Brief Summary
This video talks about 10 exercises that could potentially lead to surgery for men over 40. It highlights the risks associated with these exercises, especially considering the changes that come with age. The video suggests safer alternatives for each exercise to help avoid injuries and keep your workout routine effective and healthy.
- Dumbbell Flyes can hurt your shoulders, switch to machine flyes.
- Front Raises can stress your biceps and shoulders, try shoulder press instead.
- Leg Press can be bad for your spine, stick to squats with good form.
- Behind the Neck Lat Pulldowns are risky for your shoulders, do front lat pulldowns.
- Barbell Bench Press can be hard on your shoulders, use dumbbell bench press.
- Traditional Sit-ups can hurt your lower back, planks are a better option.
- Pec Deck machines can cause shoulder problems, use modern machine flyes.
- Behind the Neck Press is tough on your shoulders and neck, go for front press.
- Deadlifts can be risky for your back, reduce the weight and focus on form.
- Diamond Push-ups can strain your wrists and elbows, tricep pushdowns are safer.
Dumbbell Fly
Dumbbell flyes, a common chest exercise, can put your shoulders in a risky spot, especially when your arms are fully extended. This position maxes out the stress on your shoulder joints while reducing the force your pecs can produce. Over time, this can cause small injuries to your rotator cuff, which can turn into bigger tears and possibly require surgery. If you're over 40 or have shoulder pain, switch to machine flyes. The machine guides your movement, cutting down the risk of overextending your shoulder joint. Plus, you can adjust the range of motion to fit your own flexibility, which you can't do with dumbbells.
Front Raise
The front raise exercise can be problematic because it puts a lot of stress on your biceps tendon when your arms are above shoulder level. It also compresses the subacromial structures and people often use their trapezius muscles incorrectly to compensate, which messes up muscle recruitment. This can lead to tendonitis, impingement syndrome, and even rotator cuff tears. Instead of front raises, focus on shoulder presses. If you want to work your anterior deltoid more, remember it's already getting a good workout during chest exercises. Shoulder presses with a barbell or dumbbells allow for a more natural movement and spread the load better across your deltoids, reducing the risk of injuries from overuse.
Leg Press
The leg press machine, while popular for allowing heavy lifting, can be more dangerous for your spine than a well-executed squat. When using the leg press, especially the 45° inclined ones, your pelvis tends to tilt backward at the end of the movement. This puts a lot of pressure on your lower back, especially with heavy loads. A study showed that the leg press was linked to a 28% higher chance of disc herniation compared to free squats, particularly in people over 40. Also, the leg press can give a false sense of security, leading to lifting too much weight. As an alternative, go back to squats with perfect technique and appropriate weight, which is safer and more effective than a poorly done leg press.
Behind the Neck Lat Pull Down
The behind-the-neck lat pull-down is a very risky exercise because it forces your shoulders into an unnatural position. To get the bar behind your head, your shoulders have to rotate outward a lot and move away from your body. This puts a lot of stress on the rotator cuff, especially the supraspinatus tendon, which tends to weaken with age. Many people already have limited shoulder mobility, so forcing this movement can cause connective tissue damage. The ironic thing is that this exercise doesn't offer any extra muscle activation benefits. A much better option is the front lat pull-down with a pronated grip at or slightly wider than shoulder width. This lets you fully contract your lats without hurting your shoulders.
Barbell Bench Press
The barbell bench press, a gym staple, can be risky for men over 40 who don't have perfect form. The problem is that the barbell makes both arms move together in the same way, which doesn't account for individual differences in shoulder symmetry. Most people have slight differences in their bone structure, joint mobility, and movement patterns between their right and left sides. Forcing these uneven structures to follow a rigid movement can create tension and wear on the joints. It's better to switch to the dumbbell bench press. This lets each arm move on its own, following its natural path. You can also adjust your wrist rotation to find the most comfortable position for your joints. Plus, dumbbells allow for a slightly greater range of motion, leading to better muscle stretch and contraction.
Traditional Sit-ups
Traditional sit-ups aren't just not the best way to get a defined abdomen, but they also put a lot of stress on your lower spine. Each time you do a sit-up, your spine gets compressed, especially when your feet are secured. Studies have shown that sit-ups can create compressive forces that are close to the safety limits for young, healthy workers, and definitely too high for older men, especially those with lower back pain. Also, repeatedly flexing your spine during sit-ups can cause the intervertebral discs to wear down, possibly leading to disc herniation. A better alternative is the plank. It works all your core muscles together, strengthening your abs, obliques, and spine stabilizers, without putting compressive forces or repeated flexion on your spine.
Pec Deck
The pec deck machine might seem safe, but it can cause problems because of the position of your arms and shoulders during the exercise. Most machines force your arms to be at a 90° angle and your elbows also bent at 90°. This, along with the internal rotation of your shoulders, can lead to subacromial impingement, where your rotator cuff tendons get compressed. Over time, this can cause inflammation, tendon damage, and impingement syndrome, a common cause of shoulder pain in older men. The risk is even higher if you already have shoulder arthritis or previous injuries. Also, the pec deck's fixed movement doesn't allow your body to adjust naturally like with free weights. The pec deck movement also puts a lot of stress on the front of your shoulder, especially when your arms are fully open. A safer option is the modern design machine fly, which lets you adjust the angle of movement and follows the natural way your shoulder moves, allowing some external rotation.
Behind the Neck Press
The behind-the-neck press is another exercise that's best left in the past. To get the bar behind your neck, your shoulders have to rotate outward more than is comfortable for most people, especially those with years of joint wear. This puts a lot of strain on the rotator cuff tendons. Over time, this can lead to tendon damage, inflammation, and even tears. It also increases the risk of subacromial impingement, where the rotator cuff tendons get compressed. This exercise also puts stress on the cervical spine. To make room for the bar, many people push their chin forward, which changes the natural curve of the neck. This can cause neck problems in the long run. A much better option is the front press, either with a barbell or dumbbells. This works the same muscles without putting your joints in risky positions. Dumbbell presses are especially good because they let each arm move on its own and allow for a neutral or slightly outward rotation of the hands, which reduces stress on the shoulders.
Deadlift
Deadlifts work many muscles at once and can build functional strength, but they're technically complex and involve lifting heavy loads. This can be dangerous, especially since many men over 40 already have some disc degeneration, even if they don't know it. One wrong lift can turn this into a painful disc herniation. Research shows that deadlifts can put compressive forces on the lower spine that are more than 10 times your body weight when you lift heavy. Also, if you don't keep your spine neutral during the exercise, it can create shear forces that are very harmful to the intervertebral discs and can lead to injuries like disc herniations and spondylolysis. While there's no perfect replacement for the deadlift, there are alternatives that offer similar benefits with less risk. If you keep doing deadlifts, reduce the weight to 60-70% of your max to get most of the benefits with less risk, and always focus on perfect form over lifting heavier.
Diamond Push-ups
Diamond push-ups, where you put your hands close together to form a diamond shape, are often recommended as a harder way to work your triceps. The problem is that they force your wrists and elbows into extreme positions. The close, internally rotated hand position puts a lot of stress on the wrist joint, which can lead to joint instability and even carpal tunnel syndrome. Also, the hand position makes your elbows move away from your body, which puts more pressure on the shoulder joint. There are many other triceps exercises that are more effective and safer. A good alternative is the triceps push-down, which isolates the triceps without putting too much stress on your wrists, elbows, or shoulders. Other options include the French press and skull crushers. There's no need to do diamond push-ups if you have access to these better alternatives.
