The Seven Deadly Exercises

In the past, I’ve shared my top exercises for rapid fat loss and muscle gain, featuring a host of multi-joint, compound movements for your upper body (push up’s, pull up’s, etc.), lower body (squats, deadlifts, lunges, etc.), and core (planks and anti-rotational exercises). These “multiple muscle” exercises provide the biggest bang for your buck during your workouts to generate maximum results in minimal time.

However, I think I’m going to switch it up a bit today and focus on the WORST exercises you can add to your training routine. The following list features movements that I wouldn’t be caught dead doing. These movements deliver shoddy results and flat our hurt people- movements that have far greater risk than reward:

The 7 Worst Exercises of All Time

1.) Abs Machine

Crunches and sit-ups only promote excessive flexion of the lumbar spine and tend to cause neck and back pain. "The traditional sit-up imposes approximately 3300 N or about 730 pounds of compression on the spine" (McGill, 88). And that’s with body weight only, each repetition. What’s worse than crunches or sit-ups? Doing a similar movement with added weight in a machine that only trains your body in an unnatural front to back motion in a seated position!

Yes, abs machines, like crunches and sit-ups, do make your feel your abdominal muscles. However, there are far better ways to accomplish this without the high risk of this machine. It’s all about risk/reward.

Remember, the true function of your core is stabilization, both static and dynamic. You should be able to maintain a neutral, straight-line position from your hips to your shoulders in all 3 planes of movement (front to back, side to side, and rotational) no matter what the external stimulus may be.

21 Century Training Upgrade: For rock hard, athletic abs focus on pillar stabilization exercises like front, side, and back planks and ground based anti-rotational core work like chops variations and upper body twists with minimal movement in your lumbar spine.

2.) Back Machine

Well, if I HATE the abs machine, how do you think I’m going to feel about the back machine? This exercise is just plain out stupid!!

First of all, people already use too much “back” on most movements because of tight hips and inactive/weak glutes. Thus, I prefer to focus more on hip extension movements that strengthen your butt rather than continually overloading the spinal erectors. Plus, adding in corrective stretching for the hip flexor complex, the hip rotators, and the hamstring complex that opens up your hips and alleviates excessive spinal flexion and compressions is literally exactly what the doctor ordered.

Second of all, just like the abs machine, this bootleg exercise trains your body in one plane of movement in a fixed path, and as a result, this machine doesn’t work your key stabilizer muscles.

Lastly, the way that most people perform this movement in such an out of control manner for speed just makes me want to vomit. It literally looks like they are trying to lie down for reps. Is this the type of movement that we want to get really good at? I don’t think so!!

21 Century Training Upgrade: For a strong, stable back focus on deadlifts, good mornings, and hip extension variations. Also, you should be simultaneously focusing on the corrective stretching and self-massage of the Lumbo-Pelvic-Hip (LPH) complex.

3.) Leg Extension Machine

This exercise is a personal one for me. When I first started lifting weights as a stubborn 10^th grader who did whatever it took to keep pushing my training loads up. I abused this exercise like few others.

I remember maxing out the rack at 200 lbs and doing spastic sets of 20+ reps where the whole universal machine that the leg extension apparatus was attached to would shake like an episode of soul train.

Here’s the bottom line with this exercise. It will wreak havoc on your knees! The excessive compressions on your patella will without a doubt results in the brake down of articular cartilage which will in turn results in a bunch of arthroscopic knee surgeries to remove loose bodies and eventually full blown crippling arthritis. Avoid this machine like cancer!

21 Century Training Upgrade: For strong, stable knees, focus on both knee-dominant (lunge, step-up, and single-leg squat variations) AND hip-dominant single-leg exercises (single-leg hip extension, deadlift, and good morning variations) to prevent strength imbalances between limbs AND to prevent strength imbalances between your front and back thighs and your inner and outer thighs.

4.) Fly Machine

If your goal is tear your pecs and destroy your rotator cuff, then I highly recommend that you add this exercise to your routine. I think the chest fly machine actually gets even more use then the bench press does, which is considered to be the most popular exercise for guys.

Again, the use of a machine versus doing a dumbbell fly alternative eliminates the use of the key stabilizer muscles surrounding your shoulders. So in other words, if you must do flies, use dumbbells. Furthermore, this machine typically results in overuse injuries like shoulder impingement or biceps tendinitis.

21 Century Training Upgrade: For strong, stable shoulders focus on performing an equal amount of pushing and pulling exercises. In fact, more pulling exercises initially may be a good idea if you find yourself heavily internally rotated and hunchbacked from years of sitting at the desk. The best pushing exercise you can do is any push-up variation as it not only safely trains the entire front side of your body but also engages your upper back musculature, specifically your scapula stabilizers, in a way that the bench press does not.

