An Imaginary Interview with an Honest food Marketing Executive

An Imaginary Interview with a Food Marketing Executive on Truth Serum

Me:

" With all your packaging saying everything you make is healthy why aren't people losing weight?"

Honest Food Marketing Executive:

"Ok, ok. fine. Calories do count. It's not your hormones, it's not insulin, it's not sugar or your metabolism.

You're not losing fat because you're eating too damn much".

"But if I told you just to pay attention to calorie intake and eat less, you would probably lose weight and the $60 Billion dollar dieting industry would be finished. We can't have that, now can we?

"So, yeah, we have to make things that are very simple seem very complex, so we can continue to sell you stuff"

I "borrowed "this idea for Aadam at Physiqonomics.com. You can read the entire article HERE

there were No Weight Scales in Sparta

THROW AWAY YOUR SCALES!

What is the Purpose of Having Different Types of Protein Supplements?

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF HAVING DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTS?

I guess if you are a vegan you can skip to the final few paragraphs and go talk to anyone you can find who will listen.

Although you can get protein supplements made from several different nutrition sources whey protein is by far the most used as a supplement. Other choices include soy, egg, and even wheat. None of the other choices are as effective, available or as inexpensive. The only reasons I can find to use anything other than whey protein are some food allergies (such as lactose intolerance) or if you are a vegan.

Whey protein is a by-product of cheese production. It is usually about 5% lactose, some minerals (mainly calcium, potassium and phosphorus), some fat (usually about 1%), some carbs (15%) and protein (65-98% depending on how it’s processed) . It is also rich in the amino acids essential for the production of muscle.

Whey Isolate

Whey Isolate is processed to remove everything except the protein. Its protein makeup is 90-98%. Since whey isolate requires much more processing it is also more expensive.

Whey Concentrate

Whey concentrate is the most cost effective form of whey protein since it requires less processing than Isolate and is around 70-85% protein.

Blends

Many producers sell a blend of whey isolate and whey concentrate. These blends allow you to reduce the number of calories you consume while keeping cost down.

Casein Protein

Whey protein only accounts for about 20% of the protein found in milk while Casein is responsible for about 80% of the protein found in dairy products.

Casein protein digests much slower than whey making you feel fuller longer. And studies indicate that the body is more inclined to use casein for muscle building rather than energy.

Slower digesting casein is also better as a final meal of the day to help prevent catabolism (muscle wasting) due to the 7 to 9 hour fasting while you sleep.

Casein is typically around 92% pure proteins.

There are also casein-whey blends. 

Beef Protein

Beef protein isolate is a fairly new addition to the market.Pricing is about the same as whey isolate and protein content is about 75% as opposed to whey isolate's 90+%. but fat, carbs and calories are less than whey isolate and beef isolate reportedly has a better amino acid profile.

I have not tried it personally. Mainly because I have a little trouble getting over the thought of chocolate flavored or banana cream flavored beef.
If any of you have tried it, please let me know what you think.

Egg Protein

It’s called Egg Albumin (which is simply the Latin word for “whites”).

While not as efficient as whey or casein, it’s the best alternative for anyone lactose intolerant.

Soy Protein

Not as efficient as milk protein and doesn’t offer the amino acids.

Some studies indicate soy may have unwanted side effects on hormonal production. But the studies are mixed.

Wheat Protein

A popular vegan alternative to animal based protein or lactose allergies but lacks the amino acid profile for animal based protein. Of course wheat protein should not be used by anyone with Celiac Disease.



Supplements, including whey protein,  have received a lot of negative publicity lately due to alleged "spiking"  (adding fillers) and for adding inert forms of nitrogen making the product test as having higher protein content than it actually has. However, most of the products testing as inferior were the brands sold in the large discount chain stores.
Always buy the major brands from suppliers like Bodybuilding.com. 

It's also a good idea to look and compare the  nutrition data on the container or posted on Bodybuilding.com as well as the price. Cheaper is not always the best bargain.

I also make it a practice not to buy any supplement where the first ingredient says "Proprietary Blend". There's no way to tell what's in it or to compare it to other products.

So, You Have a Slow Metabolism?

SO, YOU HAVE A "SLOW METABOLISM"?

Last week I ran an article entitled The Only 4 Things You Need to do to Lose Weightl

The most common reason (or excuse) I hear for someone’s inability to lose weight is “ I have a slow metabolism”.

If you compare people of the same weight, height, sex and age you’ll find a variance in metabolic rate of around 10-15%. We’re talking about Basil Metabolic Rate (BMR) which is the metabolic rate while at rest. So variances in activity levels are not included.

