10 Most Ineffective Exercises
 

Jillybean posted this in another thread and Meg and I thought it was very appropriate for the Exercise forum... Happy reading :D...

Originally Posted by :
10 Most Ineffective Exercises
By Raphael Calzadilla, B.A., CPT, ACE
Glee Contributor
Updated: Sunday, April 9, 2006

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." -Albert Einstein

What if you suddenly found out that every workout you’ve been doing for months and months was unsafe, inefficient and graphically illustrated in the imaginary encyclopedia of bone head exercises?

We tend to look at certain areas on our body with disgust and anxiety. We look for quick fixes and the magical exercise that will solve all of our problems. That’s why infomercials sell “5 minute exercise solutions,” and love to prey on our weak emotional states and lack of knowledge related to physiology. Let’s get to the point: There are exercises that just plain stink. They’re inefficient, have a high injury risk and provide practically zero benefit.

The following list of exercises may surprise you. Consider your surprised reaction a step in the right direction. Here’s my top 10 most ineffective exercises list: This is by no means an exhaustive list - there are a lot more.

1. Adductor Machine -- The adductor machine is the exercise unit that you sit in while placing the inner part of your legs against a pad. You then push the legs toward each other, with the goal of reducing your inner thighs. Maybe you perform 20, 30 or even more reps to affect the area. This exercise will not reduce your inner thighs. You’d need enough resistance to create an impact on the muscle, so more than 15 reps aren’t going to accomplish anything. More importantly, it’s not the best range or plane of motion (direction) to affect the inner thigh.

2. Abductor Machine -- The abductor machine is the opposite of the adductor. In this case, you sit in the machine and place the outer part of your legs against a pad. You then push your legs away from each other, in the hopes of reducing your outer thigh area. Pushing the legs outward accomplishes very little for the outer thigh. Again, the plane of motion is ineffective. You say you can feel this machine? I can also feel my chest muscles if I perform a dumbbell press very slowly with a pair of five pound dumbbells, but that doesn’t mean it’s accomplishing my goal. There’s more to the puzzle than just feeling it.

3. Standing or Bent Over Twist -- Ever see someone in the gym with a broomstick behind their head twisting endlessly from left to right? The person mistakenly assumes that twisting for hundreds of reps will shrink the waist and decrease the size of the oblique muscles (love handles). This movement inefficiently affects the spinal erectors and places stress on ligaments. It provides no slimming effect on the “love handles”.

4. Upright Rows -- In this exercise, one grasps a barbell with hands approximately four inches apart, with palms facing the body. Standing in an upright position, the bar is pulled all the way up to the neck. The objective is to strengthen the upper trapezius muscles (the muscles at the base of the neck).

Internationally known research scientist, Michael Colgan, refers to this as a “bone head exercise,” in his book, The New Power Program, and I totally agree. The exercise puts undue stress on the very sensitive rotator cuff muscles of the shoulder and can easily cause injury.

5. Side Bends -- Grasping dumbbells and bending side to side in the hopes that the oblique muscles (love handles) will shrink, may actually make the area larger if you use heavy enough dumbbells. Is that what you want? Toss this exercise out the window. The only thing that’s going to get those ‘love handles” smaller is reducing overall body fat through cardiovascular exercise, brisk weight training and last but not least, a calorie reduced diet.

6. Behind The Neck Lat Pulldowns for the Back -- Performing this cable pulldown movement puts unnecessary stress on the rotator cuff muscles of the shoulders. I can’t begin to count the number of people who’ve experienced injuries from this and any behind the neck movement.

7. Shoulder Press Behind Neck -- Not only is this an unstable position, but it can lead to inflammation, pain in the shoulder and major rotator cuff injuries. The shoulder joint is extremely complex and much like the knee joint, easily prone to injuries. Lifting an object over the head while it sits behind the neck isn’t even a functional (every day) movement.

