Best and Worst Exercises

Are These 7 Exercises Worthless?

Stop wasting minutes of your workout doing moves that are ineffective and potentially dangerous
By Emily G. W. Chau fitbie
 

Don't Waste Your Workout

Are These 7 Exercises Worthless? // Woman doing leg extensions © Mitch Mandel

Image: Mitch Mandel

It's generally accepted that there are better exercises than situps to chisel your way to a six-pack, but that's not the only fitness move that's overrated. As it turns out, triceps press-downs, leg presses, straight-leg deadlifts, and a few other gym standbys may not be worth the sweat. Of course, all exercises, when properly done, can help strengthen, tone, and build muscle. (Search: What's the fastest way to build muscle?) But if you want to maximize your gains in the gym, you should stick to movements that have the greatest muscle activation or isolate hard-to-target regions. We talked to fitness experts around the country about which moves are more popular than effective and found out what you'd be better off doing. Check out the following seven "worthless" exercises and master their more effective upgrades.

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