Nobody wants to waste their time doing exercises that don’t work. That said, even good exercises can become bad ones when they are performed incorrectly. However, certain movements deserve the title of the “worst exercise ever” simply because of their low reward, high risk nature. In this video, I’ll show you 11 of the worst exercises for building muscle and what you can do instead.
As a physical therapist and strength coach for professional athletes and celebrities, I have to know where the risks outweigh the rewards. If you know the science of training there are always other ways to get the desired result without jeopardizing the health and safety of your athletes.
So, without further adieu here a few of the 11 worst exercises we cover in the video:
1. Chest flies – I’ve covered before but I can’t say it enough. People swear they feel an amazing stretch on their pecs by doing this exercise. They also claim that the adduction at the end of the movement gives them an incredible contraction. Both of these are actually exaggerated as the resistance of adduction is absent at the top of the movement and the stretch being felt is actually more on a secondary muscle than it is on the pec. Floor flys and standing crossovers are much better options for reasons explained in the video.
2. The Behind the neck press – The problem with this exercise is that it is just plain bad for your shoulders. It places the glenohumeral joint in an awkward position for pressing, which can lead to impingement. Pressing from the natural scapular plane is much more natural and will allow you to press more weight overhead in the long run, leading to bigger shoulders.
3. Upright Rows – I’ve gone on extensively about the problem with this exercise. It is possible one of the worst things you can do due to 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. Concentration Curls – You may be wondering how this ended up in the graveyard. Sure the concentration curl isn’t dangerous but it surely isn’t the best tool for job. To understand why, we need to look closer at the movement. Pushing the elbow into the thigh while curling the weight up is only using leverage to get the weight to the top rather than pure muscular force. Normally, leverage is not a bad thing but when you are doing it in close proximity to the muscles that you are trying to work (and with a muscle group that is often overactive during the curl in the first place) you are taking away from the effectiveness of the movement. For a more effective biceps builder you should look to the standard barbell curl. People ask “how did you get such big biceps?’ The answer is right here, by doing effective exercises like the barbell curl and by avoiding things like concentration curls!
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 compressive stresses on the kneecap and lack of hamstring co-contraction, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.
These are just a few of the worst exercises covered in this video. Make sure to watch the whole thing to see how things like the popular rack pull above the knee, cuban press and even the tried and true dumbbell side bend earned the title of something you should avoid. As always, I’m putting the science back in strength to show you not just why these should get nixed from your workout but which exercises should take their place.
As you can see there’s a lot of though that goes into tossing an exercise in the iron graveyard. When your health and safety matters the stakes are high especially for people training in and over their 30’s and into their 40’s. If you want to make gains and stay safe be sure and keep the 11 exercises covered in this video where they belong… in the iron graveyard!
For safer (and better) exercise options it’s time you start training like an athlete. Follow the program used by today’s top pro athletes and celebrities to build ripped athletic muscle while protecting their joints and becoming more resilient to injury. Get the ATHLEAN-X program at athleanx.com by clicking on the link below.
For more videos and tips to help you avoid the worst exercises and to get the best exercises for building a ripped athletic body, be sure to subscribe to our channel on youtube at the link below and remember to turn on your notifications so you never miss a new video when it’s published.
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you're truly a physical inspiration and appreciate your efforts here BUT please speak a bit slower – it's a lot of information to take in. English is my first language and I struggle so imagine how it is for others whose first language is different. Sent with love/respect from UK x
Jeff takes over from his own reflection to avoid muscle imbalances.
Ad was placed right in the middle of Jesse's intro!🤣😂🤣😂
Me: Takes a piss
Jeff: You're doing it wrong!
This is all so exhausting lol. It's crazy, every single one of these channels and every fitness influencer or whatever is sitting there, absolutely shredded, and every single one of them says not to do what the last one said to do. Every video I go to they're either telling you to do something that someone else is saying never to do, or they're telling you to NOT to do stuff that the other tells you to do…
It's almost as if everybody is different and can achieve their body goals in a myriad of different ways..
It's the same with nutrition and dieting.. "eat this!" "no don't eat that! eat THIS!!"….. "don't eat either of those!!"… my favorite line: "common misconception" lol
Sylvester Stallone did side bends with Franco. It did him well…
Why does Jeff hate leg extensions so much yet always invest in the machine for his gym?
Jesse's into screams 'Merica!!!
I only came here to watch their armpits
The airlocker is an amazing exercise.
Luv Jesse's new intro lol
I'm a 43 yr old busted up old grunt 4 days back in to lifting. I'm trying to get back in shape. Trying to look like the guy talking
Let’s talk about Jeff’s veins on his arm when he did the barbell lift after Jesse did the concentration curl
I absolutely lost my mind at 7:36 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 I see it so often
Thanx for this video..it helps alot and it is so much easier and effective..love it..Big Ups Jeff
I'm kinda late to this — and I don't know if this ever became the intro but I really like this new intro
Jeff's physique is probably one of the most perfect physiques I've ever seen. Hes not too small or too big. It's like just the right amount of size and rippedness. I hope I can one day look as good as him one day!
Jeff, I really wanna say this that I started doing dumbbell fly’s on the ground time ago following one of your videos. Not only it has aided good shoulder support but also the results have been complimentary for the chest.
Thanks Jeff 😊
Could you please give us your thoughts on "Good Morning"? I always feel it's quite unnatural.
Chest flies are a good workout lol
Jesse is fucking cringe
do you have some more alternatives to leg extension?
digging side bends? but this video (at 4:55) tells us that side bends are the most effective way to train obliques
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xdOuqokcm4
Thanks so much Jeff, you're a genius
i love you guys …. just starteded to go back to the gym after 15 years and fallowing all your videios to the letter
Thank you!
9:15 have you got a replacement exercise that doesn't involve a lunge? I have ankle issues I'm rehabbing so can't do that… also what's the point in the leg extension machine then?
What does this side bending 'ab' exercise even really train??
"The king of all shit exercises"…LOL. Guilty.
7:37 where these videos come from?
So with the twisting of the obliques, would adding a twist on the kneeling cable crunch work?
Idk, side bends seem to work pretty good in my opinion.
Thanks Sir
Ok, but with the second one you went from 1 to 100 😭 There's no way I'm doing any of these replacement exercises at the moment, so are there any lower level replacements that you could recommend until I'm able to do the one that you suggest here?
now I know the real deal of WHAT NOT TO DO and WHAT TO DO when exercising at the Gym, thanks Jeff for this, I subbed 💪🏻