8. Straight Legged Sit Ups -- Performing straight legged sit ups (knees locked and extended) puts a lot of stress on the lower spine, and the jerky type movement required to lift from the floor can result in injury. According to Wayne Westcott, PhD., Fitness Research Director at the South Shore YMCA in Boston, "in a routine where any abdominal exercise movement places stress on the back, the risks outweigh the potential benefits.”

9. Seated Rotation Machine --These machines are found in gyms and people use them in the hopes of shrinking the waist line. In fact, you’ll usually see people rotating left and right on these machines for hundreds of repetitions. It does not shrink the waist and can place a great deal of pressure upon the ligaments of the spine.

10. Cardiovascular Exercise: More than 60 Minutes -- I realize you want to lose the most amount of fat in the least amount of time. I can understand that, but if the body can only lose up to two pounds of fat per week before it begins destroying muscle, why are you working out as if you’re attempting to lose five pounds per week? I generally recommend working at a capacity of 70 to 80 percent of your target heart rate. If you’re performing cardio more than 60 minutes at this level of intensity, you’re on a collision course for muscle loss. If you think it’s not important, you may want to re-consider.

I’ve seen people lose well over 100 pounds and lose it very, very fast. They did everything possible to lose weight (fat and muscle), as opposed to losing only fat and sparing muscle. The result is a soft and flabby looking body. Yes, they lost the 100 pounds, but did it in the most inefficient manner possible. The key to your success is not searching for an exercise that will reduce a trouble spot. It’s finding the most efficient exercises that will strengthen the area. Then, the combination of reduced calories, cardiovascular exercise and consistency does the rest of the work.


Raphael Calzadilla has over 14 years of experience as a personal trainer and bodybuilder, earned his B.A. in Communications from Southern Connecticut State University; is certified with ACE, APEX and successfully completed the RTS1 program based on biomechanics.

Ooops almost forgot to add the link: http://www.gleemagazine.com/glee/art...498&code=29103

Wow! At least 3 of these are machines used at Curves. Thanks for this info!

LOL, this is great. These are most of the exercises that I spend a lot of time trying to talk women out of doing. And the ones that most women race into the gym to do, ignoring most everything else :dizzy:

Mel

Originally Posted by Mel:
LOL, this is great. These are most of the exercises that I spend a lot of time trying to talk women out of doing. And the ones that most women race into the gym to do, ignoring most everything else :dizzy:

Mel

:rofl: You mean all the ones who do 100 crunches, 100 abductor, 100 adductor and they're out of there?

Seriously, #4 - upright rows - are how I tore my rotator cuff last year, which required surgical repair. They are definitely on my 'never do' list.

I'm not as stupid as I thunk I was. My trainer wanted me to do upright rows and it just didn't "feel" right so I didn't do them. Ditto the side bends.

And the adductor/abductor machines, what are they about????

Those "thighmaster" machines! :rofl: I used to "lift" 50kg on them and never saw any improvement in my legs... :chin: Hmm I wonder why!

Apart from that I've not done any of the other exercises - oh wait - no, I did do the twisty thing, seated rotation machine. Some dumb trainer told me to do it :rolleyes:

I guess I think it is sort of irresponsible to have a blanket statement calling more than 60 minutes of "cardiovasular exercise" as ineffective (for what exactly?) and unsafe. Ok, even I, endurance junkie, will admit that if you're doing 3 step aerobics classes a day or spending 2 hrs straight on the elliptical you might want to rethink it. But "cardio" can also include long walks in the woods with the family, or preparing for a bicycling vacation (my 60+ yr old parents are doing this right now). The key is appropriate intensity, rest, and nutrition. And limiting oneself to one hour of cardio is an extremely ineffective way to train for even a short distance triathlon, a half-marathon, mountain biking, or many other sports. One could argue that these type of sports are not most effective for fat loss and changing body compostion and I wouldn't necessarily disagree, but a long walk in the woods sure might be.

Anne

Not only did I once have a thigh master ... I'm a bonehead too! Oi!

