Want Six Pack Abs? Ignore The Critics About This Ab Exercise
What are the best ab exercises to develop six pack abs? The answer to this question seems to be forever changing. For example, the sit-up has completely fallen out of favor by the fitness community. In fact, the majority of fitness experts now declare that sit-ups are incredibly dangerous to you spine. Where was this opinion born? Did countless trainees injure their spines from performing this “treacherous” exercise? Luckily for most of us, that is not the case.
The “sit-ups are unsafe” chant that can be heard echoing throughout fitness centers all over the world was actually born in the lab. Studies have found that sit-ups stress the spine more than the crunch does. And? Taking a nap will stress the spine even less than crunched do. Is napping a better ab exercise than crunches? You can see how the stress argument is seriously flawed. Every exercise that you perform creates some stress on the body. It is that stress that encourages our body to adapt and get stronger. This is the very nature of exercise.
Now, let’s take a second to investigate the sit-up. The main reason why sit-ups add stress to the spine is because of the contribution of the hip flexors during the movement. The critics assert that this hip flexor involvement causes compressive forces in the spine which is why sit-ups should be completely avoided. Do they have a point, or are they overreacting?
Taking into account that sit-ups have been performed by professional athletes and fitness buffs for decades without problems, it is clear there is no need to “press the panic button” when someone cranks out a few sit-ups. To further put your mind at ease, I can assure you that after 16 years as a fitness expert, I have never seen someone get hurt while doing a sit up variation.
Even after convincing trainers that sit-ups are not as dangerous as they are claimed to be, many still opt for crunches instead. Now I have nothing against the crunch but sit-ups do have some advantages over the crunch. Let’s see why.
It is true that during a sit-up, your abs are only directly responsible for the bottom portion of the movement. Once the spine is flexed (when you have finished the “crunch” part of the sit up), the hip flexors predominately take over to finish the movement. What is often overlooked is that even though the hip flexors provide most of the movement during top range of a sit up, the abs are still working hard isometrically (contracting without producing movement). This contraction does contribute to a positive abdominal training effect.
Something else to consider is that the sit-up burns more calories than crunches do. Working through a larger range of motion and integrating other muscles besides the abs, makes this possible. Remember, training your abs directly is only half the equation to having a six pack. The other part to this is reducing body fat to unveil your stomach. Burning additional calories will help contribute to this.
There are two requirements you must meet prior to performing sit-ups. Firstly, you must have a base of abdominal strength and coordination. Secondly, you should have no chronic and/or serious back conditions. If you meet the requirements and use correct exercise technique, you will not be at any great risk by adding sit-up movements to your training routines.
