Like most people, I started my strength training journey by doing way too much online research. As such, I encountered a lot of mixed messaging about which exercises are good and which aren’t. A few seemingly perfect moves appeared more often than others, making them look like the bee’s knees.
In practice, though, these proved to be much overrated. Below, I shared three of the worst offenders, which, to be honest, I still include in my workouts to this day, but to a lesser extent. It’s worth noting that being overrated doesn’t necessarily mean bad; it’s more that they are attributed better qualities that they possess.
Like in most physical exercises, the dose is the poison, meaning that even the best moves done too often (and using lousy form) can harm your body. As such, I’m not suggesting that you should avoid the workouts below; instead, incorporate other movements into your routine that complement the overall goal you want to achieve.
3 most overrated strength exercises
Bench press
People who want to throw stones at me, please form an orderly queue! I know some of you are obsessed with bench presses. After all, it works almost all the key ‘beach muscles’, including the pecs, triceps and delts. When people go into bodybuilding, they imagine themselves pumping out 225lb barbell bench presses as Arnie did in his heyday.
As I mentioned in the intro, I’m not saying the bench press is a bad exercise. It’s only that people prioritise it well beyond the movement’s ability to produce the desired results. You’d be surprised how many other compound movements also help grow the pecs and the arms without excessive barbell pushing.
This might be controversial, but if there’s one compound you should focus on instead of bench presses, it’s the almighty squat. Squats are the silver bullet of muscle building and can help you strengthen your whole body with just one move. If I were told I could only do one exercise for the rest of my life, I’d choose squats.
Where does this leave the bench press? It shouldn’t be shunned from your workouts, but maybe it is unnecessary to do them as often as most people do. Try introducing alternatives, like cable presses, which load the muscle throughout the movement. Also, focus on activating the correct muscles with the bench press – you’d be surprised how often you use your lats during the movement instead of the pecs.
Muscle-up
Most callisthenics are quite showy, but nothing beats the muscle-up if you want to show your dominance in the local playground. Don’t get me wrong – muscle-ups do look impressive, which might explain why so many people want to do them so desperately.
In reality, the movement has minimal practical benefit over the two exercises it comprises: bodyweight dips and pull-ups. What I love about both of them the most is that they can be scaled almost infinitely to match your fitness level.
Pull-ups, in particular, are my favourites. There is a reason why they’re called the ‘squats for the upper body’: they work many muscles, including the forearms, biceps, shoulders, upper back and even the core, which you use a lot for stabilisation.
I need a separate article to explain the many versions of dips and their unique benefits. Like pull-ups, you can make them easier and harder depending on your preference and target different muscle groups to make the movement feel fresh session after session.
Upright row
A gym staple, upright rows are many bodybuilders’ go-to shoulder exercise on pull days. It works the largest part of the deltoid muscles, like shoulder presses, as well as the trapezoid muscle. What’s not to like?
Well, for one, if you’re not careful, you can end up injuring yourself. Your shoulders are prone to injury, and upright rows can trigger all sorts of ailments. Two, you really should just not work on the lateral deltoids on pull days, considering you’ve been hammering them on push days with overhead presses.
Instead, try shrugs, lateral raises, or alternative compound movements such as farmer’s carry. The latter is a bombastic exercise people don’t do often enough, which helps build stamina and increase grip strength, too.
Next time you hit the gym (or home gym), consider swapping out some of the moves you’ve been doing over and over again and introduce some fresh exercises. Taking on a challenge might also be an option, although I would recommend threading lightly with those. Either way, keep an open mind and enjoy your freedom of movement!
[via Set for Set]