The 3 Worst Exercises To Stop Doing After 35 (and what to do instead)
Jun 06, 2023
The High Performance Journal​ - June 6th 2023 ​​
Sometimes when I walk into a commercial gym it feels like I’m walking into a Jane Fonda commercial.
I see tons of cardio bunnies. Side leg raises. People doing silly things to the machines.
This is my opinion so take it for what it’s worth but it really feels like most people in the gym are running in a hamster wheel going nowhere.
Don’t even get me started on the personal trainers who just got their weekend certificate.
To see them put their clients through unnecessary torture is like watching Rick Astley’s “never gonna give you up” on a continuous loop.
I’ve seen some things that should be banned in the annals of fitness. Things that I wouldn’t get my worst enemy to do. That is the reason for this article.
When I look at exercises we have to start thinking Risk vs. Reward
1) What is the reward of doing this exercise?
2) What is the risk of doing this exercise?
3) Is the reward worth the risk?
When I think of the many exercises I’ve seen in the gym I’ve come up with a good 3 that men over 35 should just stop doing.
These exercises are just too high a risk for the reward you’re getting for doing it.
The 3 Worst Exercises To Do After 35 (And What To Do Instead)
#1 Worst Exercise To Stop Doing — The Burpee
This exercise has been the bane of fitness existence since Crossfit came to town.
It’s an exercise that drives you into exhaustion that gets worse the longer you do it.
Admittedly, when I was an inexperienced trainer I used to get my clients to do this exercise because I subscribed to the “pain equals gain” concept.
Other than popping up on a surfboard or dodging grenades or bullets there is no function to doing a burpee.
Burpees are an unnecessary form of torture.
— Dan Go (@FitFounder) November 3, 2021
You don’t get stronger doing a burpee. Maybe you may increase aerobic function slightly but it’s at a great cost because burpees are a minefield of injuries waiting to happen.
When someone does a burpee to failure (what it’s meant for) their knees cave in as they squat, they round their lower backs, and they have little control over their bodies, leading to a high risk for injury.
Their form only gets worse at they get more tired, which is the reason most trainers make their clients do burpees in the first place and this leads to eventual injury.
Here’s What to Do Instead:
Anything but a burpee. It could be a squat, Bulgarian split squat, farmer carries...anything.
Get out of the mentality of trying to burn fat with your workout and take on some strength training.
If you want to get some sort of conditioning do some form of zone 2 cardio. It is non-intrusive and will help your body recover while burning an extra few calories.
#2 Worst Exercises to Stop Doing — Crunches, Sit Ups, and Russian Twists
I know I’m lumping 3 exercises in here but are we seriously still doing these this year?
These have got to stop and fast.
Crunches, sit-ups, and Russian Twists make your body look more BLOATED for a very specific reason…
What these exercises do is put your body into what experts call a Kyphotic Posture aka. Hunchback syndrome. People with hunchbacks appear to be slouching and have noticeable rounding of the shoulders.
These exercises also put excess pressure on the spine and after a few hundred repetitions this eventually leads to pain in the lower back and body.
Do these enough and you’ll eventually get left with a broken body and a hunchback for your efforts.
Here’s What to Do Instead
Go “Anti” with your training.
Anti-Core training is about using your core for what is meant to be used for Strengthening and stabilizing your entire body.
When you push your core out you make a “bracing” effect for your entire body.
This engages the right muscles to start working for you and also does a great job of strengthening your core.
These types of exercises range from…
Anti-Extension -This is any exercise where you’re actively trying to resist extension at the spine.
​Anti-rotation - This is any exercise where you’re actively trying to resist rotation.
​Anti-Lateral Flexion - This is any exercise where you’re actively trying to resist bending at the side.
I go through all 3 of these exercises in detail in the thread below:
More than 7 billion people use their core every day.
— Dan Go (@FitFounder) October 25, 2022
But most don't know how to unlock their full power.
Here are 3 powerful moves that will help you build a bulletproof core:
#3 Worst Exercise to Stop Doing — The bench press
Now I'm probably going to be catching a lot of flack for this and that's okay. Going heavy on the bench press is one of the most common ways to injure the shoulder.
The reason is that it fixes your elbows into a position where your arms are at 90 degrees. This puts less emphasis on your pecs and more emphasis on your shoulder blades:
When you bench press you want your elbows at a slight angle to get the most activation from the pec. This also puts your shoulders in a position where it won't have to do as much work as a traditional bench press.
This is not to say that people haven't gotten stronger or built muscle with this exercise. There are just ways to work the chest that are better from a biomechanical perspective.
Here’s What to Do Instead
Use dumbbells or a bar that allows you to bring your elbows in. You can also use machines that allow for the proper form
If you've been pressing with a bar the change of the elbow angle will help activate your chest a lot more than a traditional bench press.
Exercise Selection Is The Key
You now have 3 exercises that I avoid like the plague for myself and my clients.
I've gotten much smarter since I've dropped the "no pain no gain" attitude. Exercise should help us feel better in our bodies. Not worse.
My hope is that you avoid these, use the substitutions, and experience the difference in how they feel.
Remember the key to success inside the gym is to know what to do and what to avoid.
​- Dan
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