I wish that I had realised this ....

I’ve seen people lose well over 100 pounds and lose it very, very fast. They did everything possible to lose weight (fat and muscle), as opposed to losing only fat and sparing muscle. The result is a soft and flabby looking body. Yes, they lost the 100 pounds, but did it in the most inefficient manner possible. The key to your success is not searching for an exercise that will reduce a trouble spot. It’s finding the most efficient exercises that will strengthen the area. Then, the combination of reduced calories, cardiovascular exercise and consistency does the rest of the work.


.... about three years ago. I probably wouldn't be struggling now.

Susan -- That was my favourite paragraph in the whole article too...

Originally Posted by wndranne:
I guess I think it is sort of irresponsible to have a blanket statement calling more than 60 minutes of "cardiovasular exercise" as ineffective (for what exactly?) and unsafe.

Anne, this was exactly my thought as well. Because I bike to work on a week day (1 hour cardio) and then take an hour aquacize class at night I'm unsafe?? Or take an afternoon hike after a morning fitness class on the weekend? I think lots of people safely get more than a hour of cardio in a day because they're doing things they enjoy. As long as you're eating enough I don't see a problem.

That quibble aside, it's a nice list. It's especially nice to see the potentially injuring moves listed. (Especially since I'm losing my bike commute in 2 months and will be joining a gym again)

Originally Posted by Tani:
Anne, this was exactly my thought as well. Because I bike to work on a week day (1 hour cardio) and then take an hour aquacize class at night I'm unsafe?? Or take an afternoon hike after a morning fitness class on the weekend? I think lots of people safely get more than a hour of cardio in a day because they're doing things they enjoy. As long as you're eating enough I don't see a problem.

That quibble aside, it's a nice list. It's especially nice to see the potentially injuring moves listed. (Especially since I'm losing my bike commute in 2 months and will be joining a gym again)

Your body has a natural cycle.. it burns Carbs first ( always), fat second, and protein ( muscle) third.

Basically, after you burn off carbs, your body goes to fat for energy and then to protein. So it has been decided that after one hour of cardio your body begins to tap into your protein (muscle) stores. This is why runners are so sleek, also this is why they eat mad carbs before a marathon, or what have you. I dont think its hour of cardio A DAY, its one hour at the time, you need to replenish yourself, and THEN do more cardio if you wish. This is also way people who eat low carb lose so much weight is because they pretty much trick their body into burning fat first. Not a good idea if you are an athlete or wanna-be athlete, you need carbs so your body wont result to protein so fast. This is my .02 and what I have read, been told, and scientifically it makes sense.

As for the seated rotation, I got some good results doing that thing. Even my doctor commented on my obliques. I dont do it anymore, but I liked it when I did. Oh well.. lol

wow,,,,,,scary to think we been doing this at curves.....never knew....uhg!

Okay... I am not questioning this since I am certainly no expert... but why is what ONE person says necessarily more "right" than what hundreds of personal trainers and gym programs teach? :) One of these happens to be very similar to an exercise I have been taught at fitness centers for years and it does certainly make me feel better and more "toned" than most others. I recently started doing it again and don't intend to stop just because some person I've never even heard of before says it. :jig: Don't intend to give up my long walks either!! I am thrilled that I am able to do it again :)

Again... not saying she is wrong; just also not glibly accepting things because she says it. :)

Couple of thoughts ...

I'm a certified personal trainer (so is Mel ;) ) and work in a gym with a lot of other personal trainers -- and I honestly don't know anyone who teaches that ANY of those exercises are correct or good for you. I'm sure that somewhere, someone is in favor of them, but the exercises listed are pretty accepted in the industry as being ineffective (or dangerous) exercises.

But if you're doing something that makes you feel good and isn't harming you, by all means keep doing it. :) If your exercise program includes lots of other exercises, one exercise isn't going to make all that much difference. :) Just please be sure it's not an exercise that's effective but way too risky, like behind the neck work or upright rows.

