5 Exercises Holding You Back From Your Fitness Goals (Including Burpees)

When it comes to fitness, we all want to get the most bang for our buck. In an effort to get fitter and stronger, many people combine strength and cardio exercises into one gym session. However, it turns out that this popular training style might not be bringing you any closer to your goals.

As an exercise physiologist and health coach, I've noticed that certain exercises frequently fail to yield the desired outcomes for my clients.

Burpees are often touted as a full-body exercise that can build strength and improve cardiovascular fitness. And while they do engage multiple muscle groups, the problem lies in their execution. I've noticed that very few people perform burpees with proper form, which can lead to ineffective results and even injuries.

Yes, HIIT made the list! High-intensity interval training has become super popular because of its timesaving potential. And yes, HIIT can be a very effective way to quickly spike your heart rate by combining cardiovascular and strength exercises.

This is another example of a compound move that would be more effective if separated. While adding bicep curls to your lunges is a way to get your upper body involved, they can limit your leg strength gains. Since the biceps are smaller muscles, you'll only be able to curl a light weight while lunging.

Bench dips are a go-to exercise for toning triceps, but they come with a significant drawback: Many individuals allow their shoulders to roll forward during this exercise, increasing the risk of injury and diminishing its effectiveness.

Weighted side bends target the obliques—but these muscles are primarily used for rotating and resisting rotation. This makes the lateral movement of side bends less effective.

When you combine strength and cardio exercises into one workout (like a HIIT class or boot camp), there's often a trade-off between the two.

This is because strength and cardio exercises have different energy requirements. Strength exercises are anaerobic, demanding short bursts of high-intensity effort, while cardio exercises are aerobic, requiring sustained, lower-intensity effort over a longer period of time.

Combining both types of exercises in a single session can compromise the quality and effectiveness of each. When you're already fatigued from cardio, your performance in strength exercises may suffer. Conversely, focusing solely on strength within a single session allows you to lift heavier weights, promoting more all-important muscle growth.

Additionally, for optimal strength gains, you need adequate rest between sets to allow muscles to recover and adapt. In a combined session, the rest time is often limited, hindering your muscle-building potential.

Instead of combining strength and cardio into HIIT-style sessions, I recommend keeping them separate for more efficient and effective workouts.