Are There Bad Exercises?

One of the most common questions I get from people is: "is this exercise good?". For those that know me, I am usually a black and white person. But...when it comes to the weight room, I have matured greatly over the years. My response to their question usually goes something like this: "if you like performing it and it is done correctly without pain...then go for it!". This is not the answer people are looking for. They want me to say that exercise is terrible and here is an alternative. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. So..this brief article will serve as my thought process behind the matter.

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In the absence of musculoskeletal pathology, there is no such thing as a bad movement. There are exercises that I prefer to program because they are much more efficient and deliver a better bang for your buck. These include multi-joint exercises such as squats, deadlifts, pullups and hinge variations. However, that does not mean leg extensions and other single lever movements are not good for you. I do not have a "machine" in my facility and rarely program them but...machines are necessary in a rehab setting and still offer plenty of benefits.

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Here are my parameters for classifying something as bad in the weight room:

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1. When the exercise is performed in crazy volume.
2. When you do not perform the exercise well. Technique is important and the exercises' effectiveness is predicated on how you perform it so...if it does not pass the eye test and might look funny, you do not need a PHD to know it is done poorly.
3. When the exercise messes up the rest of the program. If you have a program written by someone who knows what they are doing and you are after a very specific goal, you can mess things up by adding in a bunch of nonsense that was not planned for. A program is like a recipe. When you follow the recipe, you get your desired results. When you go rogue and add a bunch of stuff to it, you get a crap cookie.
4. If the exercise causes pain. A simple one...if it hurts, stop doing it.
5. When you load an exercise past your capabilities. Put your ego aside and do it correctly.

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Fortunately for me, I have control over a majority of my gyms above parameters. Which, helps me sleep at night. When I am traveling and have to train at a commercial gym, the above list is ever present in my mind.