7 INSANELY Effective UNPOPULAR Exercises (Science-Based)

Key wellness / productivity ideas (and main training principles)

The video is mostly about hypertrophy exercise selection, but it repeatedly emphasizes practical rules that can improve results with less wasted effort:

• Prioritize stretch emphasis

  • Growth is better when the target muscle is put into its stretch position and held under tension (often more beneficial than training only shortened ranges).

• Match “muscular failure” to “set failure”

  • For best hypertrophy, make sure the target muscle is the limiting factor—so you reach failure because that muscle can’t complete the next rep.

• Use exercises that are loadable near failure

  • Aim for roughly 4–15 reps close to failure; 4–12 close-to-failure is preferred when possible.

• Choose stable movements

  • Stability matters, but you don’t need gimmicks—avoid overly unstable setups.

• Balance stimulus with fatigue + time efficiency

  • If two exercises are similar on the “stimulus checklist,” pick the less fatiguing option.
  • Time efficiency matters: machines, dumbbells, cables, and bodyweight tend to be quicker to set up and warm up, and can support techniques like drop sets.

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“Underrated” exercise strategies and how to do them

1) Deep Dips (chest, triceps, delts; emphasis via stretch)

• Go for a deep stretch position
  • Keep the movement deep enough to get a strong stretch on:
    • Front delts (arm behind you at the bottom)
    • Lateral/medial delts (full elbow flexion)
    • Lower chest (slightly abducted elbows rather than fully tucked)

• Upper chest involvement

  • Expect stimulation when the bottom of the dip provides a deep upper chest stretch.

• Common mistakes

  • Don’t stay too upright—lean forward slightly to reach shoulder-comfortable depth.
  • Don’t limit depth—use shoulder/scapular range to get deeper.

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2) Nordic Hamstring Curl (target overlooked hamstring + sartorius)

• Benefit described

  • Potentially better stretch/tension bias for the hamstrings’ short head and sartorius than seated leg curl.

• If you’re weak (modifications)

  • Pin ankles securely (machine/strap/etc.).
  • Bend hips forward to reduce the external moment arm so you can still complete reps.
  • Pause briefly at the bottom, then return up.
  • Don’t do tons of sets early—it’s brutal.

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3) Dumbbell Side Bend (obliques/erector spinae/quadratus lumborum focus)

• Technique

  • Hold a dumbbell on one side only
  • Keep feet close so thighs don’t block the motion
  • Use straps if grip limits you (to improve specificity)
  • Move primarily from spinal lateral flexion

• Common mistakes

  • Don’t turn it into an arm/grip/changing-elbow movement
  • Don’t let hips become the main motion (avoid excessive hip abduction)

• Wellness anecdote

  • The presenter claims it reduced his own back discomfort (not presented as guaranteed).

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4) Squat Stretch Partials (rectus femoris focus)

• Target concept

  • Rectus femoris is a hip flexor + knee extensor, so it benefits from work that avoids canceling its stretch.

• How to set up

  • Stand on tippy-toes
  • Keep hips fully extended (glutes squeezed) during the movement
  • Let knees travel forward; at the bottom, aim for hamstrings touching calves

• Stretch partial method

  • Do bottom-half reps only
  • Tempo: slow eccentric + brief pause + controlled return
  • Partial range is meant to keep you closer to failure with better stretch emphasis.

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5) Cable/Flexion Row with Rounding & Extension (erector spinae emphasis)

• Key technique shift

  • Instead of typical rows (elbow flex + shoulder extension + scap retraction), do:
    • Round your back on the way down
    • Extend on the way up
  • Avoid using it like a hip-driven motion (less hamstring/glute takeover).

• Goal

  • Feel your back thickness muscles (erector spinae) light up.

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6) Smith Machine Squat with Stretch Partials + (possibly) past-failure

• Why Smith

  • Easier to approach near-failure or failure safely than barbell squats
  • Saves time and reduces setup friction (more consistent hard sets)

• Stretch partials in the Smith

  • Do half reps (stay in the stretch-biased portion)
  • Rack the weight when you can’t continue

• Past-failure concept (time efficiency)

  • Evidence discussed from calf-raise studies suggests extending past failure with partials can improve growth or match growth with fewer sets.

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7) Leg Press for Glutes (and adductors) via deeper stretch + foot placement

• Theoretical reason

  • Glutes/adductors start in a more favorable pre-stretched position in the bottom of the leg press than quads do.

• Evidence mentioned

  • Studies suggest glute hypertrophy from leg press is on par with or better than quad hypertrophy.

• Two approaches

  • All-around size builder (minimalist): feet lower + go deep for more quad + glute + adductor involvement
  • “Booty max”: feet slightly higher for more glute pre-stretch and potentially glutes limiting range/muscle effort

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8) Smith Machine Good Morning (stretch partials for hamstrings + glutes)

• Why

  • Hip hinge style + stretch emphasis in the most-stretched bottom portion.

• Study claim

  • A conference abstract suggests stretch partials on hip hinges (bottom half where hamstrings/glutes are most stretched) may produce ~2x the growth of full ROM (as reported).

• How to do it

  • Unrack; feet about hip width
  • Slight knee bend allowed, but don’t bend knees during the rep
  • Hips go straight back; they should not drop or rise (signals knee flexion)
  • Bottom pause; then use half reps on the way up
  • Controlled breath/bracing described

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Presenters / sources

• Presenter: Dr. Milo Wolf (also referred to as Dr. Mike Wolf)
• Other people mentioned: Dr. Pak; Chris Cetus
• Sources referenced (general):
  • “Latest research” and “biggest meta-analysis” on hypertrophy/failure
  • Multiple studies comparing exercise variations (e.g., leg press for glutes, Nordic vs seated leg curl, hip hinge partials, past-failure training in calf raises)