Today I’m reacting to extreme workouts to determine if the risk
outweighs the reward– these clips kinda speak for themselves so let’s have some fun…
B1: Hanging Bike
(laughing) Okay, hold up. I am all for exploring the limits of what the body can do
and exercising your creativity in the gym. I am well aware that everyone has different
capacities and that what serves one person may not serve another person. I am well aware that there
are many many ways to target any muscle group… But this. Seems. Excessive? Impressive. But excessive.
Today I’m going to challenge myself to give each of these workouts a fair
shake. Keep notes as I weigh the risk and reward of each exercise,
and by the end of the video we’ll all have something new to aspire to in the gym.
Or maybe we’ll just not do what is seen here and remain safe instead. For the record, all of
the exercises shown here are for entertainment purposes only and performed by professionals.
The exercises should not be reproduced in any way. With that out of the way, let’s proceed.
B1: Hanging Bike
So there’s a few things going on here. Obviously, we have the chest and shoulders working up top
to keep his body in place while he is hanging. In particular, the pectoral muscles and the lats are
working over time to pull his arms downward to hold his body in place while he is hanging. It
is a different position, but the same kind of action that is required to hold a front lever.
Of course, this will also require some rhomboids to control scapular retraction as he depresses
his shoulders down as well. And I am sure that his abdominals and his hip flexors are screaming
as he resists the downward pull of the bike and maintains a 90 degree flexion angle at the hip.
This is goofy as hell, but not gonna lie, this is super hard to pull off. It certainly takes
strength and coordination to do this and not make it look like a dog’s breakfast. Having said that,
there is so much going on here that I am not sure how effective it would be. Individually,
there is benefit to each of these movements and I don’t have a problem with any of them.
However, adding these movements together doesn’t simply add up the benefit. Some of the benefit
is lost because none of the movements can be done optimally since you are concentrating on a variety
of competing interests all at the same time including hanging, maintenance of body position,
and the cardiovascular aspect of cycling. If you wanted to work
all these different aspects of fitness, I would choose different exercises to do
individually. In fact, I can’t think of a time where I would ever counsel someone to
do this combination of exercises together. Not to mention, this is reckless and dangerous behaviour.
Great for social media laughs, but not at all safe in the gym.
Obviously, he could fall from the rack and since the bike is clipped to his feet,
this could result in serious injury to his lower extremities,
his upper extremities, his spine, or heaven forbid, his groin.
And were he lucky enough to escape a fracture, he still might suffer a muscle strain or tear of
his chest wall, his lats, his abdominals, or his hip flexors. Were he to fall onto the bike with
his body, he might also suffer internal injuries such as a perforated viscus or a liver or splenic
laceration. It is hard to look cool for tiktok if you have to have a colostomy because you required
abdominal surgery. B2: Muscle Up Bench
First of all, I love the little disclaimer at the bottom that TikTok has put on the video.
Participating in this activity could result in you or others getting hurt. I strongly agree–
10/10 would not be recommended for the average gym goer. Again, there is a lot going on. Now,
don’t get me wrong. I love bar muscle ups and I believe that they are a great demonstration of
upper body strength and coordination. And I don’t even have a problem with weighted muscle ups. I
think they raise the level of difficulty for an already challenging calisthenics movement.
However, I think that the awkward shape of the bench dangling between the athletes legs,
is a disaster waiting…hahaha…weighting to happen.
As with the lever spin bike that we already saw, here he is working his pectoral muscles,
Lats, rhomboids, and core muscles. In addition, here he is also working his deltoids or shoulder
muscles, biceps, triceps, trapezii, and the smaller flexor pronator muscles of the forearms.
The muscle up combines pulling, pushing, and grip strength all into a single exercise.
With the bench belted to his waist, there isn’t much going on with his lower body. It is basically
along for the ride. But with the bench strapped in between his legs, there is potential for many
of the same injuries already described for the lever spin bike. Of particular concern might be
testicular trauma were he to fall directly onto a hard part of the bench while it was
between his legs. Such an injury might elicit an interesting conversation with his future wife when
he tries to explain how he was rendered sterile after he had a traumatic testicular rupture.
As for the efficacy of this exercise, I would say that it remains effective overall,
but not as effective as the strict bar muscle up would be. While the added weight
of the bench provides extra resistance to overcome, and necessitates more strength,
its awkward shape and unpredictable movement detract from the efficacy of the muscle up
movement. The athlete has to pay attention to how the bench is pulling his body around
while he tries to do the movement, rather than focusing his attention on the movement itself.
I can just imagine Matthias and his team sitting around a
conference table spitballing ideas for the next million view TikTok.
