The exercises you need to keep and ditch, from someone who has seen it all.

Read time: 5 minutes

There are a few things in my life that I'm quite proud of:
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• Getting my honours degree in business, despite slightly alcoholic behaviour at times 😂
• How I've been able to fool my fianceé into staying with me for so long (please don't tell her)
• My unique ability to stay optimistic. Which has helped me stay in the industry for as long as I have.
• And the usual family and friends stuff.

But when I really dig into it, nothing tops the impact my career choice has had on the 100s of clients I've worked with over my 10+ years in the industry.

The average personal trainer is in and out of the career in 2-3 years, but I'm still making hay after a decade.

So I have a perspective on all things health and fitness that 99% of people will NEVER have.

And guess what I've learned?

Most 'influencers' and coaches are solely after your money.

Just when you think you've seen it all in the gym, you realise you really haven't.

And that some people still think that there is such a thing as 'fat-burning exercises'.

So, in this week's newsletter, I'm sharing the BEST and WORST exercises around.

One's you need to start, others you need to rekindle your love for, and some you need to stay the f*ck away from at all costs!

Let's get into it...

Burpees

They're first on the list for a reason.

I don't hate many things in life.

Liverpool football club. Entitled people. Seafood.

To name a few.

Oh, and burpees. I f*cking hate burpees.

Rest assured, if you ever come onboard as a client, you will NEVER find burpees in your training programme. Even in the off chance that you're slightly mentally challenged and ask me to put them in, I still won't.

Why am I so passionately against them?

• Typically performed to the point of exhaustion, which leads to messy form, potential injury, and a sh*t tonne of strain on your central nervous system.

• Despite not looking like much, they're actually a very skilled and complex movement. You need to be able to do a push up, a squat, a plyo jump, and your core and lower back need to be extremely strong and stable. If you can't do all of this with ease, you've got no right going anywhere near a burpee.

• What's the actual point of them? What are they training? Cardio? Strength? Endurance? Discipline? I can do ALL of this more efficiently and safely with other exercises.

I've seen coaches have obese clients doing burpees, and it makes me wince, because I know deep down that the coach hasn't a fecking clue what they're doing, and that the client is hating every last second of it.

Do yourself a favour. Pass on them.

Deficit Deadlifts That Don't Actually Go Past The Deficit

What is the point?

Seriously, what. is. the. point?

The entire reason you perform a deficit deadlift, or any other deficit-style exercise, is to increase the range of motion, which demands more from the muscles through a longer stretch.

That's the benefit. That's why you'd bother setting it up.

But I'm forever seeing folks (90% ladies), standing up on a pair of steps, or up in the squat rack (if you know you know), with a dumbbell or kettlebell hanging between their legs, and the weight barely clears the deficit.

You're essentially deadlifting from the floor with extra steps and a more complicated setup.

Unless you're going deeper by at least a few inches, don't bother with the exercise. Because if it's not a few inches, what's the point?

I got a bit of PTSD writing that 🫠

If you're going to go to the effort of a deficit, actually go into the deficit. Lower the weight if you need to, because the whole point is the range of motion, not the load.

Otherwise, stay on the floor. The floor works perfectly fine and requires significantly less of my patience if on the off chace I walk past you 👀

Machine Ab Crunches

Ah yes. The crunch machine. A beloved staple of gym-goers who want to "feel the burn" in their abs without actually doing anything remotely useful for their core.

Here's the issue ⤵

When those little elves were building homo sapiens thousands of years ago (don't quote me on that), they didn't design your core to simply flex and extend in isolation.

It's designed to resist movement, transfer force, and stabilise your entire body during dynamic movements and compound exercises.

That's its job.

The crunch machine trains NONE of that.

What it does do is train your hip flexors to a worrying degree, encourage a forward head posture, and give you a false sense of productivity while the actual core work you need goes completely undone.

And here's the kicker... If you're doing squats, deadlifts, carries, and good anti-rotation work, your core is already getting an absolute hammering.

You don't need the machine. Not even a little bit.

So step away from it and NEVER go near it again.

I'm begging you 🙏🏻

Heavy Leg Extensions

I want to be clear here.

I'm not writing off the leg extension machine entirely.

For hypertrophy and rehab purposes, it absolutely has a place.

Isolating the quad through a controlled range of motion, with appropriate load, is a legitimate tool.

Post-surgery rehab in particular relies on it for good reason.

The problem is what I actually see happening in gyms, and it sends my nuts straight up into my stomach.

People slamming the full stack, jerking the weight up with zero control, and grinding through reps like they're trying to break the machine.

That's where the trouble starts!

At excessive loads, the shear force through the knee joint becomes a real concern, and it's a concern that can turn into an actual injury if you're not careful.

Use it. Just don't abuse it.

Your knees will thank you.

Upper Trap Shrugs (For 90% Of You)

Look. I get it. Massive traps look impressive. Very intimidating. Very "don't mess with me I have big traps" kinda vibe.

But here's the reality for the vast majority of people reading this, and I include myself in this.

You are already chronically overusing your upper traps.

Hours at a desk, hunched over a laptop, scrolling your phone with your chin practically touching your chest, your upper traps are already working overtime and are almost certainly tight as a drum right now.

And here's something I've seen play out with clients more times than I can count ⤵

That chronic upper trap tension doesn't just stay in your shoulders. It creeps up into the base of your skull and becomes a tension headache that you've probably been blaming on stress, dehydration, or your screen brightness.

Shrugs, particularly heavy ones, pour fuel on that fire. The muscles that actually need the work are the mid and lower traps, the rhomboids, and the serratus anterior. Not the ones that are already doing too much.

Address the tension first. Then worry about the aesthetics.

Not that thick, juicy traps is everyones idea of aesthetic goals...

