I narrowed this down to just 4 to appease my desire to try and always make these readings something that are content packed but, yet something that can be read and digested fairly quickly. It is with that intention that I chose just these 4 exercises. Now, I do believe that there are MANY exercises out there that lack…….****WARNING**** I am about to say the F word, FUNCTIONAL application and have very little practicality but, I am picking on these exercises in particular because they simply stand out in my mind as being very popular and are perhaps some of the most misunderstood and/or dangerous exercises that one can do.
1.Leg Extensions – These exercises are usually the go-to exercise for those that “have bad knee’s and can’t squat.” The ironic thing about this logic is that leg extensions are actually far worse on the knees than the squat. The leg extension exercise has actually been shown to elicit more patella-femoral stresses than the squat or the lunge on the knee. This exercise is performed in a pattern that has zero carryover to any routine activity in real life or in athletics.
2. Machine Leg Curls – I dislike this exercise not so much because of damage that it creates on a particular joint such as the Leg Extension machine but, that this machine actually adds no strength to the hamstrings important function of extending the hip. The machine leg curl works the hamstrings as a concentric knee flexor, obviously this is a function of the hamstrings however in everyday life and in everyday sports and athletics the more highly desirable function of the hamstrings is to extend the hip NOT FLEX THE KNEE. The combination of having the hips flexed like most machine leg curls do creates dysfunction in the glutes to not work as they should and this can create pain in the low back, hamstring strains and a myriad of other injuries and pains.
3.Upright Rows – This exercise causes the humerus to be extremely internally rotated and then with every rep you are raising the shoulder as high into the impingement zone as you can get. It is for this reason that I would personally never ask an individual either athlete or general public trainee to do this exercise. If you have shoulders issues you should be conscience of the upright row and the problems that it can be causing in your body.
4. Leg Press – I feel similar about this exercise as I do about the leg curls and leg extensions. This exercise is another one that people who live by the “I can’t squat motto” often will frequent in an attempt to work the legs but, do it at a level in which they are comfortable with. This exercise is also very popular with the ego of the young males in the gym. This exercise has no carryover to anything functional in life or in athletics and does not carryover to any form of squatting. This exercise requires no significant contribution from the hamstrings, abductors or glutes to press the weight. This is a quadriceps dominate exercise that continues to add strength in a way that is hard to find ways to get use from. The leg press adds strength to a set of muscles that is typically fairly strong to begin with in comparison to its counterpart the hamstrings.
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Callahan Strong 