by Alice M Crawford Md

Created on: October 22, 2006   Last Updated: April 29, 2009

Sit-Ups: I Am Doing Them Correctly?

Sit-ups are excellent exercises to tone and shape the muscles in the midsection and by doing so, they help with some back problems as well. We should learn the proper techniques to do them in order to appreciate and benefit from their effects and also to avoid injuries.

A recurring question regarding sit-ups is whether or not they help eliminate those hated 'rolls' around the waistline. Unfortunately, and like any other exercise, sit-ups do not help with "spot reduction" of accumulation of fat tissues, around the midsection or anywhere else in the body, for that matter.

It is a shame that many fitness personalities engage in the deceptive practice of offering seminars, videos and other materials, propagating the illusion that we could actually reduce 'trouble' spots with localized exercises. By doing so, they show their ignorance about basic physiological principles.

Sit-ups strengthen the abdominal muscles: the rectus abdominus muscles or "abs", two midline muscles that extend from the ribcage down to the pelvis and the three layers of muscles on both sides of the abs, the 'obliques'.

To be effective, sit-up exercises must pull the torso upward from a lying position toward the knees using only the abdominal muscle groups. Bending the knees during sit-ups helps neutralize the action of the hip flexors and makes the abdominal muscles work more.
The abdominal muscle groups tend to be involved only in the initial phase of the sit-up, after which the hip flexors take over. Doing sit-ups rapidly and with momentum, knees bent or not, does not work the abdominal muscle groups very much; raising the torso slowly only part way works the abs better.

These exercises could be hazardous to the lower back when using the straight-leg routine, which arches the back and may create over extension and strain. Twisting right elbow to left knee and vice versa, at the top of the sit-up movement is ineffective, and it places significant rotational stress on the lower back, which could lead to injury. Pain, even mild, is a natural warning symptom and must not be ignored; when it appears, we must stop the exercise and reassess our position and technique. 'Working through the pain' is probably one of the stupidest advices we could hear, and doing so just worsens the injury to the muscles.

There are dozens of 'machines' and other silly contraptions on the market that are offered to strengthen the abdominal muscle groups and trim the waistline just by using

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>