5.) Elliptical Machine

Look- if you are really, really overweight and haven’t exercised in over a decade, then I think an elliptical has some use. But, other than that, I think it’s relatively useless.

Yes, it is a low-impact alternative to running on a treadmill, but there is very little range of motion during the movement and does not burn nearly as many calories as the machine claims it does.

Furthermore, the elliptical is not a good machine to do intervals on because it promotes excessive hyperextension of the knee. This can easily result in injury at high levels of speed and resistance.

At the end of the day, you can read a damn magazine while you’re on an elliptical, so how much benefit do you really think you will get from this overpriced waste of space?

21 Century Training Upgrade: For optimal results during your cardio training, you must focus on intervals. They burn 9 times more body fat than aerobics and also result in greater improvements in overall conditioning than long, slow, boring cardio. If you are overweight/de-conditioned and/or have joint issues, the best place to start an interval training program is on a spin bike, or better yet, an Airdyne Bike which has both upper and lower body attachments to make it more of a total body conditioning experience. Swimming is also another low impact exercise that uses full body.

6.) The Yes/No Machine- Abductor/Adductor Combo

Ah, the sex machine… this one just makes me smile. It certainly takes me back to the days where my meathead buddies and I would shamelessly gawk at this outrageously good looking gal who did 1,000 reps on the adductor/abductor machine to fit into her “skinny jeans.”

But, I can assure you this machine had nothing to do with her nice body. Rather it was a combo of genetics, a clean diet, and being a multi-sport athlete that did the trick.

Women all over the world seem convinced that this “naughty” exercise can somehow help them rid themselves of the thunder thigh/cellulite situation.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard: “What exercises can I do to get rid of this flab inside my leg?” Too many times!

If you’ve listened to some of my ranting and raving about “spot reduction”, you should know my stance on this. Seriously, no amount of direct inner or other hip-thigh work will burn that ugly fat covering that sexy toned musculature everyone wants to see, so just let it go.

The first thing you need to do is clean up all of the junk carbs in your diet and starting consuming lean proteins, healthy fats, and fruits and veggies every 2-4 hours while chugging water like a fish.

Then you need to get off this sexy machine and get real with a total body workout!

21 Century Training Upgrade: The best exercises for your inner and outer-hip thigh will come from band-resisted hip walk variations, side pillar variations, and any and all single-leg exercises, especially lateral lunges. My favorite lateral lunge is the Valslide Lateral Lunge that simultaneously stretches and strengthens your hip musculature.

7.) Leg Press Machine

It never ceases to amaze me how we all look for the easy way out when it comes to working out. It’s clear why people prefer to leg press- they get to lay or sit on their ass depending on the exact type of leg press machine being used.

If you want both nice legs and a flat midsection then you need to squat! And yes, you can’t squat lying down, sorry!

But squats are tough because they require a whole body effort, an effort most people aren’t willing to put in explaining why they get crap results form their workouts.

The leg press could very well be a major contributing cause for the rapidly increasing number of bulging and/or herniated discs among exercise enthusiasts. People always use way too much weight and use poor form resulting in brutally compressive forces on the spine.

Seriously, if you are opting to leg press over squatting, then you don’t know squat, pun intended ;)

21 Century Training Upgrade: The best (and safest) exercises for your lower body are a healthy combination of double-leg and single-leg exercises using free weights and body weight based exercises. Be sure to perform an equal amount of knee-dominant lower body exercises (e.g. squats and lunges) and hip-dominant lower body exercises (e.g. deadlifts and single-leg hip extensions) to make your knees, hips, and back bulletproof. In fact, most people are very knee-dominant and could benefit to start by performing a greater number of hip-dominant movements to balance out their lower body musculature.

You’ll notice once common trend among all of these crap exercises: they all involve MACHINES!

Get off those damn machines!!!!!! Focus on functional movements using free weights, bands, stability balls, etc. Not only will you ramp up your fat-burning and muscle-building pursuits, but more importantly you won’t end up hunchbacked in a wheel chair by the time you turn 50.

It’s go time,

Jared Woolever

PS- What other exercises do you see people doing in the gym that make you cringe? What other exercises do you absolutely hate? What exercises have gotten you hurt in the past? Please share your personal experiences by posting a comment to this blog post, thanks!

