Fitness for All: Ineffective Workouts to Avoid

Despite what many people believe, not all workouts are effective and conducive to losing weight and toning up.  There are several workouts that you will see people doing at your gym any given day of the week that are ineffective.

Unless you have the best form and are using some of these machines like textbook, then you may be doing more harm than good to your body.

Ineffective workouts

The following are some examples of the least effective exercises that you can do:

• Behind the Head Lat Pull Downs: Unfortunately, only those with very mobile shoulder joints can keep their spine straight enough to get a good workout from the behind the back lat pull down bar. The move done wrong can tear the rotator cuff.
• Behind the Head Military Press: This exercise done similarly to the behind the head lat pull down, can cause the same problems with the rotator cuff that other exercise could cause.
• Lying Leg Press (with knees bent too deeply): This exercise is typically done to work your quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes and is done on a machine where you use your feet to push a weighted plate up and down.  If you bend your knees too far, then you can seriously injure your back and/or knees.
• Squats on a Smith Machine: While the Smith Machine is generally an effective machine, the bar on the machine doesn't give, which can force the body into risky positions, including placing their feet too far in front of them while doing their squats.
• Using Bad Form on Cardio Machines: While using bad form is not good on any machine, using bad form on cardio equipment is a big no-no. Hunching over can throw off your alignment, jarring your spine, shoulders and elbows.
• Always Lifting with a Weight Belt: Unless you have a back injury, are lifting a lot of weight or if you have some other medical reason, then a weight belt is not necessary.  Wearing a weight belt too often can weaken your core muscles, throwing off your entire workout.