Remember doing sit-ups? Almost anybody you talk to is on a quest
for a flat stomach.
Remember doing sit-ups? Almost anybody you talk to is on a quest for a flat stomach.
However, we continue to learn more about the physiology of abdominal muscles.
The “traditional” sit-up is actually inefficient for working the targeted muscles.
Sit-ups primarily use the hip flexor muscles, which run from the lower back around to the front of the thighs, to pull you up to a sitting position.
The effect on your abdominal area is minimal. In this case, the hip flexors are doing all the work, and the abdominal muscles are merely stabilizing.
It should also be noted that the “traditional” sit-up is detrimental to your back.
In addition, any exercise that anchors your feet under something (i.e. a dresser or a bed, as we might do while performing a sit-up) puts further undue stress on your lower back.
A safer, more effective way to work the abdominals directly is by the exercise often referred to as a “crunch.” This exercise must center around pulling your chest towards your pelvis.
Start with your thighs at a 90-degree angle to the chest. The hip flexors have nowhere else to move, so the intended muscles are doing the work.
There are many ways to properly perform a crunch. In any of them, it is important to be sure that your back is stabilized and not arching as it does in a sit-up.
When we exercise this region, we tend to do it in sections namely lower, obliques and upper. The fact is that there are not separate muscles that you can isolate. All the variations we do stress the entire abdomen. There are, however, “clusters” of muscle that are separated by connective tissue.
An effective exercise will tire the muscle out in less than twenty repetitions. Overloading the muscle will end up doing more harm than good.
A common misconception is that doing all these exercises will also burn off the fat around our middles and give us that flat stomach we so desire. This is not the case.
All the crunches in the world will not diminish any layers of fat that cover the muscles. This is true for any body part.
It is important to remember that posture also contributes to the appearance of your abdominals. If you have poor posture, you will look as though you have a “pot belly.” Conversely, if you stand up straight, your mid-section will seem much trimmer and you will have a much more balanced look.