Edwardsville Personal Trainer Helps Show You How to Design a Strength Training Routine Designed To Burn Fat

In the past, the cornerstone of most resistance training workouts has been performing exercises in a straight set format. Essentially, this means you perform a certain number of reps for a given exercise or you perform as many reps as possible for a given exercise and then you rest anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes. This rest period is essentially based on your training goals. For more of a fat loss and lean muscle gain emphasis shorter rest periods are ideal. Longer rest is needed for improving maximal strength and power

So, what’s the problem with this format? Well, though straight sets are extremely easy to comprehend for people new to fitness, they are also an extremely inefficient way to order your exercises. In most commercial gyms you’ll typically see someone perform three sets of 10 reps for let’s say the bench press. They pump out 10 reps, go to the water fountain, talk with some buddies, watch a couple of highlights on ESPN, and then gingerly walk back to the bench area to hit up their second set. In general, most people, guys in particular, tend to take about 3-5 minutes between sets. In the case of three sets of 10 on the bench that means it would take up to 15 minutes to complete only one movement pattern (a horizontal push). At this pace, it will take well over an hour to complete a good solid workout.

It’s all about utilizing your time wisely in order to get the most out of each workout. With this design, you’ll perform one exercise, rest for a predetermined, short period of time, then perform another non-competing exercise, rest for a short period of time, and so forth. Alternating sets allow you to work different areas of your body when you would otherwise be resting with the straight set format. Plus, by working another area of your body with a non-competing exercise you allow your body to recover from the previous exercise(s). Essentially, we are improving the density of each workout to ensure the time spent working out is productive and helping us achieve our goals. There are several ways to perform alternating sets outlined below:

• Supersets: Alternate between two different non-competing exercises (e.g. upper body and lower body such as push-ups and lunges)

• Trisets: Alternate between three different exercises (e.g. push, pull, and lower body such as push-ups, rows, and lunges)

• Complexes: Usually five to six exercises performed without ever putting the weight down (e.g. upright rows, reverse curls, front press, Overhead reverse lunge, goodmornings, and bent rows)

• Circuit Training: A series of four or more exercises performed with minimal rest

Though supersets and trisets are excellent alternating set options, I believe circuit training is by the far the best option time and time again. To demonstrate why, let’s examine my favorite circuit training template using timed set intervals:


The 50-10 Five Exercise Circuit: You will alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for all five exercises in the following 5-minute circuit:

Exercise#1- Kettlebell Swings

Exercise#2- Squats/ Squat Jumps

Exercise#3- Single-Leg Hip Extensions

Exercise#4- Push-UP’s

Exercise#5- Stability Ball Rollouts

Perform this circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body fat burning workout.

Basically, in the same 15 minutes that it took to get in three sets on the bench you could have gotten in three sets of five different exercise for a staggering total of 15 work sets! Plus, the intensity on each exercise will be just as high as in the straight set format because in this five exercise circuit you will have full recovery with over four minutes before you return to any given exercise (just as you did with the straight set format described earlier).

To recap, the key to creating the optimal hormonal environment for fat loss is to perform each exercise with maximal intensity while separated by brief rest periods in order to accumulate a high volume of total body work in the shortest amount of time possible. Circuit training provides for the best of both worlds and is thus simply unmatched for simultaneously maximizing fat loss and lean muscle gain.

It’s go time, Jared ;-D

Video of the Week

Are you looking for some new and exciting way to spice up your warm-up routine? These two different types of squats are great for improving hip mobility, as well as targeting some of those hard to reach areas at the same time. Try adding some of these squats into your routine. Beginners may use these body weight variations as a strength exercise. Moderate to Advanced lifters should use these as a warm up primarily for hip mobility as opposed to strength.

Crossover Squats

Do your best to keep the hips, knees and toes facing forward. You want to look like a speed skater while doing these. If done properly, you should feel a good stretch in the glutes on the lead leg and the quadriceps on the trail leg firing. Maintain good posture throughout the entire movement. Do 10 on each side.

Frog Squats

Start with feet hip width apart, toes pointing at a 45 degree angle. Squat as deep as you can ensuring proper posture. Open the hips up and try to get a good stretch in the groin. You can sit at the bottom and get a good stretch by using the elbows to pull the knees apart. Weight should be back in your heels as you squat, letting you knees follow your toes as you descend. Do 10 of these or 5 of the variation below (Frog Squat w/ Reach).

Try to incorperate these drills into you warm-up. These are also great to do on your off days from strength training. I will be showing you some more of these drills that can easily and safely be used to spice up your routine and improve functionality at the same time.

