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Are Sit Ups Effective?
Sit ups have been a long time staple of many physical fitness routines. They have been the exercise that has been around for years as a part of physical fitness testing, the go to for ab workouts, and more. So has science changed or Are Sit Ups Effective for strengthening your abdominals, and getting the chiseled ab look that many people desire?
Recently a lot of research has shown that sit-ups may be harmful and that there are better ways to condition and strengthen the abdominals and overall core.
Are Sit Ups Effective?
So Are Sit Ups Effective? With research showing us that other variations of abdominal and core exercises may be superior, taking a closer look at a couple variations and their pros and cons will help you understand what research is showing and what exercises may be best for you to implement into your workout plan. So let’s look at crunches and planks.
Crunches: For years the crunch has been known to surpass the sit up as it gives a more focused contraction potential on the rectus abdominis muscles, while the sit-up puts more emphasis on the hip flexor muscles.
Planks: The plank not only improves abdominal strength, but it improves total core strength. The plank is an isometric exercise which means the muscle contracts without any actual movement. This means the plank not only improves strength, but also improves endurance and stability of the abdominal muscles. Unlike a sit-up or crunch the plank also works on the oblique’s, glute muscles, and the hamstrings, and to some extent the shoulders and arms. Plus, a plank can be varied by different positions of hands, arms, legs, and body as well as time variations of 30 second and greater timed holds.
Are Sit Ups Effective?
Clearly with just looking at crunches and planks, we can say that planks beat sit-ups every time, in every way. Planks have been proven in the gym and in research. Planks target the abdominals and core in the way they are intended to function; Isometrically. Talk to any experienced trainer and they will tell you that the main function of the abs and core is to stop motion, not start motion. Therefore, the plank trains the abs based on what they are meant to do, “resist the spine from moving”.
Though many may think plank work is boring and mundane, you may be hard pressed to say no to them when it is the best exercise variation for the core and abdominals. Research shows that sit-ups are less beneficial than the isometric plank. Plus, you cannot argue with recent Harvard studies that found sit-ups to be very hard on the spine and potentially damaging. Sit-ups push the curved spine against the floor, and as mentioned earlier, employs mostly the hip flexor muscles. (These are the muscles that run from the thighs to the lumbar spine in the lower back.) This motion can potentially cause low back discomfort if the hip flexors become too strong or too tight. Sit-ups can work against the natural curvature of the spine, and therefore can lead to low back discomfort, pain, and even injury.
Are Sit Ups Effective? Besides the research mentioned above, these pros and cons for Sit Ups, Planks and Crunches will help you determine which way you will begin structuring your core workouts.
Sit Ups:
- Pros: Sit-ups target the abdominal muscles, mainly the rectus abdominis. Sit ups also involve and some connecting stabilizer muscles, such as the hip flexors.
- Cons: Sit-ups impose a large compression force on the discs and vertebrae of the spine, especially in the lower back.
Crunches:
- Pros: Crunches involve the six primary core muscles of the abdomen, as well as muscles in the leg. They can be modified for individual ability levels by intensifying them with resistance with a medicine balls or dumbbells. Crunches do not require and extensive range of motion, so they limit hip flexor involvement and lessens the compression of the spine.
- Cons: Crunches target the abdominal muscles but not other core muscles, such as the obliques and lower back (lumbar erectors). Crunches still place some stress and compression on the spin. Crunches can create strain and stress on the neck or cervical spine if the head is not kept in a neutral position throughout the movement.
Planks:
- Pros: Planks are a complete balance of muscle incorporation of the abdominals, obliques, spinal erectors, as well as the glutes, shoulder, chest and arms. Planks use an isometric contraction to target the core, and this activation is almost twice as activating as a standard sit-up. When done correctly planks have no unnecessary strain or compression on the spine. Variations of the plank can increase or decrease difficulty and target different muscles.
- Cons: Joint limitations in the elbows, shoulders, or feet can potentially negatively affect your ability to correctly perform the exercise. If you are very weak in the core musculature, you might find it difficult to maintain proper positioning in the movement for more than a few seconds, and therefore limited progress can be seen in the early stages of performing the exercise.
With all the information presented to you have the answer to the questions, “Are Sit Ups Effective?”. Of course there is still room and enough benefits for crunches and other core exercises to be included as part of a comprehensive training program if they are done properly.
With all the evidence from research, planks hold the top spot for core training in being the most effective, most efficient, and the safest core strengthening and stabilizing exercise. So it is probably time to ditch the sit-ups, and jump into plank work and crunches for the best all-around core fitness and strength.
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