Lifts That People Do Too Much Of and Wonder Why They Don't Grow.

[musclesntx]

Read this one first (if you haven't):
Lifts You SHOULD Be Doing...
Hey f*ckers,

I decided that since I can think of a reason to do most lifts (with the exception of a few) that I thought I'd fancy the title up a bit and make it a bit easier to keep on topic.

If you haven't read the Lifts You SHOULD Be Doing thread, do now. First and foremost, you aren't hitting your growth potential if you aren't doing the lifts listed in that thread. NOTHING produces size like heavy compound lifts done properly. Nothing. You guys that pepper your workouts with tons of isolation lifts, be realistic with yourself and then say you've made max progress over the last x months. You know damn well that isn't true.

I think the funniest thing I read in magazines is when the ghost writers for the BB'ers (and I'll elaborate in a minute) say they've gotten away from lifting heavy and now focus on shaping. Bullsh!t.

First off, most pro BB'ers pay someone to think food and training for them, so they don't know why they do what, and they do NOT write their own articles. You ever heard Ronnie Coleman speak? He can't even talk, so he damn sure can't write a 5 page spread on how to make legs grow. Second of all, drugs aside, how many of them make huge size gains once they are pros? Sometimes they do, but nothing to the degree of when they were coming through the ranks.

I'm not saying that what they do isn't impressive, but people also have to remember that they are a small sample and 99.9999999% of the people that will read this have no business trying to copy what they do, how they do it or know why they do it.

Alright, on to the meat. Of course, anything done with bullsh!t form is out. Bouncing bench presses, swinging curls, 1/8 squats etc are garbage. I'm talking about properly performed exercises. I'm not going to mention a few behind the back lifts, but I'm dead against this (mil press and pulldowns, sorry). Go take kinesiology if you don't understand the dangers these lifts pose.

DB Kickbacks
Are you f*cking kidding me? People actually do this? Not in my studio. You're using your SHOULDER to hold your arm up in an un-natural position so you can try to hyperextend the elbow? Beautiful, sign me up for a set of 20 with 100s. I'm not saying the exercise isn't hard - juggle 30lb db's for an hour and that's hard too. I'm saying it's stupid. Don't do this f*cking exercise. This is one of the few that I'll say absolutely NO to.

Tricep Pressdowns
I can go through every log in this forum and I guarantee you this is a staple of many of your tricep routines. I'm not saying DO NOT DO THIS. It's great for blood flow and for warming up the elbows, but let's be realistic: it doesn't move the measuring tape. I can think of no reason that anyone who isn't benching heavy and using a variety of grips, along with skulls and dips should be using this exercise.

Smith Machine Squats
This is NOT a natural movement. Actually, it's terrible and doesn't allow you to use the entire body. The squat is not just a quad exercise, unless you do it on a Smith - your feet go out in front of you and it is nothing more than a glorified leg press. Don't get me wrong, it's better than nothing, but if you have the means to free weight squat, do it.

Shrugs
I know, I know, this is ruffling some feathers. AND someone will come in here blabbering how they disagree and blah, blah blah. Whatever, go do some legs.

Aside from the full range movement you get from a deadlift or a face pull (look at the location/shape of the trapezius and understand it's ROM), why on earth would a 1/4 movement compare to that? How about the rotator cuff? Do you think it isn't getting a weird torque there? I'm all for exercises that allow you to go heavy, and I like extreme shrugs (explosive shrugs, Olympic Shrugs, etc), but this one is too over-used. The aforementioned exercises in the last thread (Should Be Doing thread) do so much more for total upper back development, but those are the exercises that require guts and intensity - not just load up a bar and move it 2".

Flyes
Again, not an exercise I say NEVER do. I could recommend it as a pre-exhaustion exercise or for someone who has trouble hitting the pecs directly, but this should not be 1/3 or 1/2 of your chest workout. Benching = size. There are plenty of benching movements to choose from. Use of this on occassion is fine, but not every single chest workout.

Leg Extensions
Same thing as above. I'd recommend this as a rehab type exercise, but the truth be told, it sheers the knee joint in a bad way. I don't mind light weight for a warm up and to get blood into the quads, but I guarantee you that 80% of the people still believe that logic "to get that pump" or to "finish off the muscle" sh!t you read in MD and Flex... That's only ignorance.

Leg Curls
For many of the same reasons above I'll list this one. I have GHRs, 90 Degree Hypers, SLDL, GMs, and a few other exercises way above this one as a priority for hams, however, most people do this exercise... I've seen more ham injuries on this exercise than ANY of the other ones... My exception for this exercise? People that have insane weak lower backs that CANNOT hit the hamstrings with the mentioned lifts. Fix that in a couple of weeks and start doing what I say.

Isolation Bicep Exercises
BUT I WANT BIGGER ARMS! Look, killing the biceps is NOT the way to get bigger arms. The muscle is less than 1/3 of the entire upper arm. If you want more circumference, you need to be benching period. FEW people have triceps that actually dwarf the bicep, yet they SHOULD because they are more than twice the size. The two muscles should NOT be of equal size, yet most people train for that. WTF?

As I started writing this, I started thinking of more and more ridiculous stuff, but I think this covers most of the stuff I see people doing and then freaking out because they aren't growing.

SO, if your workout is made up mostly of exercises on this list and NOT from the "Lifts You SHOULD Be Doing" list, it's time to make some drastic changes.

b

[RJSMuscle]

I was doing leg curls and extensions along with Squats on leg day but I think I'm going to substitute leg presses for the 2

[Jamlive]

lmao u forgot the super fast calf raises and the 1/2 way down chin up...

