5 exercises that EVERYONE does incorrectly

Author: Timko Ilya - master of the whole project and fitness trainer.
2015-02-15

As a trainer, I have long identified exercises that the overwhelming majority of people perform incorrectly. Moreover, the length of training experience has little impact on this percentage. This is despite the fact that there are plenty of decent videos on YouTube that explain in detail how to perform each exercise. And there are trainers in every gym.

In this article, I want to focus on those exercises that almost everyone does incorrectly! Every person must be retrained and taught these exercises. Some, however, are even impossible to teach. Of course, this list is not limited to just five exercises. There are many more.

Despite the fact that these exercises should be performed by slightly pushing the hips back and bringing the elbows forward, everyone does the opposite, heavily loading their lower back in the process. Approximately 95% of people perform this exercise incorrectly. Good standing barbell press technique is shown only by weightlifters. Watch the video and note what you are doing wrong.

People often hunch over and drop their knees inappropriately while performing this exercise. Regardless of whether you squat like a weightlifter or use a "bodybuilding" version, the squat technique for 90% of people leaves much to be desired. In the video, a guy explains and demonstrates the ideal squat technique.

Curved back, one-arm pulls, and the hips moving towards the bar (as if you’re doing something else from behind) are the standard techniques used by most people (about 80%). It looks very comical from the sidelines. In practice, however, it works for everything except the back. Below, a guy simply explains the technique of this exercise. Watch it.

Well, that's a whole different story. Personally, I have realized that the correct deadlift technique is mostly shown only by weightlifters. Almost everyone has a curved back. Additionally, there’s the yanking of the bar from the platform, raising the hips up, "catching" the weight, and other delightful traits of peasant deadlift technique.

Two mistakes: lying across the bench and bending the arms too much at the elbows. In this case, a pullover turns into a French press. Lying across the bench is, at minimum, uncomfortable and provides no benefits. Approximately 85% of people perform this exercise incorrectly.

Overall, about 50% of people perform 50% of exercises incorrectly. In this article, I have highlighted the exercises in which people commonly make mistakes. I hope this article helps you to become a bit more technical. Good luck!