"10 Exercises that Suck...

RE:

I agree that leg extensions are HORRIBLE for your knees - even if you just think about it using common sense! When I was in highschool all I did was knee extensions/hamstring curls and my knees always "clicked" if that makes any sense -of course I just ran it off thinking it was normal - but the clicking stopped when I went to college and started doing and looking at physical fitness differently........even our Rugby coach in college NEVER had us do that exercise!
 
RE:

>Different strokes for different folks - I'm a trainer also,
>and have been doing compound exercises for sometime now, with
>results that I never could have hoped for when I did one
>muscle group at a time with isolation exercises. I feel that
>my workouts are much more productive and efficient now. It may
>not appeal to or work for everyone, but it doesn't hurt to
>have an open mind and give it a chance.

I agree with you 100% Compound exercises all the way. So much more time efficient and you can lift so much heavier.
 
RE:

I agree about stomach crunches. Even on the floor I can do a million, using strict form, and not feel a thing. I prefer to do full sit ups, making sure my back is completely straight as I pull up, so as not to strain my lower back. I can only knock off a few of those and I always feel it in my abs the next day.

I don't know what compound exercise you people are talking about but I can't lift as heavy doing compound moves. I love them and most circuit workouts I do call for them, but I won't do strictly compound moves all the time. I like to do both straight and compound, depending on how much time I have in my schedule.
 
Shoulder Presses/Cleans

I work at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Medicine clinic, and across the hall from us is MedSport, the orthopedic and physical therapy clinic. Several of the physical therapists over there have told me shoulder presses and cleans compromise the shoulder joint (rotator cuff muscles)--"why do it when there are so many other excellent exercises that are safe?"

In my recovery from rotator cuff surgery they had me doing shrugs, but said that circling the shoulder does compromise the joint. The proper way to do a shrug is lift up, straight back, and down. They can also be done in the bentover position, targeting the back of the shoulder much more. Which is what they've had me focus on, less chest work and more back (posterior delt, rhomboid, lats) to strengthen my upper back (due to the forward motion of modern life: sitting while driving, being on a computer, reading, TV, etc).
 
RE: Shoulder Presses/Cleans

Maybe I'm just having a MEOW moment, but this line irked me:

<<Never mind that it’s a lift women often perform with soup cans, the kickback is just too easy.>>

Soup cans?! Who uses soup cans?? I'll bet there are plenty of Catheites who could bench press this writer and put his head through the wall.

As far as the critique of the exercises themselves, I understand *some* of it but was surprised to hear that concentration curls, kickbacks, and lateral raises are considered ineffective. I guess, overall, I have to say I am confused by the conflicting information out there. Is it true that upright rows aren't good?

[font face="heather" font color=brick red size=+2]~Cathy [/font face] http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/wavesmile.gif
"Out on the roads there is fitness and self-discovery and the persons we were destined to be." -George Sheehan
 
RE: Shoulder Presses/Cleans

I'm a trainer also and I hardly make my clients do kickbacks. I personally don't think tricep kickbacks work very well with a dumbbell. If you try it with a free motion machine at a gym or even the B band, it works much better than a dumbbell. When I train clients, I use a cable from a free motion machine or a band. I hardly make them do a dumbbell kickbacks. I agree everything Jason Ferrugia said in the article with one exception...Bosu is a great core/balance workout. He really is aiming for body builders or "hard gainers". The biggest thing I do is make sure my clients has a top notch form. I'm a perfection freak when it comes to forms. Different things work for different people.

Lisa
 
RE: Shoulder Presses/Cleans

I printed them and will give them a try. Whatever works better I will use.
Ellen
 
RE:

>Kathryn, how was your Kettlebell workshop? They (Kettlebells)
>always interest me but also look like you would really have to
>keep good form as to not injure yourself. (That goes with ANY
>type of workout!) I remember you mentioning a workshop a
>couple weeks ago.

I'm copying this from one of my posts at VF:

>
> Well, I'd say it was okay-to-good. (Seems like most workshops/presentations/seminars I go to--even in my field) don't quite live up to my expectations).

The pluses:
I got to try out various weights of kettlebells (at one point, I had a small collection accumulated around me, since I needed different weights for different exercises). I found I can swing a 35# one with no problem, two 18# with some effort.

I got some form corrections that will help me: swinging back farther between my legs on swings, watching to keep my non-working hand OFF my thigh when doing 1-arm cleans and snatches (such an ingrained habit from other weight work that I do it without even thinking!).

I could hold my own against the barely-20-year old girls there (a group of 5) and most of the guys.

The minuses:
Not enough individual checking on form.
I was a bit ticked off when the instructor watched everyone do a clean on their own, starting with the first row of peeps, but stopped before he got to the last 5 people (of which I was one). ***?

And it would have been good to hear that we were doing it right (if we were) as he and his assistant walked around while we practiced. Especially since I'm pretty sure some of the girls in the front row were rounding their backs soomewhat and using more upper body to move the weight in the swing than they should (just from my watching experienced kettlebellers on some of the instructional material I hawe----my 'half-w' key is not working!). And after I got home and reviewed my Lisa Shaffer manual, I found I was doing get-up sit-ups like a pliates roll-up, and you're supposed to keep your back straight (though I think I like my wersion better).

The frustrating:
Turkish get-ups. AKK! They should be called Turkish 'I-can-get-to-the-lunge-position-but-then-I-can't' getups, LOL! I tried them with various weights, with NO weight, and I kept getting stuck at the lunge position. I did fiinally make 2 each side all the way up, with wery light weights, and not too gracefully! These will take lots of practice!

My snatches seem pretty awkward as well. But I'm not sure if I'm doing something not quite right, or if they are just awkward to learn. Again....practice!

After 2+ hours of straight kettlebell practice, I was well worked out, and yesterday, I felt beat!
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