Sit-ups can actually be unsafe. The repetative hip and spinal flexion is dangerous for the following reasons:
- If you have tight hip flexors it will cause more pull on lower back
- Overuse ‘wear and tear’
- Situps could wedge discs between bones in the vertebrae causing herniated discs – could impinge on siatica nerve
- Could lead to several imbalances
- Already in a flexed position too often while sitting, bending forward from hips and slouching forward, -if anything we should be doing more extension exercises.
We need to build a solid foundation (ie. core muscles) within our bodies. A poor foundation increases the risk of injury. The core is much more than the transverse and rectus abdominus muscles which are targeted by sit-ups. The core muscles include the abs (rectus abdominus, transverse abdominus and internal and external oblique muscles) and the back (erector spinae, quadratus lumborum, paraspinals and the psoas major) muscles. A weak core increases low back stress and increases risk of storing belly fat because you are less likely to work out if you are in pain or unable to do certain exercises due to a weak core.
Try the following exercises to target your whole core:
- Knee drive holds
- Stability ball roll-outs
- Stability ball dead bug
- Side plank
- hip thrusters
- Superman
