TOP 5 WORST EXERCISES (Stop Doing These!!)

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Get your one way ticket from Snap City to Muscleville

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 fatigued or poorly performed rep.

The 5 worst exercises in this video are as follows:

1. Chest flies - I've covered before why this is here. People will swear that they love the stretch they get on their pecs by doing this exercise. If you claim you never heard that argument, then you haven't spent enough time in the gym. They also claim that the adduction at the end of the movement gives them an incredible contraction on their chest. They're half right. There is no extra stretch on the pecs but they do increase the likelihood of injuring their pec with increasing loads held out at arms length. See the 3D crossover as a smarter (and better) option that you can overload even more and still get the benefits of the end contraction.

2. Behind the neck shoulder presses - The problem with this exercise is that it is bad for the 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 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 disaster.

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1 - Dumbbell Fly's (1:24)
2 - Behind the Neck Shoulder Press (2:53)
3 - Upright Rows (5:08)
4 - Good Mornings (6:37)
5 - Leg Extensions (7:58)

greymeshmask
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I have followed this gentleman in lockdown since 23rd March . I am 59 live in UK. I am fitter, leaner and a lot stronger. Cheers mate.

neilcollins
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I'm a french guy but I believe I understand English better than some English people. Dude is not saying that those exercices are not giving you anything. He is saying that the risk of injuries is there for some people . And you can do the same in a safer way. Maybe this comment will help the English people

CoteDivoireMakingof
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Being a pre-professional kinesiology major/ EMT/ Personal Trainer... this channel is amazing, giving different modifications to reduce unnecessary stress is amazing. I love the different modifications given . Keep this channel going!

tyrusayers
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1: 1:22
2: 2:52
3: 5:07
4: 6:36
5: 7:58

quinnolinno
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NO bullshit I've injured myself in 3 of those workouts so I know he knows what hes talking about... i no longer do any of these workouts and the pain has went away...

ryanc
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Man, people keep saying "well Arnold did chest flys and I'm sure he knows more than this guy". Arnie was THE man in the 70's but if he was 25 years old now, having knowledge of modern training and nutrition, wouldn't he maybe have a different view? I mean, Aristotle (super smart guy in his day) thought that the earth was the centre of the universe. However, with greater understanding, we now know that's not the case. So really then, SHUSH!

kwizmon
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Athlean-x: stay away from this exercises
Me: worry no more, i stay away from gym

jaypunzalan
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This guy literally explains every small detail that ive ever had a question about. Just subscribed. Glad i did.

slyny
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this guys is talking truth, i did leg extensions a lot 2 years a go and developed a knee problem which i had to heal for around 10 months. i never did them ever since

jrkubulex
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Flys were a staple exercise of both Arnold and Franco, both of whom had some of the best chest development ever.

popvinnik
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the moment i saw a shirt in the thumbnail i knew this was an old video

subscriberswithnovideosc-mkup
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sees Jeff posted
me: retracts shoulder blades,
straightens lower back, pushes
chest forward, sits up straight on the toilet, then click.

Joe-imgs
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I can’t stop doing flys, I’ll disappoint Arnold!

afd
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"I'll give you my opinion and let you decide if you agree" is basically what he said. Why so many dislikes?

dsandwich
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Actually injured both knees with the leg extensions, had issues with them for about 3-4 years. I'd listen to this guy.

Dubbelehalvezool
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Ha.  I like how you arrogantly said, "What are we doing here?  Chest flies, or Coracobrachialis flies?" and then you proceeded to tell us how one bad rep can cause a pec tear.  I'm sorry, but was that a contradiction?  I see your point on how you can get injured from these exercises, but it's the idiots that don't know their own limitations and/or body well enough to complete the exercises correctly.  Also, if "Chest flies" don't actually work your chest, then chest fly machines wouldn't exist.  A seated chest fly machine does the exact same thing as flat bench dumbbell flies do, with the exception of you needing to have more control and balance, and the extra gravitational pull on the dumbbells. BTW I didn't make this comment to bash on you.. Much love brotha! 

Trevor
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I did all of these when I was young and didn't know better back in the '90s and early '00s. Fast forward to age 38 and I had labral tears develop in both of my shoulders in a matter of a month, most likely due to years of some of these exercises. Listen to Jeff, and and learn from the mistakes of guys like me. Oh, and hope you never have to deal with a massive labral tear - it can essentially kill your ability to do countless exercises without surgery, leave you with constant pain and instability ion your shoulder, and even with surgery, there's no guarantee you'll be able to do any number of exercises that involve your shoulders, which, when you think about, is nearly all exercises.

Ace_Hunter_lives
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As a 57 y.o now that did many of these exercises, I know you speak truth. I would add DIPS to this list, as they are the worst in the long term. My shoulders ache now from the pain. Sometimes just putting on a belt kills me. I dont have arthritis anywhere else but in my shoulders due to dips. At one time I could do 100 and my triceps and shoulders were big and strong. I loved it and never listened to older guys that said SLOW DOWN or STOP doing those. Well, now 25 years later, the bone on bone pain I feel from wearing out the cartilage is not fun. I use turmeric to keep myself pain free but I can't do a single DIP now or many push ups due to the pain. LISTEN to this guy and be smart about working out. Women(or men) who like you for your looks only won't be around forever. Workout because it makes you feel good. Save your body for your older years, when being pain-free is SO IMPORTANT to daily life. Do yoga!

packman
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Safety is hands down the most important thing when lifting. Great advice and great job on breaking it down for us.

lilkiwi