This topic came up during my Q&A at the weekend, and my answer seemed to rile up many people. 

I chose:

• Back Squat 
• Conventional Deadlift 
• Bench Press 
• Hip Thrust – the inclusion of this one really p*ssed people off

First, can I state that being overrated doesn’t mean bad or worthless.

Let me add some context to my choices.

Back Squats and Conventional Deadlift are not one size fits all exercises. Lots of people struggle with them. It’s common to see people continuously try and do them in their workouts when it’s just a bad fit for their body due to limb length, mobility restrictions or previous injury. 

Bench press sets up pin the shoulder blades into a retracted and depressed position. The lift can be loaded heavy, which locks the shoulders into that set up which isn’t great for long-term shoulder health. 

Hip Thrusts, there is an argument to be made about how well they carry over to athletic movements because strength is so specific and laying on your back driving your hips in the air isn’t something I observe much in the sport of day-to-day life. But their inclusion in my list is because they have become so popular that I think people forget they are just a tool. Yes, they have a favourable moment arm for glute max torque and challenge the glutes in their strongest position in the lockout. Glute training is on trend, so hip thrust has come up through the ranks in popularity. 

There is currently a social media war of words about glute training between a few high-profile coaches, creating some divides between personal trainers. The reality is you can find evidence and rationale to suit whatever bias you have on hip thrusts. Ultimately no one exercise is going to give you everything you need from training. So don’t let your personal preference blind you to ignorance. 

I also want to add Olympic lifts to my answer. These are skills that most people don’t need to do. If you want to get strong, there are plenty of better, lower-skill exercises to get the job done. 

If you have a question for me, please feel free to join in my weekly Q&As which I host on my Instagram channel. 

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