What It (Supposedly) Does: It is great for strengthening the entire midsection—the abs and the lower back.

Why It Sucks: According to trainer Holly Perkins, people don’t tighten their

abs properly during the move, which leads to their stomach sinking and the exercise becoming largely pointless. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: This will burn fat off the lower part of your legs.

Why It Sucks: While calf raises will strengthen and help define calf muscles, they do

absolutely nothing to burn leg fat.

What It (Supposedly) Does: It will strengthen your hamstring muscle.

Why It Sucks: While it does help to strengthen your leg muscles some, it is super far from

something you would do in your everyday life and it’s too focused on one muscle to be overly beneficial. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: It will give you a six pack.

Why It Sucks: It removes all balance aspects from your core exercises and only twists your spine,

which could lead to pain down the line.

What It (Supposedly) Does: It will help loosen up and strengthen your spine/lower back muscles.

Why It Sucks: You are placing an unnecessary amount of tension on a

very brittle part of your body, the lower spine. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: This machine is just as good as using a treadmill for cardio.

Why It Sucks: While it works as a form of cardio, it

target="_blank">does not mimic a real life movement and is not as useful of your goal is overall body fitness. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: You can burn fat and look leaner.

Why It Sucks: Actually, crunches will make your stomach look bigger because your abs will be larger.

What It (Supposedly) Does: These will make your shoulders look defined and shapely.

Why It Sucks: They will increase your shoulder muscle, making your upper body look rounded. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: You will increase strength in, and shape, your glutes. 

Why It Sucks: These don’t mimic any sort of real life movement and overall just

aren’t all that beneficial. You're better off doing squats or lunges. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: Doing a ton of crunches burns away fat and reveals your six pack. 

Why It Sucks: Personal trainer and fitness author Holly Perkins states

that crunches only define abs. They will not burn away fat.

What It (Supposedly) Does: Long duration cardio will improve your conditioning and help you lose fat.

Why It Sucks: Actually, long cardio has been shown to cause the

body to hold onto fat and cause joint inflammation. Short bursts of high intensity cardio are better. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: It will help you build pushing/chest strength.

Why It Sucks: It eliminates any sort of balancing. You are ignoring tiny stabilizing muscles that help

build overall body strength for the sake of your chest muscles.

What It (Supposedly) Does: This exercise is comparable to a free-weighted squat, which works quads and hamstrings.

Why It Sucks: Strength and conditioning specialist Craig Rasmussen says this

type of squat eliminates important counterbalancing aspects of basic squats that help you build strength and balance. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: It will increase tricep strength and make your arms look fuller.

Why It Sucks: It puts your shoulder in an awkward position and the

weight you can lift will be minimal, making it a very ineffective exercise. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: These are a great way to improve glutes/hamstring strength. 

Why It Sucks: It simply puts way too much pressure on your lower back, for

little reward. Standard deadlifts are a better, more holistic choice. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: Using this machine will decrease inner leg fat.

Why It Sucks: Actually, while you will be strengthening muscles, you will not be reducing fat.

Things like step-ups work the same muscle and incorporate an element of cardio. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: These will help create definition in your “lower abs.”

Why It Sucks: Fitness expert Holly Perkins has revealed that “lower abs” aren’t really a

thing. Abs (basically your six-pack) are a set of muscles and they need to be worked as a whole. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: It will be beneficial to strengthening your legs. 

Why It Sucks: It allows you to use weights that you have no business lifting, which

could lead to knee injuries down the line. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: Something such as concrete will provide you with a better surface to jump on. 

Why It Sucks: This could destroy your joints. Anything with

a high impact should be done on a softer surface, which can absorb the impact. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: It will strengthen your core.

Why It Sucks: Actually, this kind of movement causes a lot of wear and tear on the spine that

could cause damage down the line. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: When paired with the leg curl machine, it will give you a balanced leg workout. 

Why It Sucks: It does not match any sort

of natural body movement and can actually cause knee pain and injuries. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: It is a move that will give the entire body a workout.

Why It Sucks: While doing this move right can mean an increase in total

body strength and performance, the odds of doing it right without many hours of proper training from a professional are minimal and you’re setting yourself up for an

injury. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: It’s great to help strengthen your the muscles in your shoulders. 

Why It Sucks: While it can help your strength, in theory, this move is dangerous

because it puts your shoulder muscles in an awkward, overly-weak position. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: It strengthens your leg muscles.

Why It Sucks: This motion puts too much focus on your quads, to the detriment of your knees and

hamstrings. You are better off doing a free-weighted squat or lunge.

What It (Supposedly) Does: They will flatten your stomach and tighten your core.

Why It Sucks: According to fitness trainer Holly Perkins, these will simply twist your spine,

useless for both tasks. They should be forgotten completely. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: Doing this is all you need to lose weight and get in shape.

Why It Sucks: Slow treadmill walking will have a minimal effect

on your cardio and you need to balance that out with proper strength training to have a healthy body. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: They will help define your arms and strengthen your triceps.

Why It Sucks: More likely, you are going to overload your arm muscles which

could lead to shoulder pain. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: You will help define and strengthen your shoulder muscles.

Why It Sucks: This is an unnatural motion and you could end up overloading your

shoulder muscles and causing damage.

What It (Supposedly) Does: Doing this will burn off your love handles. 

Why It Sucks: You are not working any of your core muscles and simply causing distress

to your spine.

What It (Supposedly) Does: You will strengthen your chest muscles.

Why It Sucks: Since you are upright, your chest muscles are not working against gravity. It is actually

working your shoulder. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: Using this machine will decrease outer upper leg fat.

Why It Sucks: Actually, while you will be strengthening muscles, you will not be reducing

fat. Things like step-ups work the same muscle and incorporate an element of cardio. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: You will help strengthen your midsection.

Why It Sucks: Moving too quickly can cause strain on the hip flexors and spine, which could lead

to pain and injury.

What It (Supposedly) Does: You will strengthen your core/lower back muscles.

Why It Sucks: Actually, you could cause lower back issues by hyperextending your spine. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: This is a great way to strengthen the lat muscles on your back.

Why It Sucks: This unnatural movement brings your spine out of alignment, which

could cause damage to it.

What It (Supposedly) Does: These will burn away the fat of love handles.

Why It Sucks: These actually work to strengthen your side muscles (obliques). They’re no good for

burning fat, though—only cardio will do. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: You will define your abs and burn fat.

Why It Sucks: Putting your hands behind your neck and lifting yourself off the ground can cause your

spine pain. It’s better to keep your lower back on the ground. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: These will shape your butt and increase leg strength.

Why It Sucks: They do that, but they don’t help with overall leg strength—they focus on mainly

only quad strength, while lunges are a more holistic option. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: It will strengthen your biceps/give you fuller looking arms.

Why It Sucks: While curls will help grow the biceps, it’s at the loss of strength

in other areas of the body. You’re focusing on one body part vs. the whole body and causing strength imbalances. 

What It (Supposedly) Does: These will strengthen your lower back.

Why It Sucks: Depending on how flexible you are, you could end up hyperextending and injuring your lower

back muscles or your spine.

What It (Supposedly) Does: These are a great high intensity exercise that will help you burn fat.

Why It Sucks: They are high impact and could lead to knee and other

joint damage that could cut out your ability to work out for a time.