If you’re serious about building muscle and strength, it’s time to take a hard look at your workout routine. According to Dr. Mike Israetel, as he explains in a recent YouTube channel episode, some of the most popular exercises and pieces of equipment in the gym might actually be sabotaging your gains.
Israetel, co-founder of the RP Strength Hypertrophy app, stresses the importance of choosing exercises that truly deliver results, warning against wasting time on “junk” moves. “If you want actual results in strength or hypertrophy… get off the ball and do it instead,” he advises, urging lifters to prioritize proven, effective lifts over trendy or unstable options. “All of these exercises have their place,” Israetel concedes, “but in a program designed to build as much muscle as possible and to lose as much fat as possible, to build as much power and strength as possible, none of these exercises are really top tier.”
Israetel’s bottom line? “All of these exercises have their place. It’s just that, in a program designed to build as much muscle as possible and to lose as much fat as possible, to build as much power and strength as possible, none of these exercises are really top tier.”
So before your next workout, focus on the moves that deliver real results. Your gains will eventually thank you once again. Where to start? Here are the top exercises Israetel says you should reconsider doing— ever—and what to do instead.
5 Moves to Take Out of Your Workout Routine
1. Bosu Ball Exercises
While it’s often marketed as a tool for balance and core strength, Israetel says the Bosu ball will actually sabotage your muscle-building efforts. “When you’re on the ball, you become unstable… your body attempts instability,” he says. “It ramps down your ability to contract the biggest, most low, prone parts of your muscles… they’re called fast-twitch motor humans, and basically shut almost completely off when you’re on an unstable surface like the Bosu ball.”
His advice? If you want actual results get rid of the Bosu ball and do the exercise normally.
2. Kettlebell Training (for muscle and strength)
Kettlebells have their place, but according to Israetel, not if your training goals are to build maximum size and power. “Kettlebells are not ideal. I would highly recommend, if you want strength, power, size, two exercises that are a lot more difficult: the deficit deadlift, the power clean, the mid-thigh pull,” he says.
3. Heavy Farmer’s Carries
While heavy carries look impressive, Israetel says they’re not the best use of your energy. “Heavy carries… it’s a lot of pressure on the skeleton… it also saps the fatigue, weight that you could have dispersed over many other more productive exercises.”
4. Bicycle Abs
Think bicycle crunches are the secret to a six-pack? Think again, Israetel says flatly that, “Bicycle abs are also dumb. They’re not terrible… but it suffers from a few limitations. It never stretches your abs a ton. Your abs have higher endurance, [so it] won’t make them anymore jacked.”
5. Turkish Get-Up
Finally, the Turkish get-up gets the boot from the RP Strength mastermind. “Not exactly certain what the hell it is you’re either testing or training in the Turkish get-up,” he says. … Do you guys know what tests leg strength, the whole shiver better? The deep barbell squat. And you know what tests your overhead pressing ability, strength and stability better? Any kind of barbell overhead press.”