Healthy Living • YMCA Health and Fitness
Ask A Trainer: What popular exercises are a waste of time?
30 April 2018 - by Nicole Meredith
The vast majority of us aren’t die-hard fitness buffs who have hours to spend in the weight room; we need safe, effective workouts that yield results with enough time left over for us to live our lives. With that in mind, we asked Paul — a personal trainer and group fitness instructor at the Toronto West End College St. YMCA — to reveal the exercises he secretly wishes people would stop doing. Here are the two he deems most cringe-worthy, and the alternatives you’d be better off investing your time and energy in:
As a proud animal lover, I subscribe to the notion that there’s no such thing as bad dogs, only bad owners. I extend this magnanimous worldview to the gym as well, for I believe there’s no such things as a bad exercise, only misguided intentions.
Just because I never use the Smith machine for anything other than push-ups and inverted rows, that doesn’t mean it’s useless. Same goes for leg extensions or anything done with a BOSU ball. As long as an exercise helps you meet your goals, I hope you keep doing you.
That said, there are certain exercises that still make me cringe. Here are the top two offenders:
1. Wrist curls
Few exercises are truly useless. Wrist curls come closest to being an exception to that rule. I’m not sure who or what is to blame for their popularity, but the madness must end. I assume devotees of the wrist curl are under the mistaken impression they’re strengthening their grip — or perhaps they’re trying to counter some form of carpal tunnel syndrome. Of one thing I am certain: these people are wasting their time and whatever tiny amount of energy they’re expending by moving their wrists up and down.
Now, it’s true that a strong grip is essential, both in life and in the gym. The most effective way to achieve maximum crushing strength is to carry and pull heavy things. The farmer’s walk — in which you grab a pair of heavy dumbbells and, well, walk — works the hands, the core, and the upper back, and even gets your heart pumping so you’re conveniently getting some cardio in at the same time. Compare that to the wrist curl, which accomplishes none of those things, and the choice is obvious.
Another great option for training the hands and forearms: hammer curls. These are simply dumbbell bicep curls performed with your palms facing towards each other. Along with building the biceps, hammer curls develop the brachialis, which sits under the bicep, and the brachioradialis, which runs from the elbow area to the forearm. Building these muscles in unison is the key to true grip strength.
2. Seated ab rotations
There are all sorts of silly exercises that I take issue with, but for the most part, they’re harmless. Then there’s the seated ab rotation.
How many problems can one exercise present? For starters, the last thing people need to do more is sit on their butts. When you sit, your core muscles take a breather — that’s why so many office workers suffer from back pain. When given a choice, always opt for exercises that have you standing or moving, unless there’s a specific reason for sitting (like mobility issues, injuries, or high-volume isolation exercises).
Next, because of the loading pattern of these machines, you need to generate rotational force with your hips. This means your lumbar vertebrae — that is, the base of your spine — is forced to twist while bearing weight from a seated position. Just typing those words makes my lower back hurt.
Thankfully, if you want to strengthen your core without destroying your spine, there are plenty of options. I like the Pallof press. It’s versatile (you can do it standing or kneeling), can be modified to any fitness level, and it trains the core to provide stability rather than movement, which is its true function. Now, rotational strength is important, especially for athletes. In these cases, I recommend rotational exercises that generate force from the upper body rather than the hips, like the wood chopper and the full-contact twist.
Few — if any — people reading this are bodybuilders who can afford to spend the majority of their days at the gym. Don’t waste your precious time on exercises that could potentially do more harm than good, when there are plenty of options that will give you real results safely and efficiently.
Paul graduated from Humber College’s Fitness & Health Promotion program (with honours!), earning a certification in personal training and group fitness from the Ontario Fitness Council along the way. His training specialties are bodyweight training, strength training for older adults, and plant-based nutrition.
Do you have a question for our personal trainers? Message us on Twitter or Facebook.
As a proud animal lover, I subscribe to the notion that there’s no such thing as bad dogs, only bad owners. I extend this magnanimous worldview to the gym as well, for I believe there’s no such things as a bad exercise, only misguided intentions.
Just because I never use the Smith machine for anything other than push-ups and inverted rows, that doesn’t mean it’s useless. Same goes for leg extensions or anything done with a BOSU ball. As long as an exercise helps you meet your goals, I hope you keep doing you.
That said, there are certain exercises that still make me cringe. Here are the top two offenders:
1. Wrist curls
Few exercises are truly useless. Wrist curls come closest to being an exception to that rule. I’m not sure who or what is to blame for their popularity, but the madness must end. I assume devotees of the wrist curl are under the mistaken impression they’re strengthening their grip — or perhaps they’re trying to counter some form of carpal tunnel syndrome. Of one thing I am certain: these people are wasting their time and whatever tiny amount of energy they’re expending by moving their wrists up and down.
Now, it’s true that a strong grip is essential, both in life and in the gym. The most effective way to achieve maximum crushing strength is to carry and pull heavy things. The farmer’s walk — in which you grab a pair of heavy dumbbells and, well, walk — works the hands, the core, and the upper back, and even gets your heart pumping so you’re conveniently getting some cardio in at the same time. Compare that to the wrist curl, which accomplishes none of those things, and the choice is obvious.
Another great option for training the hands and forearms: hammer curls. These are simply dumbbell bicep curls performed with your palms facing towards each other. Along with building the biceps, hammer curls develop the brachialis, which sits under the bicep, and the brachioradialis, which runs from the elbow area to the forearm. Building these muscles in unison is the key to true grip strength.
2. Seated ab rotations
There are all sorts of silly exercises that I take issue with, but for the most part, they’re harmless. Then there’s the seated ab rotation.
How many problems can one exercise present? For starters, the last thing people need to do more is sit on their butts. When you sit, your core muscles take a breather — that’s why so many office workers suffer from back pain. When given a choice, always opt for exercises that have you standing or moving, unless there’s a specific reason for sitting (like mobility issues, injuries, or high-volume isolation exercises).
Next, because of the loading pattern of these machines, you need to generate rotational force with your hips. This means your lumbar vertebrae — that is, the base of your spine — is forced to twist while bearing weight from a seated position. Just typing those words makes my lower back hurt.
Thankfully, if you want to strengthen your core without destroying your spine, there are plenty of options. I like the Pallof press. It’s versatile (you can do it standing or kneeling), can be modified to any fitness level, and it trains the core to provide stability rather than movement, which is its true function. Now, rotational strength is important, especially for athletes. In these cases, I recommend rotational exercises that generate force from the upper body rather than the hips, like the wood chopper and the full-contact twist.
Few — if any — people reading this are bodybuilders who can afford to spend the majority of their days at the gym. Don’t waste your precious time on exercises that could potentially do more harm than good, when there are plenty of options that will give you real results safely and efficiently.
Paul graduated from Humber College’s Fitness & Health Promotion program (with honours!), earning a certification in personal training and group fitness from the Ontario Fitness Council along the way. His training specialties are bodyweight training, strength training for older adults, and plant-based nutrition.
Do you have a question for our personal trainers? Message us on Twitter or Facebook.
