'I'm a Personal Trainer and This Is the One Workout I'll Never, Ever Do’

January is the month of the year when motivation to work out is at an all-time high. You’ve thrown out the holiday treats and are ready to get back on track with your health goals. For many, this means coming up with a new workout routine.

Before you commit to trying a workout a friend has told you about or you’ve seen on social media, it’s a good idea to get some insight from a personal trainer to make sure it’s both safe and aligned with your health goals. Just because something is popular doesn’t mean it is the best fit for you. Here, two personal trainers share a workout they would personally never do and what they recommend doing instead.

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The Workout a Personal Trainer Would Never Do

“At 56, I’ve tried all kinds of workouts—from roller derby to CrossFit,” certified personal trainer Elizabeth Sherman, CPT, tells Parade. She’s all for experimenting and switching up ways to stay in shape, but there are certain workout moves she would never do. “I steer clear of anything that feels unsafe or rushed,” Sherman says.

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For example, she would not do any exercises that involve walking while holding dumbbells or using kettlebells on an unstable surface, such a BOSU ball. “These moves increase the risk of injury because they split your focus. If you trip while holding weights, you could hurt yourself badly,” Sherman says.

Sherman says multitasking workout moves can seem like a shortcut because they combine cardio and strength training. But she explains that they can be dangerous because they split your focus. That said, Sherman says that some people may be able to do them safely. “If you’re highly experienced and know how to control your form, you might be able to do these moves safely. But for most people, especially those who just want a simple and effective workout, it’s better to skip them. Most of us work out to stay healthy and strong, not to add stress or risk,” she says.

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Jenny Liebl, CPT, a certified personal trainer and senior product developer at the International Sports Sciences Association, says that, personally, one type of workout she would never do again is CrossFit because it’s easy to get injured while doing it. “While this type of training is high intensity, challenging and has produced some of the fittest people on the planet when delivered to the average population it is a style that also produces a high number of injuries,” she says.

Liebl says that one reason why many people get injured doing CrossFit is that there are not enough instructors at the classes to ensure class-takers are doing the workout moves correctly. She says that CrossFit can be a great fit for people who have strength training experience and want to push themself, but for the average person who wants to lose a few pounds or stay active, she says there are safer ways to meet these goals.

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A Safer Way To Meet Your Health Goals

If you want to stay active or lose weight, you may be realizing that overly intense workouts (like CrossFit or complicated exercise moves that combine strength training and cardio) may not be the safest or best way to meet your health goals. So what should you do instead?

Instead of multitasking exercise moves, Sherman recommends working multiple muscle groups through a full-body circuit workout. “It’s fantastic for beginners. You’ll build strength and confidence with simple moves before trying compound exercises, like combining a squat and shoulder press into one flow,” she says. Here is one example of what Sherman says this can look like:

1. Perform squats for 30 seconds.
2. Then move to shoulder presses for 30 seconds.
3. After that, go back to squats.

This, she says, is safer than doing squats and shoulder presses at the same time. “The key is to focus on quality over quantity. Choose exercises that feel safe and make sense for your body. It’s not about doing more—it’s about doing better,” Sherman says.

Liebl adds to Sherman’s advice, saying that it’s also important to find a type of workout you enjoy and to do it consistently. If you want to start strength training but have never done it before, Liebl recommends working with a certified personal trainer who can show you how to do exercise moves safely and figure out the right weight you should be lifting to meet your health goals safely.

“[Trainers] can help you understand what you are trying to achieve in terms of trainable attributes—things like strength, size, flexibility, muscular or cardiovascular endurance and power. Then, [they] can help you understand the variables—the how—like the exercises that make the most sense, the appropriate training volume and more,” she says.

With all this in mind, Liebl says she’s still all for trying new fitness trends and exercises; it’s just important to do them safely. “Keep your goals and abilities in mind when deciding what activities make the most sense for you to participate in regularly,” she says. That way, you can switch up your workouts while also staying safe.

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Sources

• Elizabeth Sherman, CPT, certified personal trainer, certified health coach and certified nutrition coach
• Jenny Liebl, CPT, certified personal trainer and senior product developer at the International Sports Sciences Association