9 OVERRATED Exercises Everyone is Doing

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In this video, Dr. Milo Wolf lists his top 9 overrated exercises he sees people doing in the gym, and gives science-backed alternatives that you should be doing instead.

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#overrated #hypertrophy #scienceexplained
"9 OVERRATED Exercises Everyone is Doing"

Music from Uppbeat.

[jofortin]

1 - DB Lateral Raise [0:32]
2 - Incline Curl [2:00]
3 - Spider Curl [3:18]
4 - Cable Pushdown [3:46]
5 - The Expander Tool [5:59]
6 - Deadlift [6:43]
7 - Lunge [8:37]
8 - Leg Extension [10:27]
9 - Seated Calf Raise [11:54]

[kwerby]

I can’t believe my bosu ball tricep kickbacks didn’t make it

[Swift]

"I've spoken about [leg extensions being overrated] at length."

So what you're saying is that your explanations are also done in the stretched position. That's dedication.

[KakashiBallZ]

Great exercise but I'd need to sacrifice a unicorn to secure two cables and an incline bench at my gym.

[ChuckNorris-yrkk]

Every single training video is about this same topic these days. I've been doing overhead extension and dips for half year now. On overhead extension I've added just 1 rep during that time, on dips I add 1 rep almost every workout and after 12 extra reps I add weight. For sure overhead extension stretches the muscle more but on dips I add reps about 40 times faster. Sean Nalewanyj gets this right imo. You don't have to ditch every single exercise that doesn't stretch the muscle. Progressive overload is way more important thing long term. Do exercises where you actually increase weight over time.

[Suspect]

If all you care about is hypertrophy, then the reasoning in this video maybe makes sense.

But a lot of us care about strength, sports performance, and being able to move our bodies through space with grace and power. I'm not saying Milo's recommendations are necessarily bad for those goals. But Milo is so relentlessly focused on studies that measure muscle growth while never addressing movement patterns or power or resilience to injury or agility or any number of other goals that a lot of athletic fitness-minded folks have.

I also think Milo should address Chesterton's fence/the Lindy effect: how come the deadlift has been used successfully by so many powerful people in so many athletic disciplines for so long? Were they all wrong? Should they have been doing RDLs and lower back isolation movements instead? If I want to be a strong resilient dude who can help my friends move big couches all day long, should I do deadlifts or should I do lower back isolation movements to grow my erector spinae complex?

I'm assuming that if I'm 100% focused on hypertrophy then I should just blindly do what Milo tells me. But if hypertrophy is only, say, 50% of my goal, then are these recommendations good, bad or atrocious? I want the big picture beyond just "here are studies comparing these exercises on muscle growth". It's fine if there aren't studies! Use your big brain and experience as a coach and a scientist to make the best recommendations you can, under uncertainty! Decision-making under uncertainty should not and cannot be shied away from if one is to be effective in life.

[harkkyn]

Lying bicep curls at parallel or 15° on a bench is absolutely worth exploring before writing it off.

[jeremyjjbrown]

I like it when Milo tells me what exercises to use but I am already doing it because he's explained how he chooses exercises so well before.

[akalion]

I winder how many huge bodybuilders built their shoulders with regular side raises compared to whatever is displayed in this video...

[randell]

The common sense approach is you do what works best for you as an individual .... we all respond differently to different variations so stick with what works for you (simple)

[Tomwoodfitness]

I’ve rewatched the bit where he says “technically” three times already and I don’t know why. 0:06.

[powerbuilder]

Watched it twice, and I agree with 8 out of 9 except for the *Deadlift* - Simply because the Deadlift is the exercise that grown me a lot of mass. Yeah, it's fatiguing, but the "balancing/supporting" back muscles that it indirectly stimulated are so substantial because it mimics the natural motion of the body when pulling a heavy object off the ground. It's also the most practical. "Experts" are debating over the deadlift over a long time already, I don't know who to believe. So I experiment and for me, it's one of the BEST exercises ever, It made me stronger and if I want to bulk and gain more mass and weight. I'll just do it 10 x 3 sets twice a week to failure and watch the weighing scale skyrocket.💪 But each one is different, It might be "overrated" to some BUT for me, It definitely works and I will still do it. Cheers!👌💯

[B-wag-smack]

Great advice and thank you for sharing your expertise/education with others. I personally find that any movement for triceps that is overhead, extensions or skull crushers really kills my elbows. Any other options?

[RonMexico]

Using a bicep blaster on incline curls can maximum tension in the stretch

[APR]

Bottom line guy do what feels good and gives you a pump. You can do all the “best” exercises but if your body isn’t feeling it, it’ll never be optimal

[babyowl]

Do you have any videos on how MUCH of a difference all this tension in the stretch and ideal resistance curve stuff makes? For example, dumbbell lateral raises are easy to do at home with minimal equipment. If cable raises are 5% better, it's not worth the extra hassle for me personally since I don't have the equipment. If it's like 20% better I might have to go shopping.

[Yupppi]

I tried the reverse nordics after the video and it's now my favourite home exercise if I can't get to the gym. It's shocking how much burn and pump you can get from just lying on your back. Literally had quads shake/vibrate like an instrument string the longer I stayed in the stretch. And it's a great double whammy since the hip flexor and quad can get tight. It's hands down the easiest of the replacement exercises to apply as well. The jackpot of exercises.

When I tried nordic curls feet under the couch and supporting slightly hands on doorframe, I found out that it's the toughest calf exercise I've ever done if you don't apply enough support from hands. There's a reason why when doing them with a partner, they hold higher up than the feet. So maybe that's a nice way to train calves without annoying weak feeling exercises... The tension and overload was something else. But be careful.

Bulgarian splits have also been a staple for home and just as an accessory to have some unilateral stuff. Have a bad habit of favouring one side on bilateral exercises. It can also teach to use more quads and seems to be able to force a lot of quad strength development if you focus on not using the support leg at all. And of course it hits the glutes like a beast. The balance is of course a challenge, but it can also teach better squat mechanics and knee tracking. Just another jackpot of exercises.

[claybowman]

None of these studies comparing exercises are done over an entire career and consider how consistently youll be able to do the exercise in the long-term. I love overhead extensions they're my favorite triceps exercise, i also agree the stretch is super potent for growth but its not the only important thing. Its the same thing as the volume obsessed bros and intensity obsessed bros, i warn you against considering one training variable to be king while ignoring others. You can do pushdowns harder for longer without problems than an overhead extension.

Id love to see milo talk about this actually since he seems to give actionable advice based on the literature.

[Mankyweb]

What about incline dumbbell curls + preacher curls in the same workout? Your arm is behind your body in one exercise and in front the other.

[Ahmed-jvoc]

The obsession with Stretched stuff is getting annoying now.