About #10 - more than 60 minutes of cardio - lots of good points! Obviously Lance Armstrong or someone who's training for a marathon is going to do more than 60 minutes of cardio a day and it's not harmful or ineffective for their purposes. I think the author of the article was focusing on cardio for fat loss and at an intensity of more than 70-80% of your max heart rate. At more than 60 minutes at that intensity, it's true that you may start burning muscle, which will sabotage your fat loss in the long run.

BUT ... if you're taking long walks or hikes, you're probably not working at that high of an intensity. There's no way that I can walk fast enough to get my heart rate nearly that high - at 4.0 MPH, I barely crack 108, so it's low intensity exercise for me. And low intensity cardio doesn't have the kind of muscle burning implications that higher intensity cardio may have. So enjoy your hikes and long walks - I don't think that's what the author is talking about in #10. ;)

Thanks, Meg for explaining how the intensity of the cardio would be more than 70% of your max heart rate for the body to tap into muscle after 60 min of cardio. That makes a lot of sense.

I can vouch for the 60 minutes of cardio...I do 20 minutes of cardio anywhere between 3-5 times a week depending on my schedule and, except for that rut I was in when I wasn't exercising, I'm averaging a weight loss of about 2-3 pounds per week. That's all I do. I have kids, I have a job, I have housework, I have, I have, I have....20 - 30 minutes a day is all I can offer cuz I don't want the rest of my life to suffer and that 20 - 30 minutes is working for me, so I'm gonna keep doing it.

As for the machines...wow....what an eye opener. So, what do we do then, for those muscle groups??? Just lunges and squats? That's what I've been doing for the last week and a half and man, can I feel those muscles days later!!!

Originally Posted by Ready2ShedLBS:
Your body has a natural cycle.. it burns Carbs first ( always), fat second, and protein ( muscle) third.

Basically, after you burn off carbs, your body goes to fat for energy and then to protein.

Yikes does this mean if I eat a high carb. meal then exercise for less than an hour or so I don’t burn fat :?: Is this why some people recommend exercising on an empty stomach? Sorry for all these question but I’m trying to learn as much as I can to do it right.

Thanks
Liya

Liya - you don't need to be concerned about what your body is burning for fuel. What's important is that when you're exercising, you're burning CALORIES and it all boils down to calories in vs calories out. If you create a calorie deficit by eating less and moving more, your body is forced to tap into its supply of stored fat for energy. In a nutshell, that's how we lose fat. :D

Last night at the gym, there was a personal trainer who was doing upright rows with one of his clients. I think he even did two different types with her because I noticed it when I got on a machine, then when I got off the machine, he was showing her what looked like another version where her hands were at a 45 degree angle.

Abductor/Adductor machines I love :) At one point I was able to max out the weight on both. I am going to try to do some other inner/outer thigh workouts though. My inner thighs were recently sore for 3 days due to hiking/bouldering/what not. I was surprised but basically figured out that it was probably due to me trying to balance and hug the rocks/boulders with my feet.

As for cardio, I couldn't imagine doing an intense workout for more than an hour. I know endurance athletes have a high percentage of body fat but I always thought it was because too much muscle was a waste and they really needed fat to "go the distance" but I wasn't aware that it was because after an hour they are actually burning their muscle for fuel. For me, I do long hikes but it is really only intense for short bursts and I take breaks.

Originally Posted by Meg:
Liya - you don't need to be concerned about what your body is burning for fuel. What's important is that when you're exercising, you're burning CALORIES and it all boils down to calories in vs calories out. If you create a calorie deficit by eating less and moving more, your body is forced to tap into its supply of stored fat for energy. In a nutshell, that's how we lose fat. :D

Thanks Meg. BTW I’ve noticed that this is not the first time you help me with my questions (your picture is not easily forgotten) you are definitely a wealth of information :angel:

Liya

That's a great list. I've never been to curves, but a lot of those exercises are in Slim Series...(upright row, sidbends, etc)

I personally got good results with the adductor (that's the thighmaster type on, right) machine. Maybe I just had zero muscle there before or something ;) but after doing that machine for a month or so, I REALLY noticed a big increase of muscle. Of course, my thighs aren't SMALLER, so if that's what they mean by not getting results, I guess I'd have to agree, but that machine certainly helped build up my inner thigh muscle (technical, huh? LOL).