You can calculate you BMR HERE

Let’s look a little closer at that 10-15%

Using the FDA’s standard 2000 per calorie per day diet, the 10-15% comes to an average of 200-300 calories per day.

That difference amounts to about 4 oz. of chicken  or 16 oz of sweet tea, or 1 bagel, or 2 table spoons of mayonnaise, or 1 cup of white rice, or less than ½ of that Whopper you had for lunch…..you get the picture.

Before you get all up-in-arms because you are female and you’ve heard women have a slower metabolism you should note the following: The female metabolism is slower. Mostly for physiological reasons; men carry a higher percentage of muscle mass. The difference is a whopping 3% or about 55 calories per day, or about ½ of a banana or 1 apple or 3.5 oz. of 2% milk.

There are medical conditions that cause a slower metabolism, the primary one being Hypothyroidism. If you think that may be the case see your doctor. Hypothyroidism can lead to other problems.

Some medications can also cause weight gain. Ask your doctor if any affect you and, if so, ask about alternatives.

Here's the conclusion of a study by Mayo Clinic.
Conclusion
 Adults with low BMRs did not gain more weight than did adults with high BMRs, implying that habitual differences in food intake or activity counterbalance variations in BMR as a risk factor for weight gain in a typical Western population.

So let’s finally put this excuse to rest. Even if you have a “slow 

metabolism” you’re only 2 tbs of mayonnaise away from being able to lose weight.

Congratsulations. You're Making Gains! But.......

CONGRATULATIONS. 

YOU'RE MAKING GAINS!

But………..

You’ve found your groove, a program that’s working for you. Your nutrition is on point. You’re getting adequate rest. And the gains are evident. You’re gaining muscle, gaining strength, losing fat and progressing every week. That’s great!

But….are you leaving additional gains on the table?

Here a few simple tweaks that may help you maximize your gains.

Concentrate on Using Perfect Form

Don’t let you quest for progress cause a breakdown in form. Good form trumps everything. Breaking form leads to cheating (no matter how minor) and that means a wasted effort.

Bad form also opens you up for injury and I can guarantee injury will stop or even reverse your hard earned gains. Have someone else check your form periodically to make sure you don't stray.

Concentrate on the Negative Portion of the lift.

The negative (or eccentric) portion of the lift can actually provide more stimuli to the muscle than the positive (or concentric) part of the lift. Lower the weight slowly-fighting the force of gravity all the way down. Use a lowering tempo of 3 to 5 seconds for the eccentric phase.

Lowering the weight slowly will also force you to concentrate more on form and strengthen the mind-muscle connection…another plus.

Squeeze the Muscle at the Top of the Lift

Squeeze the affected muscle at the top for at least a count of 2. This “isometric squeeze” adds extra tension and stress to the muscle and provides higher blood concentration in the muscle.

Weighted Stretch

As you complete the eccentric portion of the last rep of the last set of an exercise, hold the load in the bottom position with the muscle in question in a fully stretched position. Hold this position for a count of 10 to 15 seconds with a goal of 30 seconds. You can even hold for longer periods of time up to ALAP (as long as possible) Probably the best illustration of a weight stretch position is to picture the bottom position of the dumbbell fly.

 

(A) is the position where you use the "squeeze"

(B) is the "weighted stretch position"

The weighted stretch has the same benefits as the isometric squeeze with the added benefit of helping stretch the fascia surrounding the muscle thus giving the muscle bundles more room to grow. (Picture Saran Wrap around muscles or bundles of muscles)

 (Fascia-From the superficial (“body stocking”) fascia, it dives deep and forms the pods (called fascicles) that actually create your musculature like a honeycomb from the inside out. Imagine what it looks like when you bite into a wedge of orange and then look at those individually wrapped pods of juice.We’re like that too! 

If you’re making gains you know you’re on the right path. Use these hints and minor tweaks to maximize your progress.

Some Girls want to Look Like Dolls

Here's the Only 4 Things You Need to do do to Lose Weight

 THE ONLY 4 THINGS YOU NEED TO DO TO LOSE WEIGHT

Ok Kiddies, there are only 4 things you need to do to lose weight. So pay attention. It’s simple. Notice that I didn’t say it was easy. But it is simple.

People fail at losing weight because they break one or more of these four rules. And the thing is, they do it over and over, sometimes for most of their entire life.