It's go time ;-D

Jared Woolever CSCS, CPT
Owner- Edwardsville Better Body Boot Camps

Stop Doing So Many Sit-Up's

We all want a flat, firm, sexy waistline. But for many of us no amount of crunches or sit-ups seems to get the job done. It’s just a never-ending process. It’s like spinning your wheels and going nowhere. I’ve been asked more times than I can imagine the following question.

“I do hundreds of crunches and sit-ups a day and I still have a flabby midsection. What gives?”

Well, before I reveal your six-pack abs blueprint, let’s first look at some very important myths about how to get six-pack abs:

Myth#1- Weight loss is the key to getting those 6-pack abs

WRONG!

The key to seeing your abs is fat loss, not weight loss. Let me further explain: your body consists of fat mass and lean body mass (water, muscle, bone, organs, etc.). You want to minimize your fat mass and maximize your lean body mass to build a sexy metabolism: one that starves fat and builds muscle like clockwork. By improving body composition you will put yourself in the best position to rock that coveted six-pack.

So don’t worry so much about the number on the scale. This weight loss will be at the expense of losing some lean muscle mass, and in the process you will end up slowing your metabolism, decreasing performance, and losing that good looking muscle tone. But if you lose some fat mass and you manage to keep or gain lean muscle mass; you will increase performance, see more visible definition throughout your body, and lose primarily the unwanted subcutaneous body fat.

The scale has far too many variables to account for that lead to frequent fluctuations such as hydration levels, sodium intake, and for women the menstrual cycle. I firmly believe one should NOT keep a scale at their home- it is such an anchor, particularly for women. Get off the scale and get over the numbers. The true goal is FAT LOSS, not WEIGHT LOSS. Focus on clothing size reduction, digital before and after pictures, and of course the mirror for the most accurate progress tracking.

Myth#2- Do more ab work to burn fat from the midsection

WRONG!

Spot reduction doesn’t work. You can’t just work the muscles of a certain area of your body and expect to have the fat in that region just disappear. Think about it: almost everyone does crunches but proportionately very few people perform total body workouts. So, with all of these crunches, we’d expect to see nothing but people with flat tummies and fat depots everywhere else on their body (arms, legs, etc.). But think of how many people you know and see on a regular basis that has several inches to lose from their waist. See what I mean- spot reduction is only a myth!

See, your body loses fat in a genetically pre-determined way when there is the appropriate caloric deficit AND hormonal environment created by proper eating and training. So your best bet is to focus on burning as many calories during your workouts as possible by engaging your whole body each and every training session (not just your abs). Compound, multi-joint movements like squats, push-ups, lunges, deadlifts (or better yet, total body exercises like squat to presses) burn a lot more calories than isolation movements like crunches and sit-ups. So be sure to focus on these movements first and then if you have time, you can do some extra core work to please your inner self.

Myth#3- Crunches and Sit-ups are the best exercises for your abs

WRONG!

The scientific term for your six-pack muscles are your rectus abdominis. For years now, we have been conditioned to think that the best way to work your rectus abdominis is by doing endless crunches and sit-ups since these trunk flexion exercises make the muscles you want to see in the mirror “burn.” However, the true function of the rectus abdominis is to prevent hyperextension, not to flex forward over and over again. Anytime you brace your abs (think slight crunch before you get punched in the gut) and pull your navel into your spine you effectively stabilize your spine into a safe, neutral position. Don’t just suck in, brace the midsection to reduce the waistline. The moment you relax your abs and lose that braced abs position, your back will begin to hyperextend creating an environment with a much higher risk of injury.

So, we focus on stabilization exercises in all three planes of movement (saggital- front to back, frontal- side to side, and transverse- rotational) by using pillar exercise variations (also know as planks). Besides training the true “anti-extension” function of your superficial ab muscles, these bridging/stabilization exercises also activate the key transverse abdominus muscles, or your deep abdominal stabilizers, that wrap around your spine and support your internal organs. Strengthening these inner ab muscles is the key to optimal posture and performance in addition to injury prevention..

Myth#4- Do lots of long-duration cardio to burn the fat covering your abs

WRONG!

Both scientific research and real world case studies show that aerobic training for fat loss alone doesn’t work. Total body resistance training is the true foundation of any solid fat loss plan. In addition, interval training, where you alternate between bouts of maximum effort and active recovery, is scientifically proven to burn nine times more fat than ordinary exercise. Please note that you can perform both resistance interval training and cardio interval training to combine the best of both worlds. More on this to come!

Without further adieu...

