Welcome to the Get Fit Guys' quick and dirty tips to slim down and shape up. My name is Ben Greenfield, and I'm the Get Fit Guy.

While it may seem intuitive that any form of exercise is probably good for you, there are some exercises that may actually cause joint damage or put you at high risk for

injury. Unfortunately, just because an exercise apparatus is at a gym or health club does not mean

it's safe. While poor form on any exercise can turn an otherwise safe move into a risky activity,

there are some exercises that should be completely

avoided, even if you can do them with good form. So here are the top seven exercises to avoid,

along with better alternatives that will get you better and safer results. Number one, machine

side raises. This is a machine on which you sit and then raise your

arms out to the sides, with resistance provided by pads somewhere in the region of your upper arms.

The problem is that this machine locks your shoulders into a range of motion that can actually

cause rotator cuff pain and impingement, which is compression of soft tissue under the bones in your shoulders.

A better alternative would be to simply do dumbbell side raises,

which work the same shoulder muscles,

but give your shoulders significantly more natural freedom of rotation.

Now, anytime I mention an exercise like that, alternative,

the dumbbell side raises, I'll be sure and put a link to it in the show notes, which you can

find over at getfit guy.quickanddirtytips.com. Exercises number two and three are somewhat similar.

They're the machine adductor and the machine abductor. And both of these machines

are advertised as a great way to tone or work your inner and outer thighs. You've probably seen

them. They're machines that you sit in at the gym while you bring your thighs together or pull

your thighs apart. But the problem is that when you sit and then you attempt to

internally or externally rotate your hips, as you're doing on these machines, it can

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