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7 Popular Exercises You Must Avoid and Safer Alternatives

By Greg Brookes

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7 popular exercises you must avoid

The human body is an incredible piece of engineering. It’s capable of such amazing movements.

But just because the body can perform a certain movement does not mean it is good for us.

There seems to be an epidemic at the moment of people in gyms and parks on a mission to totally destroy their body.

Here are 7 of the most common exercises that I see that need to be reconsidered:


# 1 – Dips

Dips have been around for years.

They even have specialised dips bars in gyms purely designed for performing sets of dips.

Dips however are not shoulder friendly unless performed with excessive forward lean.

As you lower yourself down, under full bodyweight, during the Dip exercise you put your shoulder capsule under huge amounts of strain.

The arms are not designed to go backwards to that extreme.

You can see this for yourself just by standing tall and then seeing how far you can take the arms backwards.

The worse types of Dips are the ones that you see during boot camps that are performed off a park bench.

Ever wondered why your shoulders are sore after performing Dips?

It’s because you are stretching all your ligaments and the soft tissue of the shoulder joint.

If you don’t want sloppy and unstable shoulder joints that are more likely to dislocate then lay off the Dips.

Safer Alternative: Regular Push Ups or Narrow Push Ups

Push Up Exercise is a safer alternative


# 2 – Behind the Head Lat Pull Downs

Everybody seems to have tried or performed this exercise at one time or another.

Almost every gym has a Lat Pull Down machine which consist of a T-Bar on a cable suspended from overhead.

Pulling the bar down to the upper chest does not present too much of a problem but when the bar is pulled down behind the head then it becomes very dangerous for the shoulder joint.

During the, behind the head, movement the shoulder joint is placed under external rotation and then with force taken well below its natural range.

You will even see people lean their head forwards as a natural reaction to the exercise so the shoulder isn’t put under so much strain.

Those with hypermobile shoulders will find this exercise much easier but it still compromises the integrity of the shoulder capsule.

Safer Alternative: Pull Downs to the Upper Chest or even better Chin Ups


# 3 – Sit Ups or Crunches

This is an exercise that is always painful to watch.

After spending a day hunched over a computer or desk the posture is made even worse by Crunching forward even more.

Surely after sitting in such a terrible position all day you would want to train the opposite muscles to pull everything backwards again!

Crunches and Sit Ups also only perform 50% of the natural movement of the spine if you are performing them lying on the floor.

If you are going to perform this exercise then at least Crunch over a Stability Ball to get the full range of movement.

Not only do Sit Ups and Crunches seem counter intuitive to posture but they also don’t seem to line up with our natural daily movements.

How often do you Crunch forwards in daily life?

Working on Core Stabilisation is a much more functional direction to take.

Safer Alternative: Planks, Woodchops, Stability Ball Jack Knife

Plank to Push Up Exercise


# 4 – Running When You’re Not Strong Enough

Before you get too excited and all the running clubs start sending me hate mail hear me out.

Running puts a massive strain on the body.

Over 3 times the bodyweight goes through each leg during every stride.

In order to absorb this kind of shock the body must have good alignment and core strength.

The Core stabilises the pelvis to provide a solid platform for the legs to operate under.

Sadly most people have very weak core muscles due to inactivity and due to excess sitting most people also have bad joint alignment and stabilisation from head to toe.

Now take your average overweight runner looking to lose weight and then add in all these factors and the result is usually injury within 4 weeks.

If you want to start running, which I’m not against, then losing excess weight through diet and bodyweight exercises to improve core strength and joint stability would be a safer starting point.

Safter Alternative: Bodyweight Circuits, Fast Mountain Climbers or Hill Walking Intervals

Fast Mountain Climbers for Cardio


# 5 – Deep Bench Press

The bench press will offer you a great way to add some serious muscle and strength to the chest and triceps but you have to be careful.

When loading the barbell or dumbbells you must be very careful not to take the bar down too low.

Touching the bar to the chest, or even bouncing it, is usually too deep for the shoulder capsules to handle.

There is a simple test you can try to see how deep you should take the bar.

Lie on the bench and use a wooden dowel or broomstick and see how deep you can naturally go.

Most people find they cannot go as deep as the chest, it is only the added weight of the bar that forces the shoulders into this position.

The same theory applies to performing dumbbell presses and dumbbell fly’s, just ensure you only go as deep as your shoulders will allow and not how deep the weight dictates.

Safer Alternative: Test your natural range and stick within it or use push ups instead


# 6 – Hamstring Curls

You have probably seen this crazy exercise where you lay on your belly on a machine and then pull your heels to your buttocks.

If you are into body building and not human movement I can see how this isolates the Hamstrings muscles.

