So whats the deal?
In what world would we have to lie down and sit up repeatedly, until our bellies are sore?
What are we even training for?
Sit-ups were incorporated into military and quasi-military fitness tests out of concern for service members backs.
Research seemed to show that people with weak abdominal muscles were more likely to have back pain and injuries.
(This ideahas since been called into question, but thats another story.)
The sit-up test was the answer to this question.
If a recruit can contract their abdominal muscles repeatedly, they must have good abdominal endurance.
Sitting up from a lying-on-the-ground position does, indeed, ask a lot of the abdominal muscles.
Problem solved, right?
The problem with sit-ups
Sit-ups can hurt your back.
How can this happen?
Well, lets have a quick anatomy lesson.
The main muscle that sit-ups aresupposedto work is the rectus abdominis, the six-pack muscle.
It also does part of the job of holding your torso steady in a variety of positions.
(Muscles in your back and sides do their part, too.)
But we also have muscles called hip flexors, which serve to bring your thighs closer to your torso.
During a standard gym class sit-up, you use both.
It just means the test isnt testing what its supposed to.
But the second problemisabout you personally: You might get an achy back.
This is the muscle group known as theiliopsoas.
These muscles connect your pelvis to the front of your lower spine.
Now, normally this wouldnt be a problem.
You are scored only on the number of legal reps you accomplish.
So your abs get tired, but you keep going.
As your rectus abdominis fatigues,your hip flexors take over more and more of the work.
This can cause back pain and, arguably, injury.
Why sit-ups arent really the problem
So sit-ups are bad, right?
Well, its more complicated than that.
What the studyactuallyfound was a bit more complex.
But nearly all of these were minor injuries that didnt affect their duties and didnt require medical attention.
Unsurprisingly, people train for the sit-up test by doing lots of sit-ups.
(The injury study here found that people averaged about 300 sit-ups per week in training.)
In the 1990’s, a number of alternatives were proposed.
Some of them caught on.
(Theres an illustration from an army guidehere.)
This version of the crunch involved lying on your back, with knees bent and hands behind your head.
If done slowly and under control, this movement works your abs with minimal involvement from the hip flexors.
A similar movement is theMcGill curl-up.
You have one knee bent and one straight, but otherwise its similar.
Slow, controlled, and paying attention to your lower spine to check that it doesnt arch too much.
But they look a lot more like sit-ups than they do standard crunches.
(For now, recruits can choose which to do.)
So how should I work my abs?
So far, this has been a story of physical fitness tests.
None of this really matters when it comes to ourownworkouts.
Sure, you might do crunches or curl-ups if you want.
But you’re free to also do sit-ups if you want.
Exercises like squats, deadlifts, and rows will work your core as well.
