» Are there really “good” “bad” and “best” exercises?

The official site of Brad Schoenfeld

Cold water immersion (a.k.a., “ice baths”) has become a popular method amongst exercise enthusiasts and athletes to enhance recovery after an intense training bout. The strategy involves exposing either the trained limb or the whole body to very cold liquid temperatures. According to p...

Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D, C.S.C.S., is an internationally renowned fitness expert and widely regarded as one of the leading authorities on body composition training (muscle development and fat loss). He is a lifetime drug-free bodybuilder, and has won numerous natural bodybuilding titles.

Uncategorized

November 11, 2013

Are there really “good” “bad” and “best” exercises?

Pick up any fitness magazine or surf through the popular internet fitness sites and you’ll find scores of articles with titles like, “The Best Exercise for (fill in the blank for a muscle group)” or “Exercises You Should Never Do.” Without a doubt, these articles are attention-grabbing and make for interesting conversation around the water cooler. Question is, how applicable are they with respect to exercise program design? Episode 5 of the B&B Connection webcast discusses this topic in depth. Bret and I propose the alternative view that with perhaps a few exceptions, there are no “bad” exercises but rather poor application and poor performance of these movements. We also challenge the claim that there are universal “best” exercises; instead, exercise selection ultimately comes down to factors specific to the individual including goals, abilities, genetics, injury status, etc. As always, we delve into the practical implications for how to implement concepts into a training routine.