Overrated And Underrated Exercises

This audio clip is from Episode 11 of the Stronger By Science podcast.
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[@Yupppi]

My physiotherapist is very keen supporter of calf training. Not because of hypertrophy, but because calves provide control for ankle and a lot of sports have explosive movements and balance requirements for ankles. Functions that isometric lifting just doesn't include a lot. For me he prescribed calf training after I had broken a toe and ended up walking a bit iffy, as well as soreness in the foot and calf when walking, and lack of mobility of ankle. It did the job, foot stopped aching, ankle was more controlled, I was a happy boy and totally welcome regular calf training now.

[@richardelliott99]

Totally with you guys on that Hammer Strength Pullover machine. It is the least used piece of equipment in my local gym because it doesn't look flashy or good to post on Instagram. I heard Dorian Yates talk about the benefits of pullover machines and I'm consistently bringing up my pretty shitty back by hitting it first exercises on my back days.

[@ResistanceQuest]

I miss the one from my old YMCA. that machine was sick

[@bryrst]

With respect to single leg movements, what do you think of B-stance RDLs, squats, GMs, etc? I recently tried them as an uncoordinated powerlifter, it felt like a good way to build strength unilaterally without balance being the limiting factor.

[@mmjsfca]

What do you mean by B-stance?

[@bryrst]

@@mmjsfca feet are staggered so one foot is ahead of the other. The back foot is for balance so you can go pretty hard on the front let without worrying about balance. instagram.com/p/BCrqiEfJdOC/?igshid=8uni77p7ocmr www.roypumphrey.com/b-stance/

[@mconcepcion752]

My arms are so long my relative ROM on bench is absurd. My elbows go lower than my knees lmao

[@roger012194]

As a bench press lover I despise dumbbells they’re just too easy to cheat on. Not to mention as you get stronger the dumbbells get bigger and you start cutting rom. IMO push ups are more underrated. If I couldn’t bench for some reason I’d quickly switch to push ups they are goated. There’s so many ways to do them for any individual

[@littlethuggie]

All exercises are overrated. For most people, the difference in improvements in various performance metrics (hypertrophy, strength, EMG, etc) is marginal. People argue all day about barbell vs dumbell vs dips vs bench vs pushups vs flies vs everything, when in reality it doesn't matter much.

[@patrickmcdonagh539]

Ya chest exercises are just for appearance , whatever gets the job done but I don't get what mean by marginal improvements in them metrics.. Iv put on 40 pounds since I start training and look completely different

[@littlethuggie]

@@patrickmcdonagh539 I said the difference between the increases in the metrics, not increases in training vs not 😑 . eg, difference between barbell/ dumbell bench in regards to hypertrophy.

[@patrickmcdonagh539]

@@littlethuggie oh I don't know if I just stuck to dumbbells I would still suck at dumbbells .. It was only when I got my barbell bench high my dumbbell numbers increased when I did them exclusively they never increased.. Plus incline barbell gets me way bigger than incline dumbbells

[@littlethuggie]

@@patrickmcdonagh539 ok

[@chronometa]

We just got a pull over machine

[@potatogirl6125]

Can you help us out with a video on self coaching

[@jodiethemathgenius9204]

fuck yeah dumbbell bench, I can't even bench a bar without pain

[@Oho159]

why? injury?

[@neznam1337]

Bruh it shouldn't be like that. You should do something about it

[@jodiethemathgenius9204]

@@neznam1337 yeah I'm doing dumbbell bench about it

[@jodiethemathgenius9204]

@@Oho159 my bones just suck

[@neznam1337]

@@jodiethemathgenius9204 you should most likely look into whatever issue you have with pain during barvell bench press because its not normal to have pain with just the bar. Physio, ortho docs etc. My 2 cents. Good luck

[@steveblah5]

First! And totally agree w/ bench being a worthless exercise in most applications and calf training is essential :)

[@Croissantrophy.meme.channel]

Bench is not worthless lol

[@brunoherrera2574]

@@Croissantrophy.meme.channel can't you read?