B3: Deej– use a .png picture of Matthias and text bubbles (or something else to
that effect to) conversate with Chris in the following exchange:
Dr. Chris: “What about using a barbell to hit a baseball”
Matthias: “Too easy”
Dr. Chris: Skydiving, but… without a parachute. Instead you’ll flap cardboard
wings as frantically as possible to blast your arms, shoulders and lats AT THE SAME TIME!
Matthias: “enhh”
Dr. Chris: Oh, I've got it! use an exercise mat to contain the blast from a grenade?
Matthias: great
Okay, enough. I need something a little more tame…
B4: Piñata
Alright, @mikeymaybeme… Not the most effective workout in the world,
but you’ve got my attention. Can you show us something else? (whisper aside– to the camera) I
think maybe he trades ideas back and forth with Matthias…
B5: Approach + Freeze frame
Nice, what’s this one a deadlift? Good approach.
B6: he begins to crawl under the bar… Okay, hold up. What is going on?
Well, where to start with this one. I saw the original broomstick challenge on tiktok and
thought that it was interesting to try.
B7: Broomstick Challenge examples women / men
The broomstick challenge is largely a mobility challenge and it is based on
the difference between the position of the center of gravity in women
vs its position in men. With the original challenge it is supposed to be easier for
women to get up from the floor while their hands are locked behind their back than it is for a man
as a result of their lower center of gravity and better overall mobility.
B8: Heavy Broomstick he continues the movement
But here, the athlete has taken the challenge to a new level by adding a strength component to the
mix. This has raised the bar to another level. See what I did there. Another level. LOL. Anyway,
by adding 225 lbs of weight above the center of gravity, he has actually changed the center of
gravity to a higher point in his body making this challenge infinitely harder since the bodyweight
is now concentrated at a point that is farther away from the fulcrum of the lever, the hip joint.
Muscle groups worked here can be organized by the phase of the movement in which they are
used. Initially, the focus is on cervical muscle strength, abdominal strength, and hip mobility as
the athlete moves himself into position. Using his head as a third leg upon which to brace himself,
he contracts his core to shorten the length of this torso so that he can flex his hips to get
his legs underneath himself, in a position where he can start to get up. Then in the next phase,
he activates his pectorals, his biceps, his gluteii, and his spinal erectors as he
pins the bar against his back and attempts to bring his back from a forward flexed position
into an upright position. With the weight that he is moving, the strain on his glutes
and low back muscles would be immense. Here, there is still some strain on his abdominals,
but this decreases as he transitions to the erect position. In the next phase,
the focus returns to the biceps and pectorals with assistance from the anterior deltoid
muscles as he basically performs a reverse zercher squat with the bar behind his back.
B9: Zercher Squat
In the final phase as he stands up, he adds in the glutes, the hamstrings, and the quadriceps
as he performs a step-up Zercher combo. No doubt about it, this is an all round full
body exercise. Not saying that it is terribly effective mind you, but definitely full body.
Of course, whenever someone is lifting his amount of weight, there is always potential
for injury. With this weighted variation, the injuries are primarily relegated to the moment
where the weight is initially being lifted off the ground. At this moment, the low back
and gluteal muscles are at risk. These muscles could be strained by the large weight combined
with the awkward body position as he transitions from a tripod position to the erect position.
Also at risk are the intervertebral discs of the lower lumbar spine as the athlete attempts to pick
the weight up off the ground. In this position, there is considerable force on the posterior
aspect of the discs as the lumbar spine is flexed forward while the weight is just starting to leave
the ground. This would leave the lumbar discs susceptible to a disc protrusion or a disc
herniation as a result. But hey, some bowel and bladder incontinence or an inability to feel your
anus from saddle anesthesia are worth the weighted broomstick challenge world record, am I right?
B10: Spinning dismount
Wow, and he finishes it off with a spin.
Get this man a medal. There’s no way he can follow that up– (the video cuts you off)
B11: Skateboard deadlift clip.
Oh…
There are so many things wrong, so many things wrong. Now, I don’t want to throw shade here
because this exercise combo mashup monstrosity is super freaking hard, and you need to be really
strong to pull this off. But man, is this a freaking disaster. Where shall I start?
Clearly deadlifting a gargantuan amount of weight is already a feat in and of itself.
But doing so in a split stance is even more challenging. And doing so while balancing on
a skateboard is pretty much suicidal. Add to that a tension band trying to pull your head
off balance while you are leaning forward is ratcheting up the difficulty level to about
1000. It is hard enough trying to pull this kind of weight from a regular stance.
Narrowing the stance, and splitting the stance only increases the difficulty in an
increasing manner. Adding an unstable surface to the movement makes this process quite
unpredictable. The tension band attached to his head provides another perturbing force
to the mix which just gives him more to think about while he is trying to perform this feat.