It's mine though 😂

Right, enough of the negativity. Let's talk about the exercises I'd take to a desert island.

Just me, my laptop, a strong wifi connection, a fully kitted out gym, and quiet 🏝️
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Romanian Deadlifts

If I could only give a client one exercise for the rest of their life, I'd lose sleep over it, but the RDL would be in serious contention.

It trains the posterior chain, so hamstrings, glutes, and lower back, through a lengthened range, which is where muscle growth and strength happen.

It teaches you how to hip hinge properly, which carries over to almost every other movement pattern in the gym, and more importantly, in real life.

I can't tell you how many middle-aged men I've spoken to who have pulled their lower back picking dog sh*t off the floor. A strong RDL would reduce this by 95%.

When done correctly, it's one of the safest, transferable, and most effective exercises you can put in a programme.

The hamstrings are chronically undertrained in most people and chronically shortened from sitting all day. The RDL addresses both of those problems in one shot.

Take your time to perfect your technique, load it progressively, keep your spine neutral, feel the hamstrings load up on the way down, and drive the hips through at the top.

Beautiful. Every. Single. Time.

Side Plank Variations

I know what you're thinking.

"Mark, a plank? Really?"

Yes, really, and hear me out.

The side plank is one of the finest anti-lateral flexion exercises in existence. Which, in English, means it trains your core to resist your spine from collapsing sideways, something it needs to do constantly in real life.

And when I say variations, I mean it.

The standard side plank is just the starting point. Add a hip dip. Progress to a star side plank. Throw in a cable pull or a resistance band row from that position.

The progressions are almost endless, and the demand on your obliques, glute medius, and lateral stabilisers ramps up accordingly.

This exercise doesn't get nearly enough credit. The people who train it consistently tend to have bulletproof cores that hold up under heavy compound lifts.

I've been battling some annoying hip tendinitis, and the side plank is playing a key role in my rehab process.

Don't overlook it because it's a legit exercise!

Just don't do what everyone else does and tries to hold it for as long as they can, that sh*t is boring as hell!

Do 10 secs, drop for 3 secs, and repeat 3-6 times. Then swap sides. That's how you side plank in a way that relates to real life.

Single Leg Squats

Believe it or not, but your body spends the majority of its life on one leg. Walking, climbing stairs, stepping off a curb, playing sports, it's all single-leg dominant.

And yet the vast majority of people train exclusively on two legs and then wonder why they have imbalances, hip and knee pain, and one wobbly leg that seems to have a life of its own.

The single-leg squat, whether that's a Bulgarian split squat, a rear foot elevated variation, a step up, or if you're a real badass, a true pistol squat, forces each leg to carry its own weight.

You can't hide behind the stronger side. Every weakness gets exposed, which means every weakness gets addressed.

They're humbling.

They're hard.

And they're essential.

Your future independence and quality of life will depend a lot on your commitment to single-leg training, so don't skimp on it.

Experienced lifters should be doing a minimum of two single-leg exercises weekly.

Carries

Carries might be the most underrated exercise category in existence, and I will die on this hill.

The concept is simple ⤵

You pick something heavy up, and you walk with it. But what's happening inside your body is anything but simple.

Your core is working overtime. Your grip is being taxed. Your traps, rhomboids, and rotator cuffs are working together to keep your shoulders in a healthy position. Your hips and glutes are firing to help you walk correctly. Your cardiovascular system is working harder than it looks.

All of that, from walking with a weight.

The suitcase carry, where you hold a weight on one side only, is particularly special for building core strength and exposing weaknesses in your core stability.

The overhead carry, where the weight is pressed up and held locked out, is a masterclass in shoulder stability and overall control.

Overhead carries are beyond nasty!

If you're not carrying something heavy regularly, you're leaving a lot of gains on the table.

Neck Strengthening Exercises

This one tends to get a raised eyebrow, but stick with me because this might arguably be the most important one on this list.

The neck is one of the most vulnerable parts of the human body and one of the most neglected in training.

Poor neck strength contributes to headaches, shoulder problems, and, of course, neck pain.

Strengthening the neck through three different movements:

→ Flexion, extension, and lateral flexion, or forward, backwards, and sideways.

Helps you build a stronger neck, and a stronger neck will be a more stable neck. The more stability you have, the less pain you'll have.

It doesn't need to be complicated. Isometric holds, light resistance band work, and general neck movement are all effective.

Something as 'little' as five minutes a couple of times a week is enough to make a meaningful difference.

For most of my clients, this is one of the first things I address. It pays dividends in posture, pain reduction, and long-term resilience.

And this is coming from someone who has made this a major part of his workouts over the last 6 months.

Office life doesn't be kind to a lad these days 😂

Bonus Round: Curls For The Girls, Tricep Extensions For The... Mentions 🤷🏻‍♂️😂

Look, I can't in good conscience write an entire newsletter about exercises without giving the arms their moment.

Are bicep curls and tricep extensions going to change your life? No.

Are they going to make your arms look considerably better in a t-shirt, which in turn makes you feel great? You bet your arse they will!

Sometimes the best exercise is the one that makes you want to come back tomorrow.

And if you really want to level up your arm game, look no further than chin-ups and dips. I've been doing weighted versions of both weekly, and the arm pump is no joke!

If you've got any questions on any of these exercises or you want some advice on exercise selection and programming in general, just pop me a reply, and we'll chat.

Right, you've been a legend for making it this far. Rememeber to stay away from the charlatans and never eat yellow snow.

Catch you again soon ✌️

Quote for the day

Mark Gray

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Disclaimer: This newsletter is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any guidance related to training, nutrition, supplementation, or lifestyle is general in nature and not a substitute for personalised medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional before making changes to your health routine.