By Anna Maltby
Some exercise moves are easy, others are tough but manageable. But there are always a few that we truly abhor. Some are so reviled that they have their own merch with phrases like “Burpees Hate You Too.” If you’re not the “no pain, no gain” type, is it OK to just skip the burpee, or any of your other least favourite moves?
“There are some movements that some people are never going to want to do, and that’s OK. But most people underestimate themselves when it comes to fitness,” said Ashantis Jones, a mental health counsellor and personal trainer in Chicago.
Trying something hard and realising you actually can do it, Jones added, is a confidence boost with benefits that stretch beyond the gym. In a 2022 study, scientists found that adults that they classified as unhappy reported higher life satisfaction after trying (often physical) activities outside their comfort zone.
“No one likes to do things they aren’t good at,” said Crystal Fasano, a Brooklyn-based personal trainer and Pilates instructor. But “change happens when we get a little uncomfortable,” she said. The secret: Every exercise can be modified, and any version of an exercise counts.
Here are some of the most valuable least-loved exercises, according to a sampling of experts, and how to make them a little more appealing.
PLANKS
“All my clients hate planks,” Jones said. That may be because they haven’t learned to do them correctly or they’re trying an overly advanced version. Sadly, planks are one of the most effective ways to build core strength, which supports posture, balance and overall stability. If you skip them, you really are missing out.
JUMPING
Whether it’s jumping jacks or squat jumps, Fasano said, many people detest jumping exercises. “So many people land really hard after jumping and don’t understand how to soften the impact on their joints when they jump,” she said.
That’s a missed opportunity, said Maillard Howell, a personal trainer in Brooklyn and co-owner of Dean CrossFit. “Jumping improves balance, coordination. It helps train the quick reaction we need if we slip,” he said.
Keep your knees slightly bent when landing, and aim to let your toes and the balls of your feet touch down first, rather than landing on a flat foot, Fasano said. Also, start slow and break down the movement. You can start with box step-ups before progressing to jumps onto a small box, then a larger box. Or, for jumping jacks, start with stepping jacks, then progress to hopping your feet just a few inches apart, before going for a wider jump.
SQUATS
Howell likes to observe how the people around him move, whether in a fitness setting or on the subway. At some gyms (not his own), “no one is squatting,” he said. Then, on the subway, he notices when fellow passengers need to grab a pole to get out of a seat. These two things, he said, are connected.
Squats are a foundational movement pattern that anyone who wants to sit and stand independently (whether from a subway seat or a toilet) should do, Howell said. It doesn’t mean you have to like them, but there are ways to make them more bearable.
Our ankles need to be able flex deeply to allow our knees and hips to bend, said Jill Koshak-Johnson, a physical therapist in New Jersey. If you have limited ankle mobility, certain exercises and standing with your heels on a wedge (available at most gyms) can help.
DEAD LIFTS
Dead lift dread is more about fear than hatred, Koshak-Johnson said: “People believe dead lifts are bad for their back or may aggravate existing back injuries.”
And yes, if you try a dead lift, which involves leaning over from the hips to pick up a weight, with a heavily loaded barbell on your first trip to a gym, your back might revolt. But dead lifts done properly are one of the best ways to strengthen your hamstrings and glutes, which “can actually help take a load off the back,” Koshak-Johnson said.
BURPEES
No list of hated exercises would be complete without the burpee. Invented as a fitness test in the 1930s by a physiologist named Royal H. Burpee, it was later adopted by the Army and Navy and is still popular in CrossFit gyms and other athletic spaces. Many of Jones’ clients assume they can’t do one because they don’t have a CrossFit physique. But many people can do some version, they said.
“The way your body looks or is shaped, someone who lives in a larger body versus a smaller body, that does not matter to the burpee. The burpee does not care,” they said.
At its core, the burpee entails moving from standing to a horizontal position on the floor, and then getting back up again. An advanced burpee can involve quickly squatting down, jumping into a plank, performing a pushup, jumping forward into a squat, then jumping back into a standing position.
But you can adjust any of the parts that feel too uncomfortable, Jones said. You can step back into a plank, skip the pushup, step forward one foot at a time or stand without jumping.
“It also doesn’t have to be quick, it can be slow,” they added. None of those difficult elements “are necessary for a burpee to be a burpee.”
— The New York Times
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