2884: These 5 Exercises Are Almost Never Done Right (And It's Hurting Your Progress)

June 20, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Five Exercises Most People Get Wrong

The hosts of Mind Pump open with a confession: the exercises they're about to critique aren't inherently bad. "Any exercise performed correctly and safely for the right reason is great," Sal says. The problem is that these five movements are almost never done for the right reason, and that mismatch between intention and execution is costing people real progress.

Jump Boxes: Power Training Turned Into Cardio

Jump boxes are designed to improve explosive power—the ability to organize muscles to exert strength quickly. The correct approach is to jump as hard as possible, step down, rest fully, and repeat. The goal is quality, not fatigue. What the hosts see instead is people doing jump after jump until they're exhausted, which turns the exercise into stamina training. "If you do them to fatigue, you're just training stamina," Sal explains. "In which case you can do anything—run in place, do jumping jacks, safer movements." The risk is especially high for middle-aged people jumping onto a box while fatigued. Adam admits this was a guilt point from his boot camp days: he knew the science but kept running circuit-style classes because clients loved the feeling of exhaustion and the community it built. "The hardest part about this conversation for me is the guilt that I carry," he says. "I knew better and I still did it."

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What you'll learn

1 (03:29) **Five Exercises Almost Never Done Right** - The hosts introduce the core topic: five common exercises that are almost always performed incorrectly, wasting time and potentially hindering progress.
2 (04:28) **Jump Boxes: Power Training vs. Stamina** - The first exercise is jump boxes, which are almost always used incorrectly for fatigue instead of power development.
3 (11:34) **Hip Abduction Machines: Correctional Tool, Not a Primary Builder** - The second exercise is the hip abduction machine, which is often used for the wrong goal (building glutes).
4 (16:54) **Circuits: Stamina vs. Fatigue** - The third item is circuits, which are often used to build stamina but are typically performed with poor form in a fatigued state.
5 (20:55) **Renegade Rows: Anti-Rotation, Not a Back Exercise** - The fourth exercise is the renegade row, which is almost always used for the wrong purpose.
6 (22:04) **Ultra-High Reps: Cardio, Not Hypertrophy** - The fifth item is ultra-high rep sets (30-50+ reps), which become cardio rather than effective muscle building.
7 (23:57) **Bonus: Burpees** - The hosts add burpees to the list as another exercise that is almost always done poorly and for the wrong reasons.

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Show Notes

In this episode the guys break down five popular exercises that are almost always done wrong and sending people backward — jump boxes, hip abduction machines, circuits, renegade rows, and ultra high rep training. They also get into the science behind why ketone IQ works (mitochondrial efficiency, BDNF, and clean ATP production with no stimulants), Sal taking his wife to see the horror movie Obsession and deeply regretting it, the SpaceX IPO and the 4,000 new millionaires it will create overnight, 24 Hour Fitness removing basketball courts to add more weight room space, Jacob Collier and the guys' appreciation for elite musical talent, and Mind Pump offering 80% off select programs to high school coaches and teachers. Then they coach live callers submitted through mplivecaller.com.

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