Situps a no-no?

[bud_2005]

I'm trying to build up my abs and I've been doing situps. Well when I do situps it kind of hurts my lower back. Plus I read on a site that situps aren't that effective anyways.

So are crunches a lot better? To me when I do crunches it seems to crank up on neck I crack it sometimes. I'm probably doing it wrong.

 

[Lifeforce]

Go to a gym and do decline sit-ups slightly curled forward and do slow negatives.

Pros:

Constant pressure on the abs
You build up your entire core

Cons:
None

 

[don juan jr]

with situps, you get the full range of motion. your working out your lower and upper abs where you only work your upper abs when you do crunches.

 

[Skilla_Staz]

Yes you are doing crunches wrong. I prefer to have my hands by my ears, so that I don't "pull" myself up by my neck.

Also, crunches work the upper abominal wall, and are very inneffective for hitting the lower portion of the wall. Decline sit ups, knee raises and such are very effective, especially when weight is added.

 

[Alittude]

Yes you are doing crunches wrong. I prefer to have my hands by my ears, so that I don't "pull" myself up by my neck.

Also, crunches work the upper abominal wall, and are very inneffective for hitting the lower portion of the wall. Decline sit ups, knee raises and such are very effective, especially when weight is added.

You're not spose to pull yourself up from your neck that's wrong. The work should be all in your abs thats like bending and using your back to lift something heavier.

 

[Skilla_Staz]

You're not spose to pull yourself up from your neck that's wrong. The work should be all in your abs thats like bending and using your back to lift something heavier.

Thats basically what I said. You shouldn't be using your hands to pull yourself up, especially by your neck. I'm not sure why you quoted me, but oh well.

 

[bud_2005]

Well I dont' have a gym available to me so I can't do any of those decline things I think.

So if I do situps slow, it won't hurt my back as much? I've been trying to do them as fast as I can.

But I did find a good site for abs:

http://www.bestabs.com/Resources/Exercises/Default.aspx

At home I should be able to do basic crunch, reverse crunch, hip up, and side crunch working out all my abs.

 

[Skilla_Staz]

If you're going to do sit ups, try not to let your upper back touch the ground. This will keep your abs under tension.

 

[Bible_Belt]

This is all good advice. An incline board is not very expensive and folds for storage.

 

[NYtomb]

Hold each situp when you are "up" for like a second before coming down. Use controlled movements and not this fly up and gravity fall to the down position. Yes you will do more reps with the speed method but you wont get as much of a benefit.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Yeah, most people do it too quickly. If you find yourself pulling on your neck, unclasp your hands and put them somewhere else, like one on each side of your head or crossed across your chest. The leverage from the weight of your arms behind your head makes the situp a little harder, but you can more than compensate by going slowly enough.

 

[Skilla_Staz]

On the "too quickly" thing, I agree. Think about it this way...


Let's compare sit-ups to pull ups. When you do a pull up, you don't pull yourself up and then drop back down, and then bounce back up as quick as you can. You pull yourself up, squeeze at the top, and allow yourself to return more or less to the starting position, without going ALL the way down. You still have a slight bend in your arms, and your elbows are NOT locked.

It's much like a sit up. Put your hands in a fist, and place them just in front of your ears. Now when you do the sit up, at the top, squeeze the entire abdominal wall by trying to touch your chest to your pelvis. Your elbows WILL GO PAST YOUR KNEES. Don't just touch them to your knees. In fact, your nose should be close to, if not actually touching your knees/thighs.
Then, on the way down, slowly relax and allow yourself to return to the starting position. DO NOT LET YOUR UPPER BACK TOUCH THE FLOOR/BOARD/WHATEVER YOUR ON. It removes all tension from your abs, and it's more or less taking a rest. Think of it as racking the weight between each rep of your bench press. Doesn't do you a whole lot of good huh?

 

[NYtomb]

I forgot to mention, I am no fan of hands behind the head. I cross them over my chest. This keeps them "honest" from any pulling on the neck.

 

[Skilla_Staz]

I'm not a fan of across the chest either, most people just touch their elbows to their knees, preventing them from getting that contraction at the top and severely limiting the ROM.