6 Exercises I’ll Never Do Again (Yes, Burpees Are On This List)
When my oldest son was about 6 months old, I tweaked my back bending over to lift up the toilet seat. Yup. The toilet seat. Of course it wasn’t the actually toilet seat that did it but this was a classic straw/camel scenario. I was laid up for 3 or 4 days and, worst of all, I couldn’t pick him up and little six-month-old Levi didn’t understand.
It was a “never again” moment for me as a dad.
I knew why my back went out: I was beating the crap out of myself during my workouts. I was still training 5, 6, 7 days per week, lifting as much weight as possible, and not saying my workout was finished until I was lying on the ground in a pool of sweat. I used to call my home gym, appropriately, “the Pain Cave.” For a time, that was fine.
But when I became a dad, my priorities changed.
I no longer care about lifting the most weight possible or getting as jacked or ripped as I can. I still want to look good, but, even more, I want to feel good and be able to pick my kids up. And my kids don’t weigh 400 lbs.
With that, here are the 6 Exercises I used to do that I will (likely) never do again:
Heavy Barbell Squat
Heavy Barbell Deadlift
Burpees
Leg Extensions
Bench Dips
Upright Rows
Some of these are fine. Some are dumb. But none of them are necessary and the risk isn’t worth it for me anymore. In order to challenge my muscles for a squat or a deadlift, at this point in my training career, I would have to lift way more weight than I’m willing to risk. One weird move and it’s a big problem.
The same holds true for all the other exercises (except with those, I’m almost certain that I’d eventually end up hurting myself because they’re exercises that tend to cause joint pain). I may leave some minor gains on the table, but probably not. Because there are a ton of other exercises that are way lower risk that get the job done (check out this post for some of my favorite exercises).
Even if I did miss out on some small results in the next few years by not doing these exercises, I don’t care. I care about being able to bend down and pick up my grandkids in 25-30 years and I won’t be able to do that if my back, knees, shoulder, elbows, and wrists are junk from beating the hell out of myself.
Exercise is a tool to make the rest of life easier. Fit exercise into your life - not the other way around. And those exercises no longer fit my life. No pain, all the gains.
I created an entire 6 week strength training program. It’s yours if you want it, just follow the button to download it for free.