The Anti-Crunch Six-Pack Abs Blueprint:

Step#1- Lose the fat that is covering your abs so that you can see them

A.) Eat to lose fat and elevate metabolism

- Drink at least 2-4 cups of water immediately upon waking and then drink at least 1-2 cups of water every 2 hours you are awake. Drink 1-2 cups of water for every 15 minutes of vigorous activity.

- Eat immediately upon waking and then every 2-4 hours after that for a total of 6-8 feedings per day (3 meals, 3 snacks- half the size of your meals, workout nutrition)

- Focus on a wide range of lean, complete proteins, natural fats, and fruit and veggies

Sample One-Day Menu:

Breakfast- Scrambled Eggs, Greens, and Turkey Sausage or Bacon

Mid-Morning Snack- Mixed Nuts and Fruit/Veggie of Choice

Lunch- Chicken, Salmon, or Shrimp Caesar Salad

Mid-Afternoon Snack- Cheese and Fruit/Veggie of Choice

Dinner- Turkey or Beef Meatballs and Spaghetti Squash

Pre-Bed Snack- Protein and Flax Shake

- Take a daily multi-vitamin for your gender and an essential fatty acid (EFA) supplement, preferably fish oil

Try to follow these steps to help eliminate processed carbs that promote fat storage:

Step#1- Replace all white carbs with 100% whole grain carbs and all refined sugars with natural sugars

Step#2- Limit all whole grain starch and natural sugar consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout or immediately upon waking for breakfast

Step#3- Replace all starches and sugars with fruits and veggies

Step#4- Replace all fruits with green veggies

Step#5- This is a good way to reduce the amount of carbohydrates that you consume on a daily basis. You can follow a rotation of loading carbohydrates to promote a higher degree of fat loss, but that is for a later article.

B.) Train to lose fat and elevate metabolism

- Monday, Wednesday, and Friday- Perform Total Body Circuit Strength Training

Sample Total Body Circuit Strength Workout- 20 Minutes (not including five minute warm-up and cool-down)

50-10 Interval Five Exercise Total Body Circuit- You will alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 s of rest for each exercise in the following five-exercise circuit. Perform this 5-minute circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body workout:

Exercise#	Exercise Category	Exercise Variation
1	Double-Leg: Bilateral Hip-Dominant	Hip Extensions
2	Push: Horizontal Push	Push-up Variation
3	Single-Leg: Unilateral Knee-Dominant	Single-Leg Wall Sit
4	Pull: Horizontal Pull	Body Weight Rows
5	Core: Linear Stabilization or Trunk-Dominant	Upper Body Twist Variation

- Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday- Perform Cardio Interval Training

Sample Cardio Interval Training Workout- 20 Minutes (not including five minute warm-up and cool-down)

30-30’s- You will alternate between 30 seconds of maximum effort and 30 s of active recovery. You will perform this 1-minute round up to 20x for 20 total minutes. You can perform this workout on your cardio machine of choice (airdyne or spin bike, running, etc.) or by alternating between the following body weight cardio exercises for the ultimate in-home workout:

Exercise#	Body Weight Cardio Variation	Body Weight / KB Cardio Exercise
1	Linear Locomotion Emphasis	Stationary Running
2	Kettlebell Circuits	Clean,Snatch,Swings

Step#2- Train your abs based on their true function: STABILIZATION

Below is one of my boot camp client’s favorite (and most hated) core workout. It involves no crunches or sit-ups by using all pillar stabilization exercises. Once you master these killer moves and follow everything else I previously listed above, you will have a sweet pair of rock hard abs to show for it… I guarantee it!

The Power to the Pillar Workout- Tabata Style

This 20-minute total body core workout focuses entirely on pillar stabilization. The pillar collectively consists of your shoulders, hips, and core. It is your body’s powerhouse, foundational to all movement.

For each exercise below you will alternate between 20 s of work and 10 s of rest. You will repeat this 30-second sequence eight times for four total minutes followed by a one minute rest and transition before moving on to the next exercise listed.

For maximum benefits, you must seek to maintain a tight pillar position during all movements by actively pulling your navel to your spine, engaging your glutes, and maintaining a straight line from the heels through the shoulders. The following coaching cues work really well for our clients:

“Suck in your gut – give yourself a wedgie – be flat like a diving board.”

Exercise#1- Front Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)

Exercise#2- Left Side Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)

Exercise#3- Right Side Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)

Exercise#4- Back Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)

Today is the dawn of a new age in core training and it is my sincere hope that you take this killer information and run with it. You will see more and more people doing this form of training in the near future. I have already noticed a shift in trends within some health clubs. Help lead the way and eliminate crunches and sit-ups from your program.

Jared Woolever - It’s go time ;-D