But that's the only one I'm going to dispute. :)

The only thing I think is weird about the article is talking about the exercises not "slimming the area." Strength training is meant for strengthening and building muscle, not slimming down. I'm assuming this article was meant for women only? I've actually started reading men's weightlifting magazines because of this issue. Call me crazy, but I actually WANT some big muscles :)

Meg, I have a question for you!

The latest workout I've been doing (from Muscle & Fitness) includes upright rows. The workout is made up compound exercies including squats, presses, rows, etc. Anyway I was wndering if you could suggest an exercise to replace the upright rows? Thanks :)

SweetChubbyChick60 .... you bet there are! Anything you do that is more than you did before is incredibly valuable activity. Anything that gets your heart rate up and I love love love the effect weightlifting is having on my body.

Stacy - Exrx.net calls upright rows a lateral delt exercise, using front delts secondarily. Odd because I've always thought of them as a front delt exercise? In any event, you can replace upright rows with any other exercise that works the same muscles. Check out the Exrx.net shoulder page for the most complete list of exercises (with nifty little videos ;) ).

2 pounds per week
 

Wow! IS it true that you can only lose 2 pounds per week of fat before you start losing muscle? I've heard that that's the safe range to aim for, but I never heard that reason before. If there's still fat there, why doesn't the body keep on using it after two pounds? **puzzled**

I'm gonna second the confusion of "Two pounds per week". Does that mean the weeks I have zero loss then the following week see a 5lb loss, its muscle? My loss is a total roller coaster ride. There is no consistentcy week to week.

Meg, i would like to know why the sidebends are ineffective or even dangerous. i just started working out recently and have been doing this exercise with and without dumbells.
thanks.

Hi Mom2Seany! :wave:

I don't think the author of the article is saying that side bends are dangerous. He's saying that they may be ineffective because people do them in order to reduce their waist circumference, but they can actually have the opposite effect. Side bends done with weights can make your waist thicker, not smaller. The goal of any weighted exercise is to build muscle and adding muscle to your waist will - yep - add inches and make it bigger, not smaller. :eek:

It's exactly the same problem with the abductor and adductor machines, also named in the article. When you isolate and build the muscles in your inner and outer thighs, you're going to make them bigger. Bigger muscles underlying fat will push the fat out and make thighs look bulkier, not slimmer. Some people think that they can hop on the machines and get rid of the fat off their thighs, but we all know that you can't spot reduce away fat. ;)

I personally don't ever do weighted ab exercises - I only use my bodyweight. Here's a good article (with illustrations) about the most effective ab exercises from the American Council on Exercise (ACE) that you might find interesting. In a nutshell, they found:

For strengthening the rectus abdominus, the 13 exercise were ranked most to least effective:

1. Bicycle maneuver
2. Captain’s chair
3. Crunches on exercise ball
4. Vertical leg crunch
5. Torso Track
6. Long arm crunch
7. Reverse crunch
8. Crunch with heel push
9. Ab Roller
10. Hover
11. Traditional crunch
12. Exercise tubing pull
13. Ab Rocker

For strengthening the obliques, the 13 exercise were ranked most to least effective:

1. Captain’s chair
2. Bicycle maneuver
3. Reverse crunch
4. Hover
5. Vertical leg crunch
6. Crunch on exercise ball
7. Torso Track
8. Crunch with heel push
9. Long arm crunch
10. Ab Roller
11. Traditional crunch
12. Exercise tubing pull
13. Ab Rocker

Hope that helps! :)

thanks for all the info. i have been doing the vertical leg crunch, the bicycle maneuver and normal ab crunches along with the side bend.