As for the muscle groups being involved, the deadlift is primarily a lower body exercise
involving the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and core muscles. However,
with the weight being pulled, there is also considerable strain on the lats,
shoulders and the muscles of the forearm as well.
B12: Nick Best Lat Tear
In fact, masters strongman Nick Best only recently returned to competition one year after
suffering a lat tendon avulsion off his humerus while attempting a record deadlift last year.
B13: Skateboard again
Then the tension band engages the anterior cervical musculature,
including the platysma and sternocleidomastoid among others,
and incorporates them in an exercise in which they would not normally be involved. In the
lower extremity, the added instability of the skateboard brings into the equation the intrinsic
muscles of the feet and the smaller muscles of the lower leg including those of the anterior,
lateral, and posterior compartments. Given the significant weight being balanced, these
muscles are certainly working over time. This is definitely another full body exercise. Not one
I might recommend, mind you, but plainly one that involves just about every muscle you can name.
Which leads me to the utility of this exercise. I won’t say that it is useless because you are
working hard here. Screw it. I can’t do this. This exercise is absolutely useless for the average
human being. There is no use for this other than for the amusement of viewers on social media.
Whatever use there would be for this athlete is tempered by all the competing movements that
vie for his attention making each movement inferior than had he just done them alone.
Not to mention the danger of combining all of these movements into one coordinated mess.
Normally, it is not uncommon for deadlift athletes to suffer injuries to their legs with muscle
strains and tears, their low backs with muscle strains and vertebral disc injuries, and their
upper extremities with biceps ruptures and forearm strains. However, here, the instability that has
been introduced makes the possibility of more serious injury very real. Were the athlete to
fall off the skateboard at any time during the lift, his ability to control his landing while
holding on to over 6oo lbs would be impossible. Ankle dislocations, ligament injuries of the knee,
or even fractures of the tibia and fibula are possible. In addition, rupture of the Achilles
tendon, the patellar tendon, or the quadricep tendon might also occur. So overall, not much
juice for the squeeze, and with a ridiculously high injury profile to boot. Ummm, no thanks.
B14: Split squat rack.
Next up on today’s episode of crazy exercises that might make you a quadriplegic,
we have the rack-weighted bosu bulgarian split
squat. A wha’ di rass him a do? See him. See him a gwan so? Bwoy a idiyot. You hear wha me a say?
But seriously, this one is just as bad as the last one.
Normally, with a Bulgarian split squat, you are focusing most of the effort on the front
leg engaging the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and core. At the same time you are activating the
lower leg and foot intrinsics to provide single leg stability. Here with the unstable Bosu ball
platform under the front leg, these small muscles are taxed to the extreme. Add in a rowing machine
for the rear leg With an entire weight rack balanced on his back, there are additional muscle
groups involved which include the muscles of the low and mid back, the shoulders, and the arms. All
of these muscles are coordinated to perform the three tasks that are involved in this exercise;
supporting the rack, performing the squat press, and balancing the whole thing on
a single unstable leg. It’s kinda like the elephant riding the unicycle on a tightrope.
Really, really sketchy. But is it effective?
Let me say first that this young man is much, much stronger and coordinated than me. But having
said that, let’s look at the individual components of this compounded compound
compound movement. Bulgarian splits squats are a very effective single leg strengthening exercise.
Weighted split squats are even better. However, the unstable platform anteriorly reduces the
absolute strength benefit since a lower weight will be tolerable given the instability that
has been introduced. The sliding platform posteriorly increases the instability thereby
reducing the overall efficacy of this movement. So in summary, good for tiktok, but not, really,
good, for, anything, else. [anything cadbury commercial] Anything else.
As for the potential injury profile, all the same injuries that might result from the slippery
skateboard deadlift stunt are equally valid here. But as there is also an entire squat rack
supported on his back, more serious injuries to his low-, mid-, and upper back, as well
as his neck might also be possible. This would include the sprains and disc injuries previously
mentioned, but possibly also fractures of the spine as well, were he to fall awkwardly and
have the squat rack land on him. Such a fall might also result in fractures of the extremities, both
upper and lower, as well. A lot of possible risk for little to no benefit. Well you know, YOLO.
One thing for certain, with the desire for influencers to outdo each other on social media,
there is no shortage of extreme exercises to discuss.
Let me know what you want me to cover next.
B15: can post Chris’ head onto Alien Deadlift during outro… or not if its no the vibe
As always, that’s been a word from Dr Chris, not your everyday ortho.