SIT-UP
CORRECT FORM
1) Lie on a flat,
stable, hard surface in the position shown. Your hands should be clasped
behind your head in order to cradle and stabilize your neck.
2) Pull your head forward
with your hands, tucking your chin in. Pull your upper torso off
of the floor (using your abdominals) until your back is maximally
flexed.
3) Pull yourself the
rest of the way up.
4) Return slowly in the
same manner.
5) Inhale as
you return. Exhale as you crunch.
MUSCLES
USED
SAFETY
CONSIDERATIONS/PRECAUTIONS
Some people teach
that the neck should not be cradled and in fact should be maintained
in a straight position.
Try this: have
someone slump/slouch forward with terrible posture. Next have that
person perform a crunch while keeping the neck straight (looking up
at the ceiling and not cradling it as shown above). Turn YOUR head
to the side and look at the person. It is the same slumped over posture,
only lying on the ground, where the neck has to strain even harder
against gravity because of its position. The point is that keeping
your neck and head straight only increases the strain on your spine.
That isn't why you are doing this exercise! Be
sure to watch for lower back pain when doing this exercise. You
should feel all of the tension develop in the abdominals. This is
especially important with the sit-up, since your hip flexor muscles
are pulling and shearing on your spine in order to pull you completely
up.
EFFECTIVENESS
Some other questions
regarding the sit-up:
1) Where do
you put your legs? The position of the legs will only make it
easier or harder for you to isolate the abdominals and take your
lower back and hip flexors out of the picture. With your legs
straight out, it is harder to keep your back straight. With your
legs propped up on a bed or table, it will be easier.
2) Where do you put
your arms? The position of the arms will reflect how much torque
your abdominals and hip flexors must overcome to pull you up.
Less torque is needed with your arms across your chest. More is
needed with your arms fully overhead. No matter where you put
them, protect your neck by tucking your chin in.
It is true that your
abdominals do not get worked any more with a sit-up as compared
to a crunch and the only thing you are adding is stress to the hip
flexors. Since these muscles are often UNDER-worked, this may not
be a bad thing.
However, for
some, the pulling of the hip flexors on the lumbar vertebrae (where
the hip flexors attach) during sit-ups can cause pain. In this case,
there are definitely better exercises to work
the hip flexors than a sit-up.
For abdominal
training, the crunch is just as effective as a sit-up.
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