Physical therapist and fitness expert Jeff Cavaliere recently released a video targeting exercises he believes carry unnecessary risks—and his cameraman Jesse demonstrated exactly what can go wrong.
Through a mix of humor and hard science, Cavaliere breaks down why certain popular movements might be silently compromising joints, connective tissue, and long-term training longevity.
But he doesn’t just tell viewers what not to do.
Each risky exercise comes with a safer, equally effective alternative designed to deliver results without the accumulated damage.
Upright Rows: Shoulder Impingement Waiting to Happen
Jesse defended his years of upright rows, claiming he’d never experienced a single issue. Cavaliere wasn’t swayed.
I’m not saying that your shoulder’s about to detonate like a claymore in Call of Duty on a single repetition, but the accumulation of those repetitions every time you do your shoulders leads to a compounding risk that just doesn’t need to be there.
The problem? During upright rows, elbows rise significantly higher than wrists, forcing shoulders into internal rotation under load—especially dangerous when arms elevate above shoulder height.
That positioning increases impingement risk and compresses structures within the shoulder joint repeatedly over time.
High Pulls: Same Gains, Better Mechanics
Cavaliere’s alternative shifts elbow positioning entirely. In high pulls, elbows drop below wrist level, creating external shoulder rotation instead.
Trainees can handle equivalent loads and stimulate delts and traps just as effectively—without jamming shoulder joints into compromised positions.
Some argue that stopping upright rows at chest level solves the issue, but Cavaliere noted that’s essentially just doing high pulls with poor form.
Unsupported Dumbbell Flyes: Stretching Into Danger
Jesse invoked Arnold’s legacy to justify traditional flat-bench dumbbell flyes. Cavaliere, speaking as a physical therapist, wasn’t impressed.
The core issue is instability. Shoulders sit in their most vulnerable, stretched position at the bottom of unsupported flyes—especially risky for anterior shoulder capsules as weights increase.
Going light helps, but limits growth potential unnecessarily.
Cable Crossovers: Overload Plus Safety
Standing cable crossovers allow trainees to handle more weight while maintaining control throughout the entire range of motion.
Body positioning relative to cable stacks creates built-in safety. Turning slightly left or right immediately places weights back onto the stack if form breaks down or shoulders feel compromised.
Cable crossovers also permit full adduction across the body’s midline—something flat flyes can’t provide since dumbbells stop at center.
Result: Better stretch, greater tension, heavier loads, and superior safety profile.
Cuban Presses: Mixing Compound Lifts With Corrective Work
I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to combine a basic compound lift like an overhead press with a corrective exercise because it’s just not necessary.
Cuban presses attempt blending external rotation movements with overhead pressing. Cavaliere argues they fail at both.
Rotator cuff stimulation occurs only briefly at movement initiation, limiting corrective benefits. Meanwhile, overhead pressing mechanics get compromised by lighter loads required for rotation portions.
Face Pulls With Overhead Extension: Superior Activation
Face pulls provide resisted external rotation throughout the entire range of motion, not just at the start.
Adding an overhead component engages lower traps, further stabilizing shoulders for long-term joint health. Separate overhead presses with heavier weights address strength development more effectively.
Anchored-Feet Sit-Ups: Hip Flexor Overload
Jesse credited his Navy drill instructor father for teaching him to anchor feet during sit-ups. Cavaliere respectfully disagreed with the technique.
Anchoring feet beneath stationary objects reduces abdominal engagement by allowing hip flexors to dominate. Overactive hip flexors then yank on lumbar spine structures, creating low back pain.
Pulling Against Resistance: Hamstring Engagement
Instead of anchoring feet under something, Cavaliere recommends pulling against resistance.
This variation activates hamstrings, which reciprocally inhibit hip flexor overactivity. Abdominals work harder, repetitions become more challenging, but effectiveness skyrockets.
High Rack Pulls: Thoracic Outlet Compression
Loading up rack pulls above knee height allows impressive weight—but creates excessive thoracic rounding.
Shoulder blades shift up and around the body, compressing structures within the thoracic outlet: nerves and blood vessels passing beneath the clavicle.
Solution? Lower the bar below knee level or perform conventional deadlifts from the floor.
Below-knee positioning necessitates hip hinging, which changes spinal mechanics and prevents dangerous shoulder blade protraction.
Single-Leg Bench Rows: Inguinal Hernia Risk
One-arm dumbbell rows with a single leg on the bench create asymmetric loading through the inguinal canal—an area already containing tissue openings that allow other structures passage.
Heavy weights in this position can widen those openings, increasing hernia risk.
Tripod Rows: Balanced Loading
Raising bench angle and placing both feet on the floor eliminates asymmetrical stress while preserving unilateral lat work.
Trainees can still pull heavy, one side at a time, without compromising abdominal wall integrity.
Static Hamstring Stretches Before Running: Wrong Timing
Jesse stretched hamstrings statically before runs. Cavaliere pointed out timing matters more than technique here.
Static stretching before dynamic activity doesn’t adequately prepare muscles for movement demands. Active warm-ups prove more effective.
Leg Swings: Dynamic Flexibility
Leg swings provide dynamic hamstring flexibility while incorporating hip rotation by turning toes inward and outward throughout movement.
When static hamstring stretching is performed, most people do it incorrectly anyway—slumping forward stretches low back, not hamstrings.
Proper form requires: anterior pelvic tilt, shooting hips backward, elevated leg, and reaching chest forward—not downward.
Weighted Side Bends: Spinal Instability
If you’re obsessed with the exercise and think it’s fun like Jesse, there’s probably a reason for it, cuz you’re basically riding the seesaw at the playground by yourself.
Holding dumbbells on both sides during side bends creates pointless resistance. Lumbar spine—designed for stability, not excessive mobility—gets aggravated unnecessarily.
Dropping one dumbbell improves the movement slightly, forcing obliques to work against actual resistance.
Side Planks and Russian Rows
Side planks in any variation build oblique strength through anti-lateral flexion—training spinal stability rather than compromising it.
For rotational work (obliques’ primary function), Russian rows—rotating torso while rowing arm behind body—provide superior activation without spot-reduction myths.
Smarter Training Through Better Exercise Selection
Cavaliere’s message wasn’t about eliminating movements arbitrarily. Each criticized exercise earned its spot through accumulated joint stress, compromised positioning, or simply being outperformed by safer alternatives.
Key principles throughout:
- Joint positioning matters more than exercise tradition
- Accumulated stress compounds over training years
- Safer alternatives often provide better stimulus
- Corrective and strength work shouldn’t mix unnecessarily
- Static and dynamic flexibility serve different purposes
As Jesse recovered from his demonstration injuries (mostly theatrical), Cavaliere emphasized that longevity requires thinking beyond immediate gains.
Exercises that feel fine today might gradually compromise structures over months and years of repetition.
Swapping risky movements for mechanically sound alternatives preserves joints, protects connective tissue, and ensures training capacity remains high for decades—not just training cycles.
