Five Exercises You May Want to Avoid.Exercising is one of the best things you can do for your health and wellbeing, but doing it incorrectly could do more harm than good.
We’ve put together a list of five exercises you may want to avoid in the gym, as they can cause damage to your back and lead to injury. Here are five that should be avoided at all costs:
- Dumbbell Flys
The dumbbell fly is an effective chest exercise that can tone and define your pecs, build muscle strength, and give you a toned chest. Not only does it target the pectoralis major and minor muscles, but also stimulates rhomboid muscles, serratus anterior muscles, as well as your rotator cuff.
Dumbbell flys can be an effective exercise for shaping your chest, but it’s easy to make mistakes that could reduce its benefits. For instance, overextending your shoulder joints, failing to keep the elbows at a fixed angle and adding too much weight all lead to injury.
To perform the dumbbell fly safely, begin by lying on a bench with the dumbbells held near your armpits. Slowly lower them until your arms are parallel with the floor.
- Leg Extensions
If you’re trying to develop leaner quadriceps, the leg extension is an ideal exercise. It focuses almost solely on your quadriceps (rectus femoris, vastus lateralis and vastus medialis).
If your goal is to build lean muscles and increase strength, leg extensions are a great choice. However, they’re not as powerful as barbell squats or deadlifts which offer greater benefits.
Additionally, lifting weights puts additional stress on your knees and can result in injury if done incorrectly. Fortunately, it’s easy to avoid this common misstep and ensure a safe workout experience.
- Behind the Neck Press
If you’re looking to sculpt and tone your shoulders, the behind the neck press is an effective exercise. Not only does it engage your traps, triceps and upper back muscles but also front, outer and rear deltoid muscles.
Exercise the overhead position is an effective way to test your stability without straining your rotator cuffs. Unfortunately, this exercise has a reputation for causing shoulder injuries so if you have poor overhead mobility and stability, it’s best to steer clear of this exercise.
Ted Arcidi was able to bench 700 pounds using the behind the neck press as his primary upper body builder due to his excellent shoulder mobility and stability.
- Double Leg Raise
If you’re seeking a more challenging exercise to add to your core routine, why not give double leg raises a try? Although these exercises aren’t as well known as sit-ups and crunches, they can still be highly beneficial for strengthening the abs.
Consistently performing ab exercises can reduce your risk for back injuries, as they strengthen and stabilize your lower abdominals to protect against lower back strain or injury when performing other exercises or activities.
Double leg raises can be done with your legs straight, bent at the knee or with one leg extended in front of you. For added challenge and resistance, grab a dumbbell between each foot to increase tension during this core exercise.
- Lat Pull Down
The lat pull down is an effective upper body exercise that can build strength in your back, shoulders, and arms. Furthermore, it increases bone mass which may lower your risk of osteoporosis.
One common misstep people make with this move is failing to fully extend their arms or swing the bar backwards too far. This can lead to weak lat muscles.
That indicates you’re not applying enough pressure to the lats, which should be the purpose of this exercise. Furthermore, if you perform this move with too much weight or a short range of motion, it could cause harm to your lower back.