Stop doing sit-ups!

Just In Time Personal Training Are you still doing sit-ups or crunches? If you have an instructor or personal trainer instructing you to do them, you are training with a dinosaur! If you are doing them because you think they are the best way to get a six-pack, then I am here to tell you that for your posture and for real gains in abdominal muscle and tone then you need to simply stop doing sit-ups or any form of flexion of the spine! We are generally too sedentary and spend increasing amounts of time seated in front of the computer, in the car or on the couch. This all leads to ever-increasing loads placed on the spine, poor posture and combine that with sit-ups and you are further contributing to hip instability and potential back pain. As a functional movement, our goal is to keep our spine in a neutral of locked position and have the ability to apply force from our lower body, up and through our trunk and torso to our arms and upper body. So, exercises that are, if you like, “anti-movement”, and actually teach the core to resist movement are far superior to any form of sit-up or crunch movement that basically does the opposite! If you are an athlete or someone that frequents the gym, sit-ups are counter-productive to any major gym movements that you perform such as a deadlift, power cleans, lunges, squats, etc. So, have I sold you the reasons not to perform sit-ups or crunches yet? If you are thinking that you are doing the right thing for your abdominals or for your core because you have been shown or told, I have a great video link that will break it all down for you, so email me and I will send you the link! Perhaps see a personal trainer that doesn’t prescribe sit-ups and ask for some safer and more effective alternatives – there are many including dead bugs, planks (if done correctly), bird dog, the Pallof Press or many isometric and controlled rotation movements. Lastly, please remember that your core is made up of many muscles and more than just the most superficial “rectus abdominus” that the sit-up or crunch most specifically targets. For a more information, exercise guidance or if you have any questions feel free to contact me by heading to justintimept.com •