7 Exercises I Don’t Do Anymore and What I Do Instead

Climbing to the age of 40 and beyond brings with it a host of changes. Some great (family, wisdom, some success), but it also has its fair share of challenges (more medical maintenance, heftier bills, weary joints).

I’ve been training consistently since I was 14, so my joints aren’t necessarily aged, they just have a lot of mileage (in between cancer treatment and military deployments). From high volume and a fair amount of cardio to heavy-duty training and contest dieting, my joints have been around the block more than a few times.

But I’m an optimist. No matter the challenge, I always feel like there’s a way to keep going, keep progressing, and getting better.

However, with that mindset comes the knowledge of when to shift, adjust, and downright change. Below are seven exercises I simply don’t practice anymore. Some have been replaced altogether, while others have seen a shift in how and when I do them.

Shoulder press

After years of torturous weight and every variation of a shoulder press imaginable, my shoulders have had it. At this point in my lifting career, my front deltoids get plenty (and I mean PLENTY) of work from all the pressing movements for chest. I mainly stick to side and rear deltoid work, exclusively. I know, it sounds like I’m violating some sort of timeless rule or something.

Bilateral leg extension

My gym (as do many) has one of those leg extension machines where the arm of the cam originates from one side. I wrote a little about it here. Over time, that arm bends and creates a strength imbalance–hence, my knee pain. Now, I exclusively perform single-leg extensions to mitigate that imbalance.

Ultra wide-grip pull-up

I loved going wide on pull-ups. So much so that I would hang an ultra-wide lat pull-down bar over the chin bar for extra width. After years of attempting to pull my shoulders apart, I now take a slightly narrower grip to alleviate any shoulder stress, especially on the rotator cuff area.

Traditional triceps extension (nosebreakers)

I was a huge advocate of angling my elbows over my head and bringing the weight to the top of my head for continuous stress on my triceps. After some elbow pain and discomfort (see here), I’ve since moved my elbows down toward my chest and lower the bar to my actual nose. Happy elbows once again!

Heavy Romanian deadlifts

I’m tall with long limbs, so I’m pretty good at pulling. Not so much with pushing. Heavy barbell Romanian deadlifts for hamstrings were my thing, along with rows, pull-ups, and any type of curl. Over time, I began to wonder why I’m going so dang heavy on RDLs. I’m no longer trying to “out-hamstring” the guy next to me onstage, so I lightened the load, slowed it down, and now feel the rewards.

Flat barbell press

Like I said, I’ve never been a good pusher, so pressing has always been a challenge. There was a time when I was decent and I sported healthy shoulders, but over time, my luck ran out. I gravitated more toward incline and dumbbell work. My shoulders verbally thank me now.

Overhead dumbbell extension

For some reason, my elbows just don’t like sheer force placed upon them–go figure! Any type of overhead barbell or dumbbell extension just kills them. Now, I do overhead cable extension with two necessities. One, I place the cable to about shoulder height, so when I lunge forward, the cable is more parallel to the floor. Two, if available, I like to use a cable apparatus with at least two or more pulleys. This is a much smoother experience for my joints.

What about you? Are there any exercises you’ve sworn off? Why? Comment below.

Happy lifting!

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