drtbear1967
Musclechemistry Board Certified Member
There aren't that many truly bad exercises, but there are a lot of misused exercises. One of the most common misapplications is when trainers use methods designed for advanced athletes on their regular – and often overweight – clients.
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Plyometrics for the overweight? Jumps can have a positive impact on body comp, but not enough to justify using them with out of shape people. The risk isn't worth the reward. I blame The Biggest Loser for this. They had obese people doing high-rep jumping drills on TV, so it must be a sensible practice, right? Just put yourself in the body of an obese client: You're self-conscious. You feel like you're on display and don't want to attract any attention. The extra weight makes it harder to move and it's risky for your joints. If you have knee and lower back pain from just walking you can imagine what jumping around does. You likely don't have a background in sports and as a result your coordination is poor. And now you're being asked to do a variety of jumps? Jumping on a box, over hurdles, and side to side bounding does nothing but create a spectacle for the coach. There are no real benefits for you, unless you're already fit.
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If you're overweight and self conscious, think of what happens when you jump up and down. The fat also bounces too. That's the kind of situation that'll decrease someone's motivation to keep going back to the gym. Physically, imagine how destructive jumping will be on the joints of someone who has very little muscle and a lot of weight to move. If jumping drills were vastly superior to other exercises that stimulate fat loss, then sure, there'd be a good reason to include them. But they're not. The caloric expenditure from jumps isn't higher than other forms of more appropriate exercises.
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Plyometrics for the overweight? Jumps can have a positive impact on body comp, but not enough to justify using them with out of shape people. The risk isn't worth the reward. I blame The Biggest Loser for this. They had obese people doing high-rep jumping drills on TV, so it must be a sensible practice, right? Just put yourself in the body of an obese client: You're self-conscious. You feel like you're on display and don't want to attract any attention. The extra weight makes it harder to move and it's risky for your joints. If you have knee and lower back pain from just walking you can imagine what jumping around does. You likely don't have a background in sports and as a result your coordination is poor. And now you're being asked to do a variety of jumps? Jumping on a box, over hurdles, and side to side bounding does nothing but create a spectacle for the coach. There are no real benefits for you, unless you're already fit.
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If you're overweight and self conscious, think of what happens when you jump up and down. The fat also bounces too. That's the kind of situation that'll decrease someone's motivation to keep going back to the gym. Physically, imagine how destructive jumping will be on the joints of someone who has very little muscle and a lot of weight to move. If jumping drills were vastly superior to other exercises that stimulate fat loss, then sure, there'd be a good reason to include them. But they're not. The caloric expenditure from jumps isn't higher than other forms of more appropriate exercises.
