If you were raised in the ’80s and ’90s, chances are you enjoyed action movies filled with intense combat scenes and highly muscular actors such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. Many kids of that era looked up to these beefy movie stars who motivated numerous young men to start going to the gym and lifting weights. You might be one of those who hit the gym vigorously when they were younger and gained muscle mass. However, if you lost it over time, we’re here to help optimize your workout routine and reveal five of the worst exercises for men to rebuild muscle. Needless to say, these exercises should be avoided!
Maintaining muscle strength offers advantages beyond just having a well-defined physique. Strength training, for instance, can enhance your ability to carry out daily tasks, safeguard your joints from injuries, and enhance your balance. Yet, even if you engage in regular strength training, it’s natural to experience muscle loss as you age. Once you hit 30, you begin losing around 3% to 8% every decade. Having less muscle can be harmful to your long-term well-being—particularly as you age—since it can lead to a decrease in strength and mobility, thereby raising the likelihood of falls and fractures.
Thankfully, there is some good news. You can regain lost muscle mass by steering clear of certain exercises that impede muscle growth (while incorporating the right exercises in your strength training routine, of course). We connected with TJ Mentus, CPT, a certified personal trainer at Garage Gym Reviews, who highlights five common exercises that can hamper your muscle-building efforts.
Let’s explore the five worst exercises for men to regain muscle.
Cardio
While there’s no denying that cardio is essential for overall health and adding years to your life, going overboard with your cardio sessions can kill your efforts to regain muscle. Excessive cardio can place your body in what’s called a catabolic state where it breaks down fat and muscle for energy.
“Cardio provides many health benefits and should be a part of everyone’s fitness routine,” Mentus states. “However, when trying to build muscle, cardio can be counterproductive. The body needs an excess of calories to build muscle. Cardio burns calories at a higher rate without providing the muscle-building benefits of resistance training. So, the calories your body could use to build muscle fuel cardio sessions. When focusing primarily on muscle, cardio should be limited or done as a part of HIIT workouts, which can provide some muscle-building benefits.”
Isolation Exercises
For the uninitiated, isolation exercises activate only one muscle group or joint at a time. Instead, Mentus recommends performing compound movements (e.g., squats, bench presses, and deadlifts) that engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously.
“If you’re trying to build muscle all over, isolation exercises are an inefficient use of your workout time. Compound movements engage many more muscles per exercise, and that tension then helps build more muscle overall. Try bigger movements like squats, deadlifts, presses, and rows rather than curls and tricep extensions,” says Mentus.
Hot Yoga
While some men may scoff at this spiritual discipline, anyone who’s done a hot yoga session knows it delivers a solid workout that provides several health benefits. However, hot yoga is an efficient calorie burner that can work against muscle growth.
“Like cardio, yoga provides many health benefits but will not directly help build muscle and may get in the way of it,” says Mentus. “Hot yoga especially increases sweat and the metabolic rate, burning calories that are important for those muscles to build themselves up. If you want or need to do yoga for its benefits, stick to a very low-intensity version at a normal room temperature.”
One-Rep Max
“How much do you bench?” We’ve all been asked this before. While your one-rep max (the maximum amount of weight you can lift at one rep of a given movement) indicates overall strength, it doesn’t do any favors in the muscle-building department.
Mentus explains, “Just doing one rep is not enough to stimulate muscle growth. Muscles need time under tension, and in one rep, the muscles do not have to strain for too long. Now, if you want to build to a heavy one rep and then do drop sets for more reps, that would be fine to get the best of both worlds.”
Lifting Light Weights at Higher Reps
Though hypertrophy training (lifting light to moderate weights at higher reps) is an effective way to develop and grow muscle, you eventually reach a point of diminishing returns.
“If you can lift a weight for 20 or more reps, then it’s not going to be effective for muscle building. Ideally, stay within the eight to 15 rep range, meaning those last couple reps in your sets are getting challenging,” says Mentus. “If you could still do many more reps at the end of your sets, the weight is not challenging enough. Muscles need to work against resistance that triggers them to adapt in order to grow, so if there is little resistance, then there’s no reason to grow.”
Frequently Asked Questions About the 5 Worst Exercises for Men To Regain Muscle
What are some common exercises that men should avoid when trying to regain muscle?
When trying to rebuild muscle mass, there are certain exercises that may not be as effective or could even be counterproductive. Here are the five worst exercises for men to regain muscle:
1. Leg Extensions
Leg extensions can put unnecessary strain on the knee joint, potentially leading to injuries. Instead, focus on compound movements like squats and lunges to target the entire leg muscle group effectively.
2. Behind-the-Head Lat Pulldowns
Performing lat pulldowns behind the head can cause shoulder impingement and rotator cuff injuries. Opt for front lat pulldowns to target the back muscles without compromising shoulder health.
3. Smith Machine Squats
Smith machine squats can limit natural movement patterns and stabilizing muscles’ engagement. Stick to free weight squats to promote better muscle growth and functional strength.
4. Seated Leg Press Machine
The seated leg press machine can place excessive stress on the lower back and knees. Replace it with traditional squats and deadlifts to build leg strength while improving overall stability.
5. Biceps Isolation Exercises
While biceps curls can isolate the muscle, they are not as effective at building overall arm strength. Incorporate compound movements like chin-ups and rows to engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously.
