This is my nomination for worst exercise and most misguided training session of the year. I witnessed this exercise as part of a training session given by a professional trainer at my gym. I could not make this up if I tried.
First, let's talk about the client. This guy was right to be at the gym and he was pushing himself hard, so I give him all the credit in the world. He has at least a 45 inch waist so the most important thing he can do for his health is to focus on weight loss. This should be obvious to anyone who sees him and especially to a professional trainer. A trainer who encounters a client like this should know to put him on a training routine that maximizes fat-burning, and is therefore heavy on aerobic exercise. Isolation exercises that focus on small muscle groups should make up only a very small part, if any, of this dedicated fat loss routine.
Now, let's move on to the exercise that this trainer was having this overweight client perform. And I say "perform," because executing this exercise was nothing less than a performance. The trainer made the client stand on a stability board, and while effortlessly balancing on the stability board, the client did one arm cable curls. This really happened. Let's pick one of the body's smallest muscle groups, work it one side at a time, and do it on a stability board. Not only does this exercise look ridiculous, it has close to zero value as far as fat-burning, muscle-building, health, or fitness. Sometimes I think trainers just make up new exercises so they have "expertise" to sell. Beware of the stability board one arm cable curl...
