Are These 7 Exercises Worthless?

Stop wasting minutes of your workout doing moves that are ineffective and potentially dangerous

By: Emily G. W. Chau

Don't Waste Your Workout

Photo Credit: 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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Triceps Bar Push-down

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin measured muscle activation when performing eight popular triceps exercises, and found that the bar push-down ranked among the worst. “Your triceps is such a small muscle group that you really need to isolate it to build muscle,” says Jennifer Widerstrom, a NASM-certified and elite personal trainer in Southern California. “The problem with triceps push-downs is that you’re tempted to use your stronger back and shoulder muscles instead.” Plus, it’s easy to use momentum to complete each rep, so you might not actually work your tris as hard as you think.

Do this instead
A better way to target your triceps: the triangle pushup. The same study ranked the triangle pushup as the most effective move to hit the muscle. You’re working against gravity and your bodyweight the entire time, so you can’t cheat on your way up. (Video: Pump up your pushup position)

To perform a triangle pushup, get into pushup position, but place your hands together and make a triangle with your thumbs and forefingers. Lower your chest until it nearly touches the floor, then return to the starting position.

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Broomstick Twists and Side Bends

Before you try to banish your muffin top by side bending it like Jane Fonda, consider this: Your back is designed to bend forward, not side to side. Side bends with dumbbells can put unnecessary pressure on your spine. And even if you use light weights, they’re probably not going to shave off inches. “People think side bends make their waists smaller, but you’re really building the obliques—which can make your waist look bigger,” says Michael Bronco, a personal trainer and owner of Bronco’s Gym in Charleston, SC.

Rotating your body from side to side with a stick behind your back isn’t going to help, either. Air aside, your core isn’t working against any resistance, so your abs won’t get a workout. If anything, you could hurt your lower back if you twist too quickly, says BJ Gaddour, CSCS and CEO of StreamFit.com.

Do this instead
Rather than rip it back and forth, try the pallof press, recommends Gaddour. Anchor a resistance band to a sturdy base at about chest or shoulder level. Gripping the free end of the band with both hands, step out a couple of feet and turn to the side of the base. Start with your arms close to the middle of your chest; then straighten your arms, keeping your hands in line with your sternum. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds, then repeat on the opposite side. Your core is engaged by the tension of the band, so you’ll activate your muscles a lot more than you would with a simple twist.

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Leg Extensions

You might associate the leg-extension machine with working out your quads, but it can also be hard on the knees and back. The pressing movement required is hard on the kneecap and can wear down cartilage. The machine can also put unnecessary pressure on your spine if you lean back as you push your legs.

Do this instead
To really work your quads, try a Bulgarian or rear-foot elevated split squat. “These two moves automatically set your pelvis in a neutral position, which takes the load off your spine,” says Gaddour. “And if you want to target your quads more than your hams or glutes, you need to have a vertical upper body—something you can’t do with a standard two-legged squat.”

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Leg Press

This lower-body move is at best ineffective, and at worst dangerous. Unlike the squat, the leg press puts the entire load on your lower body, so your core and upper body can’t help stabilize you. Problem is, when you load up too heavy, you can flex your lumbar spine and end up seriously injuring your lower back. Moreover, the leg press, whether done vertically or horizontally—has also been shown to be less effective than the squat to work your glutes. A study commissioned by the American Council on Exercise compared eight different exercises that target your butt, and found that the leg press activated the fewest muscles.

Do this instead
“Machines offer more-stable positioning, but venturing out to dumbbell and barbell exercises will help you maximize natural movement for best results,” says Widerstrom. Build stronger legs with a goblet squat, which not only works your core and shoulders, but also forces you into a deeper squat to counterbalance the weight. Bonus: It’s also a lower-back strengthener.

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Hip Abductor and Adductor Machines

Besides the fact that they’re two of the most awkward machines in the gym, the hip abductor and adductor machines are also two of the most impractical. When you use your hips in real life, the movement is almost always in conjunction with your shoulders and core. When you sit static at one of these machines, you aren’t training your body for how it will actually move.

Do this instead
Work the same muscles without the machines, says Gaddour. To target your outer hip, start in side plank. Raise your top leg for 7 seconds, lower, and hold for 3 seconds. Do 6 reps. To target your inner thigh, start in side plank, crossing your upper leg over the lower one and resting your toes on the floor. Raise your lower leg and hold for 7 seconds. Bring it to rest on the floor for 3 seconds. Do 6 reps. These two moves work your shoulders, core, and hips in an integrated movement.

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Decline Situp

As far as a situp goes, the decline situp is probably one of the least effective, says Bronco. You can use more momentum to complete the movement than your muscles, making it tough to isolate your core. And since your feet are hooked in, you can put a lot of stress on your hip flexors and knee joints, and also strain your lower back.

Do this instead “I’m a big fan of the good old-fashioned, properly done bicycle crunch,” says Bronco. “There’s more movement involved and you’ll also hit the obliques.” He recommends taking 4 seconds to get into your bicycle crunch, and another 4 seconds to lower. When you slow it down, you remove the momentum, so the focus is on your abs. You should feel the burn after 15 reps.

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Straight-leg Deadlift and Weighted Good Morning

If you want to work your glutes, think again about these two moves. It’s not that the straight-leg deadlift isn’t effective, it is. But the move tends to get messed up, notes Widerstrom. She finds that lifters often lock their knees during the move, which puts them at risk for blowing out a disc. Instead, slightly bend the knees as you hinge at your waist. Be sure to keep the back flat. Rounding the back as you lift can lead to strain in that area.

Likewise, weighted good mornings are potentially bad for your back. By placing weight on your back and bending forward with no support, you’re asking for trouble, says Bronco.

Do this instead
Trade in your straight-leg deadlift or weighted good morning for the back extension, recommends Widerstrom. Since you’re just working against your body weight, you can lock your knees and still have less of a chance of blowing out your back from poor form.

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