The Bodybuilding Professor

Q. What are the top five most useless muscle-building exercises you see in the gyms today?

A. I see all sorts of useless exercises being done by guys in the gym. Let me list a few:

1. Triceps kick-backs. This exercise is so limiting in the amount of weight you can use that it’s best reserved for warm-ups only.
2. Upright rows. This particular exercise places tremendous strain on your rotator cuff. It isn’t really a row and will do nothing for your shoulders that pressing and traditional lateral raises won’t do and without the risk of injury.
3. Behind-the-neck press. There is no advantage to lowering the bar behind the neck when doing shoulder press. All it does is place stress on the cervical vertebrae, and it will eventually lead to nagging neck injuries.
4. Cable crossovers. I know, I know—Arnold immortalized cable crossovers in Pumping Iron. But truth be told, they’re pretty much good for nothing accept getting a pump. They aren’t good for warm-ups because there’s too much stretch. They’re not good for mass because you can’t use enough weight.
5. Anything on a stability ball. Everything on a stability ball makes you try to lift something while balancing on a rubber ball like a circus performer. Need I say more?

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