Personal Trainers Share The Exercises They Literally Never Do (And Neither Should You)

Few things are more frustrating than injuring yourself during a workout — a time that is intended to be a benefit for your physical and mental health. But, sadly, it happens. And some exercises lead to injury more than others.

When it comes to safety concerns, personal trainers have workout moves they avoid or don’t do with clients for this exact reason — along with the fact that some movements are ineffective.

Below, fitness professionals share the exercise they don’t do in their workouts, along with some alternatives to try instead:

American Kettlebell Swing

Smith Machine Squat

Barbell Glute Bridge

“I definitely believe that the barbell glute bridge is an overhyped exercise when it comes down to glute hypertrophy,” aka muscle building in the glutes, said Andrew Gonzalez, a trainer at Chelsea Piers in Brooklyn.

“While staying in the realm of hip hinging, I believe barbell Romanian deadlifts and Good Mornings ... using the safety squat bar are better alternatives for glute hypertrophy because they provide a better stretch-to-shorten stimulus,” Gonzalez said.

Beyond this, he said the Bulgarian split squat with a little bit of front-foot elevation is his go-to movement for glute work. “These exercises provide a better environment to give fuller ranges of motion on the eccentric part of the movement rather than the concentric, which is known to be a better driver for hypertrophy all around,” he said.

Weighted Plank

Box Jumps

Loaded Back Squats

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.