WASHINGTON — If your gym workout has you wondering whether you should avoid any of the machines, the answer may be yes.

The machine Ask Men says you should pass on is the 45-degree leg press.

Writer James Fell says it’s the “one machine that deserves to be soaked in napalm and hurled into an active volcano.”

Fell’s rant says the machine is pretty useless.

Doctors say over time the leg press will mess up your lower back, putting your lower lumbar discs in jeopardy of a posterior bulge.

So what should you do instead? The good old squat.

It’s a hard exercise to master because it requires perfect form, but once you have it down, you’ll see results.

WTOP’s Veronica Robinson contributed to this report. Follow WTOP on Twitter.

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