Top 5 Worst Gym Exercises

I recently polled all the physios, chiros and trainers who were friends of mine to see what they found as the worst offenders for causing or contributing to injury (needless to say this article is based on absolutely no scientific evidence). I got some great answers, including dropping a weight on your foot! In general, however, it seemed to be the consensus that it was usually overtraining, poor preparation or poor posture that were the causes of most injuries as opposed to specific exercises.

With that caveat in mind, here were the top 5 worst gym exercises:

5. kettle bells - if weak, will strain your back or intercostals
4. anything behind the head (pull downs or presses) - who does that anymore??
3. bench press - requires great rotator cuff stabilization - trouble if they are weak
2. upright rows - hello shoulder impingement

And with near perfect agreement, the worst offender for causing (most likely worsening) injury, the number one worst gym exercise is...

1. knee extension machine - lets add patellar compression to a knee that has patellar femoral pain!


picture courtesy of google images