Exercises to Avoid

There are a variety of exercises that you can choose to incorporate into your fitness program - some better than others. While there are definite considerations you should take when creating your routine (exercise experience, goals, current muscle imbalances, etc.), there are a number of exercises that are generally viewed as poor in nature due to their ineffectiveness and propensity towards creating injury. Let's examine a two of these commonly referred to contraindicated movements:

1. Behind-the-neck Lat Pulldown

MOVEMENT: Seated in Lat Pull cable machine, exerciser pulls bar down behind neck towards upper back.

PROBLEM: Performing this movement causes your shoulders to externally rotate at an odd angle while resistance is being applied. The small muscles in the rotator cuff are put in a position where it is difficult to stabilize the joint and leaves them prone to injury. In addition, most individuals in this position will have to lean their head forward to get the bar down, causing extension of the cervical spine, resulting in nerve and facet joint compression around the vertebrae.

2. Leg Lifts

MOVEMENT: Lying flat on a mat, exerciser lifts legs straight off floor towards the waist and then lowers them all the way back to the floor.

PROBLEM: Most people perform this exercise in an attempt to train the abdominals; the problem is that without being able to create and maintain a pelvic tilt, this exercise results in a strain to the lower back and engagement of the hip flexors. Lifting and lower the legs is created by hip flexion and extension (or gravity if your not controlled). Therefore it is the muscles in the hips that do more work than the actual abdominals. Also, stabilizing and strengthening the core requires that in such a position on the floor, the exerciser is able to tilt the pelvis and keep the lower back flat and secure to the floor. Very few people do this as they attempt leg lifts, and even worse, try to make the exercise more challenging by having a partner push their legs back down! Either way, the strain to the lower back and lumbar spine is more often the result.

The best way to ensure proper exercise selection in your program is to consult with a qualified, certified personal trainer and have them create a specific exercise prescription for your body and your goals.