Just like I promised...
The beginning of a short series on why crunches, situps, and other typical abdominal exercises are unnecessary!
Reason #1: Any exercise involving abdominal flexion and/or hip flexion, when done repeatedly and consistently, can cause problems in other areas of the body.
Mainly...
The lower back
&
The shoulders!
Lower back -
The hip flexors (those muscles running from the front of your thigh up to your torso - the ones that get super tight from you sitting on your a** all day!) are much stronger than the abdominal muscles. When doing any sort of full situp, the hip flexors will usually have to work harder than the abs. One of the major hip flexors runs through your body and attaches to your lower back. So, if you are overworking the hip flexors through situp movements AND suffering tight hip flexors from sitting a lot... those strong, tight muscles will pull the lower back into hyperextension. That means - pain and increased possibility for injury!
Shoulders -
Too much forward flexion of the torso ("crunching") will eventually shorten the abdominal muscles, pulling the rib cage down toward the pelvis. This unflattering adaptation rounds the shoulders forward, out of their proper alignment. So, if you attempt to do any activity involving the shoulders, that misalignment will lead to muscle compensations and... you guessed it... pain, decreased function, and increased possibility for injury.
Is that all too scientific for you?
Well, here it is, plain and simple...
Crunches, Situps, and any other exercise that involves high volumes of torso flexion will cause negative body adaptations and pain.
There's a better way to strengthen the stomach!!
Stay tuned for next Wednesday...
:)
The beginning of a short series on why crunches, situps, and other typical abdominal exercises are unnecessary!
Reason #1: Any exercise involving abdominal flexion and/or hip flexion, when done repeatedly and consistently, can cause problems in other areas of the body.
Mainly...
The lower back
&
The shoulders!
Lower back -
The hip flexors (those muscles running from the front of your thigh up to your torso - the ones that get super tight from you sitting on your a** all day!) are much stronger than the abdominal muscles. When doing any sort of full situp, the hip flexors will usually have to work harder than the abs. One of the major hip flexors runs through your body and attaches to your lower back. So, if you are overworking the hip flexors through situp movements AND suffering tight hip flexors from sitting a lot... those strong, tight muscles will pull the lower back into hyperextension. That means - pain and increased possibility for injury!
Shoulders -
Too much forward flexion of the torso ("crunching") will eventually shorten the abdominal muscles, pulling the rib cage down toward the pelvis. This unflattering adaptation rounds the shoulders forward, out of their proper alignment. So, if you attempt to do any activity involving the shoulders, that misalignment will lead to muscle compensations and... you guessed it... pain, decreased function, and increased possibility for injury.
Is that all too scientific for you?
Well, here it is, plain and simple...
Crunches, Situps, and any other exercise that involves high volumes of torso flexion will cause negative body adaptations and pain.
There's a better way to strengthen the stomach!!
Stay tuned for next Wednesday...
:)
Posts
3 comments:
I never liked crunches ...
I'm glad there's a movement away from using them :)
Looking forward to seeing what alternatives you recommend ...
Hi Kim,
Can you please give us just one Ab exercise to do until next Wednesday?
Thank you!
Well, Kirk -
The most basic, yet effective ab exercise I can think of is the Plank.
Beginners can simply practice the plank on their elbows and toes (body flattened out in a pushup position and shoulders directly over the elbows), holding the position w/ perfect form for at least 30 seconds.
More advanced exercisers can do the plank w/ their elbows on a stability ball, feet elevated on a higher surface, or feet elevated AND elbows on a ball...
Stay tuned ;)
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