Set Muscle

I’m all about pushing heavy weight, but I also want to stay pain-free as I get older. For those who’ve been training for a while, are there any exercises you’ve cut out or swapped to protect your shoulders, knees or lower back? Curious what movements people avoid lifting for decades without wrecking their joints.

Flat barbell bench beat up my shoulders. Dumbbells feel way smoother.

Behind-the-neck presses were fine when I was younger, but now they just click and grind. Landmine presses are my go-to.

Yeah, I’ve heard barbell bench is a shoulder killer. I do love the movement, but I might have to lean on dumbbells more.

I don’t barbell back squat anymore. Safety bar + split squats let me train hard without wrecking my knees.

Skull crushers wrecked my elbows. Switched to close-grip bench instead.

Traditional deads fried my lower back. Trap bar + RDLs give me the same stimulus without pain.

Trap bar deadlifts keep coming up. I’ve never really used one consistently, but it might be time to give it a serious try.

Incline barbell bench = shoulder pain. Dumbbells only now.

Olympic lifts never sat right with me. Just stick to pulls and rows less risk, same payoff.