For a second I thought it had said bent over rows, which are okay as far as I know and pretty effective too. I have done upright rows and that is a really dumb exercise for most people. I could only this this helping professional bodybuilders at most, but even then I can't imagine they would use it, cause they are pretty well informed. Any one had any problems with some other common lifts over the years?

I am new to working out and do not know what to call things. I just did my first PUSH work out and they had an ab work out (I think LOL) and Lay flat on the floor with a hand weight on your chest. Legs flat and stay flat. Sit up and lift the weight up into the air and over your head and stretch up.

Is this the flat sit up that is a no-no? (And by the way I can not do without a jerking movement I worry is more in my back then abs.)

Help Please!

I've been doing side bends and the thigh machines... guess I better stop! But one thing I don't understand is don't you have to burn off the fat/love handles before your waist starts getting bigger due to muscle gain?

ok, on the adductor/abductor thing

Are they going to help you lose weight? No, they are very small very strong muscles being worked out.

However they are not "useless", many people have groin or knee instabilities because of weak adductors.

If you like to play any type of sport, these machines can help you not get injured. And not getting injured is VERY important to weight loss.

Originally Posted by Stevi-rocks:
I'm gonna second the confusion of "Two pounds per week". Does that mean the weeks I have zero loss then the following week see a 5lb loss, its muscle? My loss is a total roller coaster ride. There is no consistentcy week to week.

No - erratic weight loss is due to changes in water weight. Most people have erratic weight loss, you have to look at the AVERAGE weight loss.

It is not unusual for the body to hoard water while you are losing weight --after all, it assumes you are going to gain it back soon and it might need that water to process the excess calories you will be taking in. After awhile it decides to let it go and fwooosh...5 lbs. I typically lose in a pattern like 0, 0, -1 +1 , -4, +1, -1, 0 0 -4....

As for the 2 lb max statement - thats a pretty broad generalization and dependent on many factors including how much excess weight you have, etc.

Hellcatjill, that is exactly my view. I agree with all the other points, though I have been doing the upright row on occasion and will now stop (who wants large traps anyway as a women?!), except that I also had very noticeable results from the adductor machine (never noticed much from the abductor though). My thighs were also bigger but it was obviously muscle. Mind you, I did not do 20 to 30 reps, rather I do a max of 15.

What are these 2 exercises....I've never heard of them. (tells you how much time I spend in a gym:(

. Bicycle maneuver
2. Captain’s chair

I disagree on 1, 2, 4, and 10.

Training the abductors does yield fabulous results (dimple on the outer part of the leg the way dancers have) and training the adductors (inner thigh) keeps it in balance. (You have to train opposites such as hamstrings and quads, chest and back, biceps and triceps, to achieve balance and reduce injury.) So I think he is off on the abductor/adductor thing. Ask a hockey player or figure skater if abductor/adductor muscles don't need training.

Range of motion is adjusted at the seat. The more you progress in your flexibility training, the more you can adjust the seat to have greater range of motion.

No one has ever suggested that weight training was designed to SHRINK AN AREA. For God's sake, weight training is about developing a muscle under the skin so that when you SHRINK THE AREA WITH FAT LOSS, the muscle will appear.

Upright rows do not work the traps. They work the anterior deltoids and they slam. Look at Madonna's shoulders, or Angela Bassett's shoulders. You will become injured doing ANYTHING if your form is whacked. Even a bicep curl. And yes, even walking.

Cardio - as someone previously said, it's all about the fuel.

Don't believe everything you read without doing the research first.

Originally Posted by Mami:
(who wants large traps anyway as a women?!),

The uprights don't work the traps but I had to tell you that that there is nothing more beautiful than a well-developed back on a woman. To see the traps, the lats, and the rhomboids chiseled out is amazing! And you won't get big because you can't get big. Unless you're mixing testosterone in your tea.