But beware, lying down in this position puts huge strain on both the knee joints and the lower back.

Using a machine like this puts the body in a totally unnatural position and forces the joints to work in isolation, as opposed to an integrated unit the way the body is design to operate.

Isolation exercises like this one also force the body to move through a dedicated pattern which in nature is something that the body will avoid to prevent overuse injuries.

Finally think about the movement, how often do you perform this movement in nature?

Safer Alternative: Deadlifts or Single Leg Deadlifts

Kettlebell Single Leg Deadlift


# 7 – Smith Machine Squats

The Squat is one of our fundamental movement patterns and I would always recommend that people learn to squat correctly.

Every time you sit down and stand up, or get into your car you are performing a variation of the squat.

Not only is the squat highly practical but it also offers huge benefits to the body including activating most muscles, pumping bodily fluids, opening up the lower back and increasing testosterone production.

The Smith machine is a bar that is held on runners that goes up and down along the same path vertically.

Many people think it is safe to perform a squat using a smith machine because it does have fail safe measures in case you drop or slip under the bar.

However, the smith machines vertical path does not mimic the natural path that we would take when performing a regular squat.

During the regular squat the upper body leans forwards off the vertical line to counterbalance balance the backwards movement of the hips.

The smith machine not only compromises the movement but also encourages bad form of this crucial exercise.

Add in the fact that it is very difficult to drop down deep enough to engage the buttocks correctly and you have a very weird and unnatural movement.

Safer Alternative: Kettlebell Goblet Squats or Barbell Front Squats

Kettlebell Goblet Squat Exercise


Conclusions

With so many safer exercises available there is no need to be performing movements that will cause you injury.

Think smart and start performing natural movements that will help to improve your health and movement skills and not degrade them.

 

Have you tried any of these safer exercises? Let me know more below:

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Comments

  1. Chia says

    August 2, 2014 at 2:25 pm

    I heard that Chin Ups are bad for the elbows and wrists as it is unnatural. Is that true? If it is true, what are the safer alternatives?

    Reply
    • Harvey Miles says

      July 23, 2019 at 2:07 pm

      PULLUPS

      Reply
  2. Andreaz says

    August 14, 2013 at 12:15 pm

    Thanks Greg for the advice n I look forward to good training in future.

    Reply
    • Greg says

      August 15, 2013 at 7:51 am

      No problem Andreaz, I hope this info helps you out and improves your future exercise program.

      Reply
  3. Colum Kelly says

    August 8, 2013 at 2:47 pm

    Smith machines or any isolation machines in my mind do not use the proper natural alignments of the body. In my experience smith machines are used by body builders for that ‘pump’ feeling but will do nothing to promote strength or help in functional movement

    Reply
    • Greg says

      August 8, 2013 at 5:50 pm

      Totally agree Colum, thanks for the comment

      Reply
  4. sarah harris says

    August 7, 2013 at 10:14 pm

    Interesting you didn’t include the seated leg press or pull-ups both of which are biomechanically dangerous.

    OK you’ve shown us what NOT to do. Looking forward to SEVEN exercises you absolutely MUST do….

    Reply
    • Greg says

      August 9, 2013 at 10:30 am

      Thanks for the comments Sarah, yes the list could have gone on, basically any machine based exercise that uses a fixed path are not great. I disagree about pull ups though! Climbing is one of our fundamental movements. Perhaps you are talking about Pull Ups behind the head. As for 7 exercises you must do, there are plenty of recommendations throughout this blog, just take a look in the archives 🙂

      Reply
  5. Samantha says

    August 7, 2013 at 2:53 pm

    I love it and I agree totally with it. I don’t use any isolation machines and I really hate squatting with the smith machine. Great information

    Reply
    • Greg says

      August 7, 2013 at 5:28 pm

      Thanks Sanantha, yes those Smith Machine Squats will really get ya!

      Reply
  6. Nikki says

    August 7, 2013 at 2:10 pm

    Great advice, always backed up with a valid reason why. Pleased to say I don’t do any of the 7 listed. Thanks Greg 🙂

    Reply
    • Greg says

      August 27, 2013 at 6:11 pm

      My pleasure Nikki, good to hear that you are exercising safely.

      Reply

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GB Personal Training Ltd

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Greg Brookes is the founder of GB Personal Training Ltd and KettlebellsWorkouts.com. He has been featured in Men's Health, Women's Fitness, Men's Fitness, and Health & Fitness Magazine, where he wrote a monthly column. He has also been featured in the majority of UK national newspapers. Labelled as "the trainer to the trainers" he delivers seminars and a regular newsletter to help Personal Trainers improve their skills and achieve better results for their clients. Continue reading

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