Are they actually dangerous or just misunderstood?
If you have spent more than five minutes on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok lately, you have seen it.
A fitness influencer tells you an exercise you have been doing for years is bad, dangerous, or destroying your joints.
No context. No explanation. Just panic.
“Do deadlifts and your back will explode.”
“Squats ruin your knees.”
“Never do upright rows unless you hate your shoulders.”
It is loud, dramatic, and usually wrong.
In this episode of Past Your Prime, we break down the five most controversial exercises in 2026 and answer the questions that actually matter:
- Are these exercises inherently risky
- Who should not be doing them
- When they are useful and when they should be modified or avoided
- And in some cases, whether you should actually make them harder
Let’s walk through them.
Why Certain Exercises Get Labeled “Bad”
Most exercise fear comes from oversimplification.
Exercises do not exist in a vacuum. Risk depends on:
- Tissue capacity, what your body can tolerate right now
- Physical capacity, what you are strong enough to do
- Technique and control
- Volume, load, and recovery
- Injury history and current symptoms
When all of that context is removed, rules replace thinking. Rules do not work in real bodies.
Upright Row
Core Concern
The upright row places the shoulder into elevation and internal rotation under load, which is mechanically an impingement position. With the thumb lower than the elbow, the humeral head is driven upward toward the acromion, compressing the rotator cuff between bony structures.
Why This Matters
- Functions like a loaded shoulder impingement test
- Repeated compression can worsen existing shoulder pain
- Especially provocative for rotator cuff related symptoms
When It Might Be Tolerated
- Individual is highly mobile
- Demonstrates excellent shoulder control
- Load is kept light and not treated as a max effort lift
Anatomical Considerations
- A hooked or beaked acromion reduces subacromial space
- Individuals with this anatomy are more likely to experience sharp symptoms
- Those with a flatter acromion and good control may tolerate the movement better
Preferred Alternatives
- Face pulls to load the deltoid without impingement
- Suitcase carries to load the shoulder with minimal impingement risk
Deadlift
Core Position
The deadlift is a foundational hinge movement and should not be avoided. Hinging is required in daily life, making this movement essential to develop.
Primary Issue
The main problem is a mismatch between physical capacity and tissue capacity.
- Physical capacity is how much load someone can lift
- Tissue capacity is what connective tissue and bone can tolerate
Why Symptoms Occur
- People often progress load faster than tissue can adapt
- Muscles adapt quickly, while connective tissue adapts over months to years
- Symptoms reflect insufficient tissue tolerance, not a flawed movement
Mechanical Demands
- Loads hamstrings, glutes, paraspinals, and lats
- Requires high levels of core control
- Sagittal plane control is critical to limit shear and disc stress
Progression Strategy
- Bodyweight hinge or waiter’s bow to establish pattern
- Banded deadlifts or kettlebell deadlifts
- Trap bar before straight bar
- Lateralizations such as banded pull throughs or lat focused work
Good Mornings
Core Purpose
Good mornings are similar to deadlifts and are useful for training control of spinal extension during hip flexion.
Primary Risk
Leverage is the main concern.
- Load sits on the shoulders
- Forward torso angle creates a large lever arm
- High torque can be generated with relatively low weight
Key Constraints
- Load should remain low
- Movement should be completely symptom free
- This is not a lift where load progression is emphasized
Symptom Interpretation
- Hamstring tightness at end range may reflect neural mechanosensitivity
- Not all tightness represents muscular restriction
Useful Lateralization
- Banded good mornings with resistance in front of the body
- Band tension decreases as leverage increases, reducing vulnerability at depth
Deep Barbell Squats
Core Value
The squat is considered one of the most important compound movements.
Primary Concern
Deep, fully loaded knee flexion becomes problematic when joint irritation or meniscal pathology is present.
Joint Loading Considerations
- High compressive load at the patellofemoral joint
- End range flexion irritates the capsule and synovial lining when the joint is inflamed
- Joint irritation is often present before symptoms are clearly recognized
Meniscal Considerations
- End range flexion increases meniscal loading
- Reduced meniscal mobility increases risk of irritation or further injury
Progression Framework
- Sit to stands to normalize patterning
- Loaded sit to stands
- Bodyweight squats in free space
- Goblet or kettlebell squats
- Barbell squats only after prior steps are mastered
Lateralizations
- Change load position
- Use sandbags or offset loads
- Heel lifts to modify lower extremity leverage
Leg Extension
Role in Programming
Leg extensions are classified as an accessory exercise and not a primary lift.
Useful Application
- Isometric loading for tendon pathology
- Controlled quad activation when appropriate
Primary Concern
- High compressive load at the patellofemoral joint near terminal extension
- Provocative for individuals with grinding, popping, catching, or joint degeneration
Additional Limitations
- Open chain mechanics differ from closed chain tasks
- Full extension can be highly provocative for meniscal pathology
- Can worsen symptoms in cases of joint swelling or recurrent effusion
When It Is Avoided
- Significant quad tightness
- Recurrent knee swelling
- Active patellofemoral irritation
Overhead Press
Primary Observation
This is the exercise most commonly associated with new symptoms in clinical and coaching settings.
Primary Risk
Cervical spine loading.
- Shoulder stability is tightly linked to cervical stability
- The neck is loaded more than most people realize
- Poor cervical control can lead to first rib dysfunction or loss of neck motion
Secondary Risk
Shoulder impingement.
- Limited shoulder flexion increases cuff compression at end range
- External rotation weakness often causes the arm to drift outward
- This compensation increases impingement risk and can become habitual
Coaching Errors
- Cues encouraging shoulder packing restrict scapular upward rotation
- Upward rotation is required for normal shoulder flexion
- Restricting this motion increases compressive stress on the shoulder
Modification Strategy
- Address cervical stability directly when indicated
- Work within pain free ranges
- Reduce gravitational demand with band pressing in supine positions
- Progress to incline pressing, then dumbbell pressing
- Barbell pressing last due to reduced degrees of freedom
Final Takeaway
This discussion is not about labeling exercises as good or bad.
It is about understanding what each movement loads, what it tests, and how an individual responds to it. Many of the exercises discussed here function less as strength builders and more as stress tests. When someone does not tolerate a position or load, the symptoms are not random. They reflect a mismatch between the demands of the exercise and the capacity of the tissues involved.
Good training and good rehab both depend on recognizing those signals and adjusting accordingly. That may mean changing the load, modifying the position, using a lateralization, or temporarily removing an exercise altogether. The goal is not to avoid challenging movements, but to apply them at the right time, in the right context, and for the right reason.
Understanding why an exercise provokes symptoms is more useful than simply deciding to keep or discard it.
Want More Context?
Check out:
- The 6 Functional Exercises Tested During a Movement Assessment
https://smithperformancecenter.com/the-6-functional-exercises-tested-during-a-movement-assessment/ - This Past Your Prime episode on movement patterns and progression
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pir6_yI8e9w
🎙️ About Past Your Prime
Past Your Prime is the podcast for active adults balancing training, rehab, family, and real life.
Hosted by Craig Smith (PT & SPC Founder) and Alex Keicher (professional athlete and working dad) and presented by Smith Performance Center.