[@Croissantrophy.meme.channel]

@@brunoherrera2574 can you not be a dick? Just because an exercise don't work for you (causes pain, poor technique...) doesn't make it "worthless in most applications". Exercises are tools, none is worthless, each one works for different reasons for different people for different goals. And I don't even care about strenght, just bodybuilding, and still the bb bench press is one of the best to accumulate tonnage, easier to progressive overload and won't fuck your shoulders if do it correctly. It doesn't work for you? Great, no problem, there're other tools, db, machines...

[@estevanrgarcia]

@@Croissantrophy.meme.channel He was being sarcastic lol.

[@sheldonmckinlay881]

LOL Greg defending calf training

[@geopwr5077]

Does anyone DO or LIKE ...barbell -head at the end of the flat bench- bent arm Pullovers ? whats this Mainly for, bodypart ? and does it have any good carryover for powerlifting ? Ty

[@littlethuggie]

They're like anything else, they'll work your lats (mostly) and some serratus, not much carryover to powerlifting, as they are in no way similar to any lift.

[@Croissantrophy.meme.channel]

DB bench press is definetely not more joint friendly... Unless you're a noob, an intermediate/advance lifter who uses more heavy weights will fuck their shoulders trying to set up. BB bench is easier to set up and allows to use more weight=more gains. There's no tension on the top anyway, so having more rom with db is kind of pointless in that situation

[@dcvg1241]

No tension at the top but at the bottom there is a way deeper stretch on a dumbbell bench press.

[@Croissantrophy.meme.channel]

@@dcvg1241 yep, that make it even less joint friendly thou

[@bigbobabc123]

Yeah the set up can be a killer

[@Tuldoka]

I think he means that the motion of heavy barbell bench presses doesn't carry over as well to practical applications as other heavy lifts. And in terms of physique development, you get a better range of motion while also not needing as much absolute load with dumbbells (hence joint sparing)

[@IsaiahDC]

Assuming you aren’t a power lifter and aren’t going for 1-4rm the setup isn’t that bad, just practice a couple times with lighter ones lol. Depending on your anatomy and previous injuries BB can be rough, but if you have healthy joints than the bench is great! I personally prefer unilateral movements but cycle in the BB movements to build power

[@PrimeMatt]

I very much disagree regrading dumbell bench press. 1) Have you seen how most people dumbell bench press? The dumbells rarely come anywhere near their chest. So it always makes me laugh when the 'rom' card is pulled out. 2) The overall load is generally poor, it's not unusual to see a guy do half decent reps with 140kg on a bar, but very rare to see anyone do decent reps with 70kg dumbells, and 140kg on a bar is not a great deal of load in itself. 3) Most gyms (at least in the UK) won't even have dumbells up to 70kg, let alone beyond. I love you Greg, but have to disagree here. Eric, totally agree regarding calves, there is a half inch difference for me between training them hard and consistently, and not training them at all. So i now just don't bother. Greg has big calves already, which is likely why he likes it, 😎

[@Copeman9999]

I agree with the part he says at 2:25, bench shouldnt be the number 1 exercise people care about, but yeah generally you're right, dumbbells aren't as suited to strength work as barbells. One thing I don't agree with is that most people I see barbell bench do it with shitty form, it's probably at a similar level to DB benching.

[@jakehickman_]

1) db press with correct technique then? you can't say an exercise is shit because some people are doing it incorrectly 2) you can lift less with dumbbells because there's less stability, but that doesn't mean you don't achieve similar levels of muscle activation, in fact dbs show greater pec activation 3) 99% of people will never dumbbell press more than 50kg so i don't think that's an issue for majority of the population

[@PhiyackYuh]

Calf over bench when it comes to practical adl. When will you be doing activities that mimics bench press vs the movement of that calf on a daily basis? Shoulder press would make sense than bench press.

[@rlfs2853]

Your reasoning is terrible, and you should feel terrible.