10 Exercises That Are Overhyped (and Better Alternatives)

If you come across a workout featuring banded squats, or their counterparts like banded glute kickbacks and banded donkey kicks, chances are it’s not the most effective use of your time.

While there’s nothing wrong with incorporating these moves into a warmup or using a band around the knees as a drill (for example, to practice pushing your knees out during squats), relying on a band to make a squat more challenging won’t do much. To really challenge your body, adding weight to the bar is what makes a difference. Booty bands won’t get you far.

What to do instead: Go for a real weighted squat. If you have access to a barbell, kettlebell, or dumbbell, goblet squats are a great option. Alternatively, step-ups or single-leg squats are excellent choices.

Honestly, this entire slideshow was sparked by how some kettlebell enthusiasts reacted when Men’s Health called the Turkish getup overrated. Apologies, folks, but they’re correct.

The Turkish getup, where you move from lying on the floor to standing with a weight overhead, is a great test of your core strength, shoulder stability, balance, and more. It has its roots in circus performances and is impressive for showcasing your abilities.

However, if you want to master getups, the most effective approach is to train with regular weights to develop the various types of strength needed. The getup is a combination of movements, with some parts more challenging than others at the same weight. Even its biggest fans usually incorporate it as a light warm-up. If it were truly a strength-building exercise, it would be loaded and progressed like any other lift.

What to do instead: For shoulder strength, do presses and overhead carries. For single-leg balance, try lunges. For core strength, almost any core exercise will work. Break the getup into its components and train them individually as real lifts.

I’m not sure if burpees are overrated or underrated. People hate them, yet they’re included in so many workouts. What earned them a place on this list is that they’re more of a filler than a purposeful exercise. They’ll leave you completely exhausted in no time, with no equipment required.

This makes them perfect from a Crossfit coach’s perspective (just throw them in between barbell exercises and you don’t need a second piece of equipment) as well as for at-home workouts where you can get fatigued without needing any gear.

However, there are still plenty of reasons they’re not ideal. Beginners will quickly tire out from the squat jump and pushup combo; more experienced athletes will get a cardio benefit, but not much strength gain. These two different effects make burpees a poor choice for a universal exercise.

What to do instead: If you want a cardio move without equipment that won’t make you dread life, try the original four-count burpee as shown in the video above. Place your hands on the floor, jump your feet back and then return to the starting position, then stand up. It’s less intense and exhausting.

On the flip side, if you want a move that focuses more on strength and less on cardio—with less pain—consider Dan John’s “humane burpee,” which breaks down the movements and incorporates weighted exercises. You’ll perform kettlebell swings, goblet squats, and pushups in a descending rep scheme.

Achieving your first pull-up is a major milestone, but there's a bit of a paradox: the best way to build pull-up strength is by doing pull-ups, but you can’t quite do one yet.

There are plenty of great ways to bridge that gap, but too often, people get stuck relying on banded pull-ups. (In this version, you attach a resistance band to the pull-up bar, place your foot or knee in it, and let it assist you in pulling up.) While banded pull-ups do provide some pulling work, they unfortunately don’t teach you the body control you need to make the jump to real pull-ups.

What to do instead: Try negative pull-ups, bench-assisted pull-ups, and flexed-arm hangs. Add a lot of accessory work like lat pulldowns and Kroc rows, and you’ll quickly build the strength necessary for a full pull-up. This routine incorporates several of these methods, and I can personally confirm that it works.

Running is a fantastic activity. It’s easy to begin (just grab shoes, a sports bra if needed, and decent weather) and it definitely helps improve cardiovascular health.

However, it’s not suitable for everyone. Some people struggle to run comfortably due to their weight, joint issues, or simply not knowing how to run without feeling like they're about to collapse. While these challenges can be overcome, there’s a valid question to ask: Why bother?

You don’t need to run to enhance your cardio fitness, especially if you dislike it. Running also carries a higher injury risk compared to other forms of exercise, so it’s perfectly reasonable to skip it.

What to do instead: Cycling, whether indoors or outdoors, is an easy substitute for low-intensity jogging or high-intensity running intervals. If you want something even simpler, walking can replace jogging, as long as you increase the intensity: try walking briskly, uphill (a treadmill with incline works wonders), or adding a weighted backpack or vest.

The plank became widely used as an alternative to the crunch (which itself replaced sit-ups), and it does offer benefits. Mainly, it engages all your core muscles, not just the six-pack muscles at the front.

But it’s overrated because, really, it’s just one exercise. Plus, you can't progressively load it; you simply hold it for longer and longer. Once you can manage a three-minute plank, there’s not much advantage to working toward four minutes. Also, let's be honest—some of us just get bored.

What to do instead: Explore other core exercises! There are so many options out there. Start with deadbugs and bird dogs, which involve moving your limbs while keeping your core engaged. For a plank-like move that you can load, try pallof presses using a cable machine. Or for a truly tough variation, master the ab roller.

Bicep curls aren't inherently a bad exercise. In fact, some of us (myself included) should probably be doing them more regularly. However, they make the overrated list due to the gym-goers who focus solely on them. If your arm day consists of six different bicep isolation exercises, chances are you're neglecting other muscle groups.

What to do instead: Take a closer look at your workout routine and see what you're overlooking. If you fit the stereotype, you’ve probably forgotten that your back muscles exist (because, let’s face it, you can’t see them in the mirror). Incorporate Pendlay rows, Kroc rows, lat pulldowns, seated cable rows, or chin-ups. These exercises will not only target your biceps but also engage your core and upper back.

Carrying a pair of heavy dumbbells (or specialized farmer’s handles) across the gym floor is an excellent way to enhance your grip strength. But let’s be real—I’m tired of hearing it suggested as the only method to develop grip (other than opting to deadlift without straps, which, in my opinion, is also overhyped).

What to do instead: Try some other grip exercises! There’s an abundance of options. Finger curls and wrist curls with a barbell can seriously boost your grip. You can also incorporate deadlift holds and pull-up bar hangs to practice your support grip without needing extra gear. Heavy kettlebell swings work wonders as well. Plus, don’t overlook the power of pinch grip and thick bar exercises.

Let’s talk about it: if you’re not a powerlifter, is the bench press really essential? The truth is, probably not. I’m a fan of bench pressing myself, though I haven't done it in ages. The sports I've participated in recently—like strongman, weightlifting, and kettlebell sports—don’t require you to lie on your back to lift. Plus, bench pressing is a fairly new invention; before the widespread use of racks and benches, it just wasn’t part of the regular routine.

What to do instead: Don’t feel like you have to abandon the bench press completely. However, consider diving into the world of overhead pressing! Barbell strict press and push press are excellent choices, while a one-handed kettlebell press can help boost your pressing power. And, if I may recommend a seriously underrated move: make room for some weighted dips in your workouts.

When following a workout created by someone else (and you definitely should), you’ll inevitably encounter exercises that you absolutely can’t stand.

When that happens, take a moment to reflect on why you hate it. Sometimes, the exercise targets a weakness that you actually need to address; in those cases, you should push through and embrace the discomfort for the benefits it will bring.

But at other times, the exercise might just be filler, like burpees. Or it could be a poor substitute for something more effective, like using banded squats instead of proper weighted squats. There are countless ways to become fitter and stronger—it's never a matter of one exercise being the only option.

What to do instead: Understand the reasoning behind the inclusion of that move in your workout, then search for a suitable alternative that achieves the same goal without the frustration. For example, if mountain climbers leave your shoulders sore, try jumping jacks instead. Experiment with different exercises and see if you can find one you actually enjoy.