from the bottom position and powerful muscle contraction at the top position (as with the way sprinters perform their events, and they do possess some very impressive calves).
Something that has works for some men is an all day calf program. Every hour, two sets of one legged calf raises are done (some only do one set) , but you do not want to force the reps or ever go to a point of failure. Just insuring that the calves get a fairly good pump, every hour on the hour. Also attention to a full stretch. This brings in a fresh supply of blood (amino acids and other vital body chemicals) for the working muscles and the potential for cell growth. Old saying in BB'ing, from the 70's, more blood, more muscle. Usually any where from 6 to 10 hours during the specific day. Keep the calves warm during the resting periods, with a light heating element as lotions, cremes, wraps, etc. May want to do this type program once ever 2 to 3 weeks, can be hard on the CNS and full recovery for the next workout.
The above is similar to the all day arm routine, which may also work for some, if the correct way is approached. Meaning, as with the calves, avoid over working the muscle group each hour worked, don't really need a lot of heavy weight, just enough for a fairly good pump.. Again, this can be very demanding on the CNS ,if abused by a work overload. Most use DB concentration curls, Scott benches, incline DB curls (good movement), etc. Good Luck
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JPM's wisdom exposing that there are no bad exercise but only bad people. 8)
Though skullcrushers would be nominated by me to came from outer space only to destroy law abiding elbows.
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Behind the back barbell shrugs.
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Behind the back barbell shrugs.
love em
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twists with a bar on your back . is this very useful .. and again leg extensions semms more or less useful as open chain exercice . as for myself i injured by back squatting many times . although its a good exercice . triceps pushdowns are maybe overrated .
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love em
Not so much I think it's bad but dangerous. I did them once and pulled something in my neck and it hurt for a long time so I no longer do them.
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Lots of different posts about these exercises.
It depends on the individual too.
I really like skullcrushers en upright rows, never a problem.
But I get into trouble BB benching.
And I think triceps kickbacks, DB pullovers, wrist curls, pecdec, are worthless
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Balance balls should be shoved down the users collective throats!! ;D
Funny; I was thinking of shoving it in their other end.
I don't think that balance balls are a complete waste. I believe they do have a place - just not on the main floor of the free-weight section.
Oftentimes, a trainee plants their jumbo beach ball down between two occupied benches, taking up an enormous amount of space while performing some kind of half-assed high wire act.
Many times, I've seen the person do something like stand on the half-ball with one leg while doing 20 lb db curls, they invariably lose their balance, fall off the damn ball, and think it's funny.
I'm waiting for the day they fall into someone doing presses with the 150's on the bench next to them.
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you mean swiss ball . many strentgh coaches recommend them .
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you mean swiss ball . many strentgh coaches recommend them .
waste of time...ball crunches..bollocks...squ ats on a ball...bollocks....hyper extensions...bollocks. "core Training"...bollocks.
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push....pull....SQUAT... .power
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waste of time...ball crunches..bollocks...squ ats on a ball...bollocks....hyper extensions...bollocks. "core Training"...bollocks.
Hearing the phrase "working the core " makes me want to smash 45lb plates on peoples heads.
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smith machine fo the most ârt . you squat without using hamstrings .
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I am not against them..i think as they say "one mans meat is another mans poison"
This.
Seen a few "hated" exercises on here that I love - behind neck presses being one. I've always got a lot out of these over the years and although obviously you can't go as heavy as when you're doing them to the front, it doesn't matter - the muscle just gets worked in a slightly different way and if that agrees with your body's own mechanics, then so be it.
I'm not a huge fan of standing calf raises - prefer seated and toe pressses on the leg press to accomplish any sort of calf stimulation. My calves have always sucked regardless but that's just genetics.
Deadlifts as well is an exercise I've never benefitted from - people like to say they do them because it sounds cool and hardcore but I'm convinced they haven't added a single ounce of muscle to my frame over the years.
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Hearing the phrase "working the core " makes me want to smash 45lb plates on peoples heads.
;D