[Keyhole]

I dropped the curls and extensions for SLDL and 45 degree leg presses a few months ago.

DB kickbacks do make me laugh though

[musclesntx]

Originally Posted by Jamlive

lmao u forgot the super fast calf raises and the 1/2 way down chin up...

Nah, I mentioned that in the beginning - those are just wrong ways of doing real exercises.

[drugsarebad...hummmkayy]

damn musclentx your on fire with these posts this week. no reps though i already tried it. maybe im a little selfish around here!!!

[Jamlive]

whoops lol. u did list the excercise guide for thugs at my school. thats usually all they do. i saw one kid doing lat pulls and swinging with his body lmao. me and my friends just sat there and looked at him for a few mins to mess with him. then he did some swinging curls. ha i hate thugsss..

[musclesntx]

Originally Posted by drugsarebad...hummmkayy

damn musclentx your on fire with these posts this week. no reps though i already tried it. maybe im a little selfish around here!!!

Every once in a while I just feel like writing. Gotta be in the mood though.

[drugsarebad...hummmkayy]

i do add shrugs but i dont make them a major part of my workout. if i feel i could give a little more then ill add them at the end!!!!!

[HammerTech]

I got away from leg extensions, kickbacks, and smith squats quite a while ago. Kickbacks never felt right anyhow..just unnatural. Same with smith squats...feel unnatural altogether.

I got a few "trouble spots" that a couple of these exercises are helping me get past, but once I'm beyond them, they're done.

[fitme]

Don't any of your female clients do leg presses Boyd? lol

Is there an exception for us?

oops I dont think you mentioned leg presses but leg extensions and leg curls..lol

I usually only do them once every 2 weeks or so.

[TorontoMoFo]

I always knew kickbacks were lame.. i dont get why people still do them?

I also dont understand why people will join a gym, go to it 2-3 times a week for MONTHS, not make any gains and wonder why they still look like dweebs... only because they refuse to read some fitness/BBing literature!

They will do the same sh!tty exercises, like DB kickbacks and and forearms curls for MONTHS have no clue what they are doing, but still get off the couch and go to the gym like their supposed to change their body doing 2 half assed pullups, 100 front-delt raises at the speed of light, maybe a couple sets on the squat machine, and then call it a day.

goddamnit I know so many people like this.. it angers me.

[musclesntx]

Originally Posted by fitme

Don't any of your female clients do leg presses Boyd? lol

Is there an exception for us?

oops I dont think you mentioned leg presses but leg extensions and leg curls..lol

I usually only do them once every 2 weeks or so.

Of course my female clients do leg presses, are you illiterate? I said it was a must do exercise.

Nobody in my studio does leg extensions or leg curls, because I refuse to by the machines and put them in my studio.

[Jamlive]

Originally Posted by musclesntx

Of course my female clients do leg presses, are you illiterate? I said it was a must do exercise.

Nobody in my studio does leg extensions or leg curls, because I refuse to by the machines and put them in my studio.

my town needs more guys like you. it has bb noobs here lmao. this one gym i went to i asked the owner about some nutrition stuff and he was like i dunno lmao. another guy whose a world record holder would just ***** about the monthly fee but never talk to anyone that wasnt on his powerlifting team lol. come to tn and open a studio there lol.

[roehrigs01]

how about calf extensions?

[Traps]

Originally Posted by musclesntx

Shrugs
I know, I know, this is ruffling some feathers. AND someone will come in here blabbering how they disagree and blah, blah blah. Whatever, go do some legs.

Now I know this smart ass comment wasnt directed at me.

As far as your "list", I agree with everything but shrugs. For such a short range of motion, you'd think there isnt much to them. But with the correct amount of weight, and a little shift in position here and a little grip change there, the exercise can generate some serious development in the entire muscle. As far as method of lifting. I agree and disagree. I like heavy CONTROLLED explosive movements that incorporate cheating. Not on all exercises, because its obviously risky on the muscle support system, i.e. joints/tendons/ligaments. But for a few exercises it works very well. Of course its not something you can do consistantly every workout, because it will eventually take its toll on those weakpoints, but in very short bursts, for me, I feel it is very effective.

[GetFit]

Why work out traps directly? Doing deadlifts and other shoulder exercises address the needs of the traps sufficiently. Unless your looking for traps that are just 10x bigger than any other muscle on your body, but I don't see the point.

[Merk0135]

I don't do shrugs anymore, I find them quiet useless; however, I do know some huge PLer's who know w.t.f they are doing that believe in training the traps statically (shrugs) to improve their deadlift and aid in growth.

[GetFit]

Statically? As in they squat down and contract, lift up into position and hold it until their shoulders drop?

[jlozan84]

Originally Posted by Traps

Now I know this smart ass comment wasnt directed at me.

As far as your "list", I agree with everything but shrugs. For such a short range of motion, you'd think there isnt much to them. But with the correct amount of weight, and a little shift in position here and a little grip change there, the exercise can generate some serious development in the entire muscle. As far as method of lifting. I agree and disagree. I like heavy CONTROLLED explosive movements that incorporate cheating. Not on all exercises, because its obviously risky on the muscle support system, i.e. joints/tendons/ligaments. But for a few exercises it works very well. Of course its not something you can do consistantly every workout, because it will eventually take its toll on those weakpoints, but in very short bursts, for me, I feel it is very effective.

Traps - I know you are a big shrugs advocate, so I won't argue that point. What do you think about claims of RC risks with doing them? Do you find it a coincidence that you have had major shoulder issues and you do extremely heavy shrugs?