No exercise is completely risk-free, but some are riskier than others. If you’re not considering the risk-to-reward ratio, you’re failing to consider a crucial aspect of good training: making every effort to prevent injury.
I never program the following exercises because the risks far outweigh the rewards, even when done with good form. Despite their popularity, none of these exercises are needed to improve your physique or performance in most sports. Sure, a couple of these must be trained if you’re a competitive powerlifter or strongman, but that’s probably not you.
Don’t use the mixed-grip deadlift when doing sets of your 6RM or heavier. The chance of biceps injury on the underhand side is just too high.
This was verified in a 2021 research paper about deadlifts and biceps tendon ruptures. (1) The researchers performed a search on YouTube using the terms “distal biceps tendon rupture” and “distal biceps tendon injury” combined with “competition,” “deadlift,” and “powerlifting.” The videos underwent an evaluation for accuracy by three surgeons. Read more…
