Try This Instead

Wouldn’t you want to maximize your time working out? There’s nothing wrong with varying your workout and performing a move that hits the muscles a little differently, but exercises that force you to work with extremely light weights, and use over-complicated equipment that puts you at risk for injury, just aren’t worth doing. That’s why I’ve compiled this list of exercises that could be replaced by better alternatives that promote more effective workout.

*Try this…
MEDICINE BALL PUSHUPS
The pushup is already one of the best upper body movements out there. It works the mainly the chest, triceps, and shoulders, but also hits the hip flexors and abdominals. Doing it with your hands on a ball will force more core muscles to work all at once and make it a more beneficial exercise overall. The more muscles worked at one time, the more muscle that gets packed onto your frame.

*Instead of…
THE PEC-DECK FLY
This lift simply doesn’t allow you to move enough weight to overload the muscles and elicit growth. Moreover, most guys unintentionally allow the arm pads to hyperextend their shoulder joints as they perform the lowering phase of the lift, and that causes injury. Plus, you’re only working one muscle. Why work one at one time when you can work 5 at one time? Maximize your time. And no, it doesn’t “bring out” your middle chest.

*Try this…
SINGLE LEG SQUAT
Bend one knee, raising your lower leg behind you so that you’re standing on the opposite leg. Rest the top of your raised foot on a bench or other elevated surface so that it’s level with your butt. Now squat down and up with your supporting leg. Because you’re supporting your weight on only one leg, this move thrashes the quads and glutes, and challenges your balance, making your core work. Your hips move freely, too, which is safer for your knees.

*Instead of…
THE LEG EXTENSION
Like the pec-deck fly, this lift doesn’t allow the quads (some of the strongest muscles in your body) to move much weight. Worse, the more weight you use, the greater the shearing forces you place on your knees, risking injury. And again, why work one single muscle at once, when you can work several? The more muscles that work at one time and the more calories will burn with more lean muscle being created, thus speeding up your metabolism and bringing out the cuts.

*Try this…
THE BOX SQUAT
Set up a box behind you and then lower your body until your glutes touch it. Touching the box requires you to “sit back” as you squat, as if you were lowering yourself into a chair, and this action gets the glutes and hamstrings maximally involved in the lift. It also helps you to perfect your squat form. You can start with a higher box and gradually move to smaller boxes as you improve, ultimately training your body to squat below parallel with no box at all. Better still, the box squat places no strain on the knees, so even people with knee problems can attempt it safely.

*Instead of…
THE SMITH-MACHINE SQUAT
Since the bar travels along a fixed track, it virtually eliminates the need for your core to stabilize your body. Not good. Because your abs and lower back aren’t working like they should, frequent Smith-machine squatting leads to muscle imbalances. Also, because the track won’t allow your hips to bend like they do on a free-weight squat, you may overstress your knees.

*Try this…
THE CHINUP
Not only will the chinup blast your biceps, it will also blast back and shoulder muscles and make you much stronger overall. Moving your body through space increases the levels of neuromuscular activity needed for increases in size and strength.

*Instead of…
THE BICEP CURL
Though it’s probably the second-most common exercise in the gym (after the bench press), bag it! The weight you can use is very limited and the movement has no function in daily life or sports. Chinups will make your biceps bigger than bicep curls for the simple fact that more muscles work during the movement. And again, the more muscles that work together at once and the more lean muscle that will be created.