Common Exercises That Do More Harm Than Good

Any exercise can become dangerous if performed poorly, but some exercises are simply destined for disaster. Most people already know the inherent dangers associated with gyms and how even a single rep can cause injury. However, not many people  know that there are some common exercises that, even when performed correctly, may be putting stress on parts of your musculo-skeletal system that aren’t designed to bear weight. You’re going to want to avoid doing these exercises if you want to stay injury-free at the gym. Here are some examples.

Machine-Assisted Leg Presses

 While leg workouts are an integral part of any training regimen, machine-assisted leg presses are unsafe, especially for people who overload the machine with weights. The main reason why this workout should be avoided is that the movements associated with the workout have no functional value, and your lower back and knees are subjected to way more stress than necessary.

You’d be better off building your leg muscles with workouts that mimic natural movements. Some of these exercises include squats, leg extensions, and hamstring curls.

Behind-the-Head Lat Pulldowns

The main reason why you should avoid doing lat pulldowns behind your head is because this causes your shoulders to rotate awkwardly. Any muscle that’s forced to bear weight while in an awkward position has a high risk of sustaining damage. If you’re not comfortable with how a muscle or joint is oriented or rotated, it’s not ready to bear any weight.

This also applies to behind-the-neck shoulder presses because like the aforementioned workout, this position also causes the shoulders to rotate at an awkward angle. You’d be better off doing traditional lat pull-downs and shoulder presses, and by supplementing these workouts with workouts that target your lateral deltoids and your rear deltoids for even fuller shoulders.

Bench Dips

After bench presses, dips are arguably one of the most popular body weight exercises for people who want to build a fuller chest. However, depending on where you do your dips, you could be causing unnecessary strain to your shoulders.

Chest dips are only safe when performed on parallel bars and if they are performed with perfect form. On the other hand, bench dips are never safe, even when performed properly. This is especially true for people who have bad posture.

Besides the fact that there is an inherent danger that you might slip off the edge of the bench, bench dips require that your palms are oriented flat on the bench. This causes your shoulder joints to rotate internally, which puts them at an awkward position. This awkward rotation, combined with the weight it needs to bear, significantly increases the risk of sustaining a shoulder joint injury.

You’d be far better off with free-hanging dips, and if you use bench dips to build your triceps, you can switch this workout for a close-grip free-hanging dip instead. If you really want to avoid any risk, you may even want to find an alternative to dips.

Conclusion

While working out is a fun activity that yields physical and mental benefits, it’s important to understand that not all exercises are good for you. As a general rule, if your joints and muscles are in an awkward position, you shouldn’t put any weight on them. If you experience pain right after a rep or a set, you should stop that exercise immediately.