The rules are all just common sense. Everyone wants to make it a lot more complicated than it really is because they have been conditioned to think that way. Thousands of books (maybe millions) have been written about ways to lose weight. How do people write thousands of books about a subject that only has four rules? Frankly, a lot of them just make things up. You see, writing diet books is very profitable. It doesn’t seem to matter if most of the books are pure fiction or based on bogus research.  

You’re smart enough to already know all this. But people are always looking for the “magic bullet”.

The Rules

Rule #1- Stop Eating So Much Crap!

All weight loss plans work this way. Overall food quality improves and calories are reduced naturally. If you stop eating the obvious crap, good things happen.

Yes, you will have some withdrawals for awhile but that will fade, healthy food will begin to taste fantastic. Your body will begin to self-regulate and you’ll feel awesome as you break the addictions to junk food.

Rule #2- Pay Attention

Stop being a mindless eater. I know it’s extreme, but you might have to actually read a nutrition label or two. Even if you don’t keep a food log or track your calories or track your macro’s you’ll still become aware of nutrition. And that is a huge step forward.

Rule # 3-Move!

Get off your butt and move. I don’t care what you do but do something. How much simpler can it get?

Rule #4-Take Responsibility for Your Own Actions

What are you 12 years old?

 Take responsibility for your own actions and your health. Stop blaming your weight problem on your genetics or your metabolism or your work or your kids or whoever or whatever else you’re using for an excuse. Nobody believes your excuses.

Read Your Excuse is Invalid

Or you could continue to try one worthless diet plan after another, feel lousy, letting food control your life, your emotions and your health.

What is Yur Body-fat Percentage?

What is Your Body Fat Percentage?

Determining your percentage of body fat is important as a measure of health and progress.Measuring your weight is virtually worthless and physical measurements of size can be inconsistent  and misleading.

However body-fat measurements can be difficult to do accurately yourself and expensive to have done professionally. 

So, here is a bit of a shortcut to at least give you some idea of where you stand.

if You Want to Get More Fit Stop Doing This...

IF YOU WANT TO GET MORE FIT STOP DOING THIS….

Ok. There is probably a long lists of bad habits you need to stop if you really want to get fit but this one is probably one of the first things you should do:

Stop reading fitness magazines!

I get a lot of comments and questions and emails that start out “But I read in a fitness magazine that I should be doing this or that.”

Magazine publishers are not evil people trying to replace Hannibal Lector as the worst villain of all time by wrecking your fitness goals. They’re publishers. And publishers have two goals: sell magazines and sell advertising.

They need to keep people buying their product and their advertiser’s products every month. They know what their market wants and that’s what they try to give them.  However, it doesn’t take 20 articles to teach someone how to get bigger arms or a smaller waist. So they have to get “inventive” with their titles and their content.

Do I read fitness magazines? Yes, on line versions. Why? Because their articles are often fodder for my articles…with a twist, I take their misleading articles and debunk them and try to tell you the truth. Most of my article ideas that come from the fitness magazines could all have the same title; “Stop Reading This Crap”.

Sorry ladies but the worst offenders seem to be the magazines targeted toward women. The average woman is more health conscious than the average man and usually has less fitness experience from prior sports activities.Unfortunately, a lot of the information in the women's magazines is "fluff". Don't buy the little pink dumbbell horse hockey. They're just telling you what you want to hear. Women are actually better at training than men. If you missed it you need to read this article- Should Women Train Differently from Men? 

Here are some of the biggest pieces of “Misinformation”:

“Ab Workouts” Give You Abs

To get your abs to show you need to do 2 things:

1.     Loose the belly fat

2.     Build the core muscles

Do you really need a different article every month to learn what you need to do?

How the Latest Super Hero or Heroine Got Ripped for their Next Movie..

The posters and magazine covers are photoshopped. No one invented a new workout just for this star. The star didn’t take some new magical supplement.

The star has a personal trainer or coach, at least one private chef, a nutritionalist and some very good wardrobe and make-up artists. If the article says he gained 30 pounds of muscle in 4 months he has “pharmaceutical assistance”. Gaining that muscle in a short amount of time is simply not possible naturally.

Cardio is a Great “Fat Loss Workout”

Debunking this lie is a lengthy article in itself so I’m going to refer you back to a previous article The Myth of Steady-State Cardio

Doing the Workout of any Famous Athlete or Bodybuilder

Don’t do any routine the elite athletes are doing now. Do the routine they were doing 10 or 15 years ago.

