Why You Should Stop Doing Sit-Ups |Posture Doctor

Your ‘core’ is comprised of a number of muscles working together to achieve and maintain a stable spine. A strong core and perhaps more importantly, a core with good endurance allow us to move with ease and mechanical advantage; in order to avoid injury!

Your coremuscles include: rectus abdominis, internal and external oblique, transversusabdominis, but also – you may be surprised to learn – the quadratus lumborum,and the gluteal muscles.

Your goal when working on your core is to create spinal stability. Stability may be achieved by increasing core strength, but Dr Stuart Mcgill (Professor of Biomechanics at the University of Waterloo) reminds us that improving core endurance may be more important than strength. Endurance provides the ability to maintain a stable spine throughout a variety of activities.

Many therapy approaches have the objectives of strengthening muscle and increasing spine range of motion. This is problematic (Parks et al, 2003) since those who have more motion in their backs have a greater risk of having future back troubles. Strength may, or may not, help a particular individual as strength without control and endurance to repeatedly execute perfect form increases risk. Dr Stuart McGill

McGill goes onto explain that people with ‘troubledbacks’ tend to have faulty movement patterns like “gluteal amnesia” and moremotion in their backs and less motion in their hips.

With thegoal of stability in mind, it would be prudent to strengthen gluteal muscles,increase range of motion in our hips and choose abdominal exercises that do notput unnecessary stress and strain through the low back and discs.

No sit-ups or crunches

It is forthis reason, that I will NEVER recommend crunches or sit-ups. Both of theseexercises involve repetitive flexion of the lower back (lumbar spine).Repetitive flexion can lead to degeneration of the spinal joints and discs overtime.

Effectivespinal stabilization should begin with a solid understanding of what stabilityis. “Stability has little to do with the ability to balance on a gym ball. Sittingon an exercise ball performing movement exercises is generally a poor choice ofback exercise until quite late in a therapeutic progression,” says Mcgill. “Truespine stability is achieved with a “balanced” stiffening from the entire core musculature.”

Reducing risk of injury

One of the most effective exercises for improving spinal stability is the abdominal brace. Manypersonal trainers are still teaching the wrong position for core exercises – aposition that will wear out your discs, cause premature aging and ruin yourposture and balance long-term.

Theabdominal brace is a super little exercise, that teaches you how to engage yourcore whether you are standing in a line, talking on the phone or simply walkingdown the street!

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