False sense of security.

I ran across the following passage from Mel Siff not too long ago and it really resonated with me.

Thus learning of the half squat, power clean or machine bench press
does not properly prepare the beginner for safety and efficiency with
heavier loads. In fact, the well-meaning, but misguided advice to do
certain 'safe' movements can actually lead to the dangerous situation
in which the client may be MORE vulnerable to injury if he/she by
chance is called upon to execute the banned form of that exercise.

This has been one of my pet-peeves for a number of years now.  I sometimes have the feeling that the fitness landscape has been white-washed with fears of injury and litigation.  Anything that could be considered "risky" and leave someone responsible would appear to be taboo.  But in shunning complexity in our training, we are courting a much more dangerous bedfellow in the long run.  By allowing ourselves to be convinced that machines and simple, vanilla flavored exercises are the "safest" way to train, we set ourselves up for injury down the road when we need to move outside of those specialized patterns.  Because unfortunately life and sport do not follow the "perfect" lines of force which are dictated by our Nautilus machines.

Circular Strength Training has a great maxim which flows from its Training Hierarchy Pyramid.  During Specific Physical Preparedness, CST maintains that it is important to create a "safety valve" of movement just outside the range and scope of the skills or activities you are training for.  This ensures that when things do deviate from the expected your body has moved through those extreme ranges under load and can react without a sudden stretch reflex and subsequent injury.  Somehow I don't think they have invented an exercise machine yet that does that for you...  But there are tools that do, such as the Clubbell, and to a lesser extent rings, sandbags and kettlebells.

Explore CST and the Training Hierarchy Pyramid if you want to figure out how to stay healthy and injury free in the long run, not just during your workout...