Do you really think that by copying their workout you’re going to perform like them? Do you think you’ll look like Arnold or Jay Cutler in a year or two? Or run with the power of Eddie Lacy, or the speed of Chris Johnson or strength of Eddie Hall?

You likely don’t have their genetics, or their elite coaches and trainers or in some cases the substances in their refrigerator door.

Go back a couple of decades and start there because that's how long it took them to get to where they are now.

I could go on and on but I won’t. Just keep in mind that the fitness magazines have only two goals and getting you fit isn’t one of them.

But fitness magazines aren’t all bad. Look at the pretty pictures if they help with motivation.

GETTING FIT: WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERS

GETTING FIT: WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERS

There is a Huge Problem

Information overload has become a huge issue. Google “gaining muscle” and you’ll get more than 5 million results. You’ll probably get about the same number for almost anything fitness related. One coach or trainer might say one thing and the very next article may say just the opposite. Confused yet? Unfortunately, confusion leads to indecision and indecision leads to procrastination. Just as harmful, people jump from one program to another never staying with one long enough to see the benefits so they give up.

I have to admit, you may see some of the same thing in articles on alphaedgefitness.com . Part of the problem is the many varied possibilities for “getting fit”. Another problem is the huge variation in readers. I have readers in their 20’s and just as many, if not more in their 60’s. Some are interested in building muscle for aesthetic reasons, building strength or for fat loss. Some just want to get stronger. Almost everyone has at least one form of limitation due to genetics, injury or illness. 59% of my readers are women and 41% are men. Some are beginners and some are old pros and most are somewhere in between. It goes back the old saying: “You are different. Just like everyone else.”

Let’s get Back to Basics of What Actually Matters

Exercise Selection

I have a video library of over 1000 different exercises. Do you need 1000 different exercises? No. Do you need to constantly be changing your exercises? No

Master a few basic exercises. And I mean master them.   Work on form until you no longer have to even think about it. Have another (knowledgeable )person check your form.

·        Progress every workout by adding a little more weight each time. When you reach a point where you can’t add weight every workout then add reps or add additional sets.

·        Start with the basic lifts in any of their many forms; dead lift, squat, pull-ups, bench press, rowing.

Program Selection

What matters is consistency. Train your “consistency muscle”. The best, most advanced, well planed program will not work without consistency. Almost any program will work if you work at it and do it consistently. More programs fail because of program hopping than anything else.

I’m not saying stick with a program for the rest of your life. But stick with until it stops working.

Nutrition and Diet

Eating whole, healthy foods is important. Cutting out the junk is important.  Getting all the vitamins and minerals (micro-nutrients) is important. But don’t spend your life planning meals and above all else don’t jump on some fad diet you heard about in an infomercial or some “trainer to the stars”.  Don't do extreme low fat diets and don't do extreme low carb diets. There is no magic bullet.

Do this instead:

·        Calculate what your calorie intake should be to achieve your fitness goal using calculator for BMR  under the "Calculators and Resource" tab at the top of this page.

·       Get 40% of you calories from protein, 40% from carbs and 20% from fat(macro-nutrients) as a starting point.

·        Track your macro-nutrients using a program like  Myfitnesspal.com

·        Track your progress toward your goals. If you aren’t making progress after 2 weeks, adjust your nutrition.

Learn as You Go

Pay attention. Learn as you go. Change little things often to experiment. Change the big things sparingly.

I Don't Trust Joggers

What is the Best Way to Track Your Workouts

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TRACK YOUR WORKOUTS?

Mine, of course. Just kidding. I haven’t tried them all so I can’t judge fairly and definitively say one method or application is better than another. I can show you some general methods and guidelines and tell you what I like and don’t like and some applications that have a good reputation or bad reputation.

You are logging your workouts aren’t you?

A lot depends on the type of workout you are tracking; jogging, endurance, body weight, cardio, walking, resistance training, swimming or just chasing the cat around the house.

A word of caution about the readings you get from cardio machines. They are almost certainly wrong. Read thisl

Electronic Wearable Trackers

These range in price from us$100 to almost us$400. They don’t have a very good reputation for accuracy. The last time I checked, some had an error rate of almost 40%. About the only accurate thing on some of them is the GPS distance measurements. Things like heart-rate, calorie burn and sleep tracking can be way off the mark. Also note that not all are compatible with all computer operating systems. Also battery life can be as little as 4 or 5 hours if you’re using the GPS function and some are not waterproof.

If this is what you’re looking for you’d be better served by referring to one of the PC or electronic publications.

