so this is basically a 1-month necro of a 1-month necro of a 6-year necro of a 2-month necro of a 1-month necro of a thread from 2007? there has to be a record for that.... also, the answer is planks.
well...my sit up form is a bit different than the regular sit up , I should have clarified. I have no back pain doing them. I roll a bit. Kind of like the back yoga / golf roll... as for crunches I was doing some and if I'm careful and also do them in a "loose " way so there is not too much strain on the neck they seem ok so far.
It's not just the strain. Sit ups target the rectus abdominus (front abdominals) and can tighten the hip flexors. Sit ups therefore aren't a core conditioning exercise, which is why despite some people being able to do them pain free, they're not recommended. Exercises like the plank target the erector spinae, external obliques, serratus anterior, glutes, teres major and minor in addition to several other muscles that make up the core. Combine this with the fact that during a sit up the floor is doing the stabilising, not the stabilising muscles and you have a poor exercise. Stabilising muscles in the plank include: The abdominal group Quadratus lumborum Erector spinae Adductor group Gluteus medius and minimus Anterior deltoid Pectoralis major and rotator cuff muscles Serratus anterior Rhomboids and lower traps Biceps and triceps There is a big difference between getting a six pack and conditioning the core.
I wouldn't stress too much on crunches. They aggrivated my back problems so I found other ways around them involving a wheel, a stick and rolling myself outward. Also, swimming helped me go from pudgy to four abs popping through, now my core is a rock. You can strengthen your abs in more ways that this
Agreed - another problem I've encountered doing sit-ups is that I seriously hurt the skin over my lower spine. Nothing I do seems to alleviate this, save doing sit-ups exclusively on a heavily padded surface (not an option during a training session). I guess my spinal processes just stick out further than most peoples. Maybe you could give me a little advice on this - have you, in training, found some way to get around the sit-ups without just leaving them out?
The easiest and cheapest way to do situps safely AFAIK is to do suspended crunches. You can do these with TRX cables or one of those devices (IDK what they're called) that allow you to rest on the elbows while suspended a meter or so off the ground. From there, just pull your knees upwards so you can feel the crunch in your abs/lower back. These devices also usually have handles for tricep dips. You can hold the handles (straight arms, supporting your body weight) and pull your knees up toward the chest. (Look toward the ceiling when you do these to keep your balance) If this is a poor description, let me know and I'll try to explain it better.
Thanks... But I was talking about ways to get involved during the group training sessions at dojo, dojang, etc. I'm more than capable of doing sit-ups on a padded surface at home in my own time.
