If there's one thing that's the most misunderstood after cardio, it's got to be CrossFit. People who have never strength-trained in their lives are nose diving into CrossFit boxes. No surprise, most of them end up injured rather than getting stronger. CrossFit isn't bad. It's a really effective training protocol, but only if done correctly. However, most people do it for the thrill and intensity rather than getting better at the exercise. One of the most famous functional exercises is the tyre-flip. Everybody is doing it. Even desi gyms with no squat racks have people flipping tyres now! If you are a beginner, here's why you need to stop flipping tyres.

The Risk To Benefit Ratio Of An Exercise

According to exercise principles, an exercise should not surpass the risk associated in context to the rewards it offers. That means, if the risk factor associated with a particular exercise is very high as compared to the benefits it offers, it should not be made a staple exercise.
Here's Why ‘Tyre Flipping' Is A Dangerous Exercise For Beginners
1) A majority of people flip tyres with completely incorrect posture. The back tends to round up while picking up the tyre and maintaining the kyphotic curve in order to flip the tyre becomes rather difficult. This is a very dangerous posture for the body.
2) Another issue is that while picking the tyre off the ground, people don't pay enough attention in keeping the tyre close to the body as it stays in the deadlift. The load tends to move away from the body's line of gravity and in this case, a lot of issues can come up. Moreover, while in concentric phase (lifting the tyre off ground), if the back is rounded, a lot of pressure over the lumbar (lower back) is created that can lead to herniated discs aka slipped disc.
3) Trainers often recommend this exercise to beginners, especially the overweight ones thinking that it'll burn some extra calories. This is completely idiotic. The issue with beginners is that their lower back muscles are usually not strong enough to bear heavy loads. As a result, most trainees complain about having severe lower back pain after this exercise. In a nutshell, this exercise is NOT for beginners!

So Is This Exercise Bad?

Well, no! This exercise could be a very good variation and a great tool for improving strength and conditioning. A lot of elite coaches make it a staple strength and conditioning exercise for athletes. But you aren't an elite athlete. Your goal is fat loss, not getting better at flipping tyres with bad form. Stick to the big basic lifts and master the form first. When you think you have developed solid lower back strength, then you should attempt tyre flips.