Phone Applications

As you would imagine, there are dozens of phone apps available for free or a small monthly charge. Many are very specialized by activity, running the gamut from resistance training to yoga.

I have looked at these in slightly more detail. I don’t like the ones that plan your workout for you or give you several workouts to choose from. Most or just “out-of –the box”, one size fit all workouts that are more fluff than serious workouts.

One that I do like is Fitted Lifts (ios only).  I have a friend that uses it so I have looked at it in some detail. It lets you pick your own lifts from a list grouped by body-part. You can record reps/sets/weight. The app has a timer for rest periods and will put your progress in graph or table form. But it is limited when it comes to recording tempo, drop sets, rest pause and other intensity sets.

Here again, I’ll refer you to someone more familiar with this subject; Tom's Guide

My major objection to phone apps is that you have to have your phone out.  If I had the money for all the phones that been dropped, stepped on, sat on, laid on or just disappeared I could probably open my own gym.

Besides, if you have your phone you’re more likely to use it for other reasons and waste a ton of time, take up space on the bench and generally annoy everyone around you.

Notebook-The paper kind!

Most people prefer just a plain spiral bound or loose leaf notebook. It’s simple, effective and gives you plenty of room to record more than just sets/reps and weights. How do you feel today? Short on sleep? Drink a little too much last night? Shoulders sore? Did you have to skip an exercise? Why?

You can also save them to refer back to in the future for a variety of reasons.

My Solution

I use a spread sheet (either Microsoft Office or Google Sheets) Each day’s workouts is printed in a small strip containing ( in order) my 1RM, planned sets, planned reps (range), % of 1RM for that exercise, planned weight (calculated automatically by multiplying my 1 RM x % of 1RM), actual weight, and actual reps are penciled in using a short pencil like you get for your scorecard at a golf course.

Since I almost always use one or more intensity sets like drop sets or rest-pause I can enter up to 3 different %’s of 1RM, automatically calculate the planned weight and record the information for those extended sets also.

There is a comment section at the end.

So, instead of a notebook, I carry a strip of paper about 2 inches wide and 10 inches long and a 3 inch pencil.

At the end of the day I input the information on the computer (takes about 5 minutes) and I’m done.

Sorry I can't show it here. It prints horizontally on a grid and would be too small to read.

If you are interested, email me at alphaedgefitness@gmail.com and I’ll send you a working blank copy.

So stop wasting your time and go log your workouts!

General Mills Sued over Cheerios Packaging

GENERAL MILLS SUED OVER MISLEADING CHEERIOS PACKAGING

Slightly over 1/3 of consumers believe food packaging is honest. That’s not good but it’s better than it was just 5 years ago. 65% of consumers are now skeptical of packaging claims.

Last year, the Center for Science in the Public Interest filed suit against General Mills alleging that the claims on the boxes of Cheerios Protein were misleading. A District Court Judge has ruled that the suit can go forward.

Having the word “protein” on the front of the box can make a cereal appear more nutritious but if you do the math Cheerios Protein contains 7 grams of protein per 1 ¼ cups and regular Cheerios contains 3 grams per 1 cup serving. (Note the small lettering on the box where it says “11 Grams of Protein-with milk.”)  But Cheerios Protein is higher in calories, sodium and sugar.

Original Cheerios-100 calories per cup

Cheerios Protein-200 calories per 1 ¼ cup

Original Cheerios-140 mg of sodium per cup

Cheerios Protein- 280 mg of sodium per 1 ¼ cup

Original Cheerios-1g of sugar per cup

Cheerios Protein-17g of sugar per cup

Cheerios Protein contains 10 different kinds of sweetener. I didn’t see that on the front of the box. Did you?

For years now food producers have put whatever trendy catch phrase that was making headlines on the front of the box. (Higher in protein, lower in fat, “Healthy”, Gluten Free, organic, high fiber) Hoping no one would read and compare the actual nutrition data. They even came up with a dozen new names for “sugar”.

Ignore the fancy brightly colored banners on the front and read the nutrition data. And learn the 10 or so different names for sugar.

6 Reasons You're Not Losing Body Fat

6 REASONS YOU’RE NOT LOSING BODY FAT

This is sort of a synopsis. There will be a much more detailed series of articles soon covering each point in much more detail. Watch for it soon.

One of the biggest reasons people go to the gym is to lose body fat. But a lot of people have little or no success. It’s never easy but it’s a lot harder if you are committing these mistakes.

