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What exercises/lifts do you consider to be a waste of time?

Assisted pullups/dips (just work on doing a whole pullup/dip by yourself! then progress from there)
Situps especially while hugging a medicine ball (no benefit whatsoever)
Any exercise where a bosu ball is the prerequisite item
 
I only consider an "exercise" a waste of time when it is performed sub maximally.

Sit-ups, wrist curls, calf raises all have their benefits, if one works them real hard and for minimum rest between sets and to fatigue.

i mean, going to fatigue, and then resting between a set for more than 30 seconds is counter productive.
 
Ya reckon Silverback? The only people i've seen with big calves are former fat people and serious gear users. As for wrist curls, why not do any other exercise that requires grip strength?
 
Ya reckon Silverback? The only people i've seen with big calves are former fat people and serious gear users. As for wrist curls, why not do any other exercise that requires grip strength?

Just for a minute, forget about muscle size, doing a hard set or two throughout the week, over time, will improve flexibility, and the byproduct of increase range of movement is strength around the ankle joint, how much growth here is depends on the twitch fibre ratio of the muscle.

Wrist curls?
All pulling requires a strong grip and over time progression builds a mighty grip.
wrist curls, worked hard to the point where they burn like a bitch, not only help improve the grip, they will maintain healthy joints of the wrist and elbow, and also give you good looking forearms.

The nice thing about wrist curls and (reverse) is that it is one of the few exercises that you could do everyday.

Ive done them over the years and I believe it's really help my grip.
i like to curl the bar up with my fingers, then squeeze hard at the top.
 
I think what Goosey is saying rings true. They may appear a waste of time but the vast majority don't do them enough. They're tough muscles to grow, so you need to hit them with a lot more intensity than the larger muscle groups. Get them burning, minimal rest and go again. Not many people train that way or give up as soon as they feel a slight burn. If you can persevere, you'll be surprised by how many more reps you can get out
 
A guess an exercise that could be considered a waste of time is one that isnt going to get you closer to your goal - I think everything has its place - I just think sometimes peoples exercise selection based on goal is sometimes incorrect.
 
I only consider an "exercise" a waste of time when it is performed sub maximally.
What would you consider to be "sub maximally"? I thought it was all relative, and by relative I mean one needs not restrict one's self into looking at each and every single workout (with its individual sets and reps), but rather look at the overall progress that he or she is making over a set period of time.

i mean, going to fatigue, and then resting between a set for more than 30 seconds is counter productive..
Why would that be now? In other words, why must I go to failure for a set to be productive, and why should resting more than 30 seconds between a set (whether taken to failure or not) be considered a waste of time? I'm interested to hear your answers Andy. Thank you.



Fadi.
 
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A guess an exercise that could be considered a waste of time is one that isnt going to get you closer to your goal - I think everything has its place - I just think sometimes peoples exercise selection based on goal is sometimes incorrect.


Yeah! That's the meat of it.
 
What would you consider to be "sub maximally"? I thought it was all relative, and by relative I mean one needs not restrict one's self into looking at each and every single workout (with its individual sets and reps), but rather look at the overall progress that he or she is making over a set period of time.

Why would that be now? In other words, why must I go to failure for a set to be productive, and why should resting more than 30 seconds between a set (whether taken to failure or not) be considered a waste of time? I'm interested to hear your answers Andy. Thank you.



Fadi.


Yes, if one exercises correctly, performs the exercise right with the right load, then you would think one would need less, case in point; doing (as Kaz writes) doing 100 repetitions of sit-ups.

To develop the torso, doing a crunch type movement, under added resistance to fatigue, would need less rep's and sets and stimulate more muscle tissue, and produce less possibility of injury.

your description of going to fatigue, and mine could be totally different, going to fatigue is subjective as your tolerance to pain will differ, but, yes results are tangible.

Going to failure, works, going to failure on an exercise, will mean less is needed, whether it is more or less productive relies on many factors, going to failure, is not only tough to do physically, but also tough mentally, especially if ones workout is predominantly multi joint exercises.

Resting more than 5 seconds between sets of a given exercise allows a fatigued muscle to regain 50% of its fresh strength, some might need multiple sets, other will only need one, but at the end of the day I believe it is the last repetition where the magic happens.
 
Yes, if one exercises correctly, performs the exercise right with the right load, then you would think one would need less, case in point; doing (as Kaz writes) doing 100 repetitions of sit-ups.

To develop the torso, doing a crunch type movement, under added resistance to fatigue, would need less rep's and sets and stimulate more muscle tissue, and produce less possibility of injury.

your description of going to fatigue, and mine could be totally different, going to fatigue is subjective as your tolerance to pain will differ, but, yes results are tangible.

Going to failure, works, going to failure on an exercise, will mean less is needed, whether it is more or less productive relies on many factors, going to failure, is not only tough to do physically, but also tough mentally, especially if ones workout is predominantly multi joint exercises.

Resting more than 5 seconds between sets of a given exercise allows a fatigued muscle to regain 50% of its fresh strength, some might need multiple sets, other will only need one, but at the end of the day I believe it is the last repetition where the magic happens.
Thank you for the reply Andy.
 
I'm gonna cop a lot of shit for this... but I think dumbbell flyes are a waste of time. :P
Definately not a waste, very good to do with a light weight for high reps after benching to stretch the pecs.

I agree with assisted pullups could never progress even using bands. Assisted dips with bands did actually help me to be able to do bodyweight ones. Not sure why one worked and the other didn't.
 
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