1.     You Eat too Much

You would think this would be obvious but most people really don’t know how many calories they are actually eating. Even they have some idea of their calories it’s usually what we call SWAG (Scientific Wild-Ass Guess)

Even if they do come within a reasonable estimate of their calories they have no idea of their macros. The kind of calories you eat matters. You need the right combination of proteins, fats and carbs to build muscle and burn fat. If it were just a matter of burning more calories than you eat you could use all your calories on nothing but ice cream and cheese cake and lose weight. How’s that working out for you?

2.     You Don’t Eat Enough Protein

Studies show that even though 2 groups consume the same calories, the group that consumed more protein lost more weight.

Protein increases satiety at meals, which can make you feel less hungry. Proteins also take more calories to digest. Digestion alone makes up more than 10% of the calories you burn at rest.

Protein also has a positive effect on blood lipids, glucose levels and muscle-to-fat ratios.

3.     You Think Healthy Food is Calorie-Free

It doesn’t matter if you eat whole foods, organic, fair-trade, non-GMO food fertilized with angle poo it still has calories. If you eat too much of it you’ll still get fat. And the food companies totally understand this. Read the nutrition label- not the flashy wording on the front of the package.

4.     You Don’t Train Hard Enough

If fat-loss is your goal, you have to create an extreme energy demand for your body to change. Lifting those cute little pink dumbbells that weigh less than 

your I-Phone won't cut it.

          .

5.     You do Too Much Low-Intensity Cardio

Low –intensity is a poor choice for losing fat. One hour of heavy lifting will burn more calories and more fat than a two hour low-intensity slog on a treadmill. Read this former article-The Myth of Steady-State Cardio and Fat Loss

I have watched people (we call them “Cardio Queens”) slog away on the same treadmill for 3 years now and watched them actually gain weight!

6.     You Don’t Get Enough Sleep

Too little sleep elevates Cortisol and decreases insulin sensitivity. Both of which wreak havoc on fat loss efforts. Get 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night.

9 Exercises/Machines to Avoid

9 EXERCISES/MACHINES TO AVOID

There are literally hundreds of different exercises you can do in the gym. Probably, in most cases, dozens you can do for each muscle or muscle group.

But some of them are just plain dangerous. They may be effective but the risk is not worth the potential reward when there are so many other options available.

First let me say that any exercise done with incorrect (or just plain sloppy) form has the potential to be harmful. Proper form is paramount.  If you follow Olympic or powers lifting at all you know that some of the Eastern European countries have some of the best in the world. One of their “secrets”; they begin training with a broom stick and are not allowed to add weight until their form is near perfect. For a little personal antidote go back and read this prior article A Future Champion

Some of exercises to avoid may not appear too dangerous at first. But some of them, over a period of time, can cause irreversible damage. Then there are those that are just plain stupid.  

Upright Rows

Upright rows rotate your shoulder internally under load. You risk a shoulder impingement and undue strain. The internal rotation also puts considerable stress on the rotator cuff. Trust me, I’ve had two rotator cuff injuries and you don’t want one.

Leg Extensions

This exercise makes me cringe just watching someone else do it. It’s very popular bu,t because the weight is placed near your ankles, it puts major shear on the knee when the weight gets heavy and the knee is fully extended.

Behind the Neck Lat Pull-downs

This exercise put major stress on the shoulder by forcing external rotation of the shoulder joint under load leading to the same problems as upright rows. The same hold true for barbell presses behind the neck.

Any Ab Machine

Any ab machine I’ve ever seen is useless at best and injurious at worst. They place the majority of the load on your hip flexors and your lower spine. Besides putting undue stress on your spine they do very little to actually activate you abdominal muscles.

Hyperextension Machine

Really? Do you want to hyperextend you spine under load? On purpose?

Abduction/Adduction Machine

These two machines aren’t so much dangerous as useless. They only work the small stabilizer muscles; they are not going to reduce the fat deposits on your hips or inner thighs and they are not going to strengthen the adductor or abductor muscles.

Seated Ab Rotation Machine

Here’s an idea; fix your hips in place and twist your spine from side to side against a load. Does that sound like a good idea to you?

Weighted Side Bends

This is not a bad exercise per se. I just see it used for the wrong reasons. The exercise will strengthen the obliques. But usually I see people (mostly women) using this exercise to reduce their waist. They are actually doing just the opposite. The obliques hypertrophy (grow larger) just like any other muscle. So, if a blocky waist is what you’re shooting for, side bends will do the trick.  

Anything on a Bosu Ball (This is why we have emergency rooms)