Are crunches bad for you?

[qianfeng]

I read somewhere that crunches can cause damage to spine and nerves is this true?

 

[Blindside]

I would be extremely skeptical.

 

[RTKDCMB]

Depends on what goes crunch.

But seriously doing crunches with your legs straight can be bad for your back, maybe that is what you read about.

If youn can remember where you read it and can provide a link then we could check it out.

 

[qianfeng]

i normally do crunches for training and i never felt anything here is a link

Are Situps Crunches Bad for the Spine LIVESTRONG.COM

 

[K-man]

Certainly there seems to be some evidence to suggest sit-ups can cause problems. It is common knowledge amongst personal trainers but there seems to be just one guy doing the research.

The man who wants to kill crunches - Macleans.ca

 

[EklectikButterfly]

Certainly there seems to be some evidence to suggest sit-ups can cause problems. It is common knowledge amongst personal trainers but there seems to be just one guy doing the research.

The man who wants to kill crunches - Macleans.ca

What is wrong with sit ups? I hate them dj wouldn't mind doing away with them, they put so much stress on my knees and I get SOOOO winded. Crunches I can do all say long and love. Sit ups are my kryptonite though

 

[K-man]

What is wrong with sit ups? I hate them dj wouldn't mind doing away with them, they put so much stress on my knees and I get SOOOO winded. Crunches I can do all say long and love. Sit ups are my kryptonite though

Crunches are fine because there is little bending of the spine, just contraction of the stomach muscles. I stopped doing sit-ups for a while when my lower back was giving me grief.

Here are some alternatives to sit-ups that give the same benefit.

There is another exercise (I can't find a video for it) where you lie on your back with you head about 6 inches from the wall. Pushing hard with your hands against the wall engages the obliques (so actually these are better than straight sit-ups). Lift the legs up so the lower leg is parallel with the floor and upper leg is vertical. Now keeping the knees bent raise and lower the legs.

 

[PhotonGuy]

I prefer V-ups, much like sit-ups but where your feet also go up so you form a V. One of the best exercises for core strength.

 

[ks - learning to fly]

..crunches are ok if you do them properly

 

[EklectikButterfly]

Crunches are fine because there is little bending of the spine, just contraction of the stomach muscles. I stopped doing sit-ups for a while when my lower back was giving me grief.

Here are some alternatives to sit-ups that give the same benefit.

There is another exercise (I can't find a video for it) where you lie on your back with you head about 6 inches from the wall. Pushing hard with your hands against the wall engages the obliques (so actually these are better than straight sit-ups). Lift the legs up so the lower leg is parallel with the floor and upper leg is vertical. Now keeping the knees bent raise and lower the legs.

Awesome, thank you! I really am fine with crunches but man, sit ups give me such a damn strain on my back and I get SO out of breath with them when we have a minute or two of nonstop situps trying to do as many as we can. It kills me! It sucks!!! But thank you, I will definitely do these at home so I can get some core benefit other than situps (I really am cool with crunches and can do them all day long.... I just would rather avoid situps. Cant avoid them in class though! lol)

 

[Andrew Green]

Any exercise done with poor form is bad for you, crunches are no exception. You can definitely do crunches in a way that is not good for you. Anyone that is doing any sort of sport should familiarize themselves with basic fitness training concepts. Anyone teaching should probably get a lot more familiar and go through some sort of fitness certification at least once. Bad fitness training is quite common in martial arts schools unfortunately.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Personally I love crunches and planks and they are go to exercises for me but..... I have done sit ups for most of my life with absolutely no problems as well. For a very fit person I do not think that sit ups will bother you. Certainly Roman Chair workouts have an even greater range of motion for the spine and are an excellent workout. However, not for someone who is not already very, very fit. If you are looking for an excellent abdominal exercise I absolutely recommend knee lifts where your body is supported on a machine and you bring the knees up. You can also with the right machine work your obliques by bringing your knees up at an angle.

 

[K-man]

Personally I love crunches and planks and they are go to exercises for me but..... I have done sit ups for most of my life with absolutely no problems as well. For a very fit person I do not think that sit ups will bother you. Certainly Roman Chair workouts have an even greater range of motion for the spine and are an excellent workout. However, not for someone who is not already very, very fit. If you are looking for an excellent abdominal exercise I absolutely recommend knee lifts where your body is supported on a machine and you bring the knees up. You can also with the right machine work your obliques by bringing your knees up at an angle.

Likewise. I actually had one of those support machines. They are a type of traction machine to take pressure off the vertebrae for people with degenerating discs causing back pain. Supporting yourself from the upper arms and twisting produces the same effect as a chiropractor manipulating the spine.

The thing I missed most when I wasn't doing sit-ups were the medicine ball throws with a partner.

But back to the problem of sit-ups. It is not the lack of fitness that is the problem with sit-ups or even the lack of core strength. When you curl the spine as in sitting up the gap between the vertebrae stretches and can cause more damage to an already problematic area. Keeping the back straight while tensing the abs as in a crunch doesn't cause that effect.

Have you ever noticed that when you perform a sit up you get back pain?
Standard sit ups often cause back pain in a healthy spine, so imagine what they do to the 85% of us with some back pain or injury.
BBC - London - Faith - Why sit ups can lead to back pain

Another article that more or less throws cold water on all ab exercises.
The Worst Abs Exercises

I think the take home message is, be careful. Don't try to work through the lower back pain. If it is hurting it is causing further damage.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Definitely there K-man do not work through lower back pain as it is nothing to mess with.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I also love medicine ball workouts. Whether throwing it, having it dropped on my abs or standing back to back with a partner and rotating and putting the ball in their stomach. Medicine ball work will definitely make your core very strong!

 

[Zero]

I also love medicine ball workouts. Whether throwing it, having it dropped on my abs or standing back to back with a partner and rotating and putting the ball in their stomach. Medicine ball work will definitely make your core very strong!

Yeah, the good ol' Kickboxer coconut-drop-to-the abs was always a favaflava of mine too! When away from the Bahamas I always use the medicine ball instead also. : )

 

[Deleted member 32980]

I saw chuck Norris or Bruce. (Idk which) use a upward incline bench for crunches. It was padded

 

[jezr74]

Crunches are fine because there is little bending of the spine, just contraction of the stomach muscles. I stopped doing sit-ups for a while when my lower back was giving me grief.

Here are some alternatives to sit-ups that give the same benefit.

There is another exercise (I can't find a video for it) where you lie on your back with you head about 6 inches from the wall. Pushing hard with your hands against the wall engages the obliques (so actually these are better than straight sit-ups). Lift the legs up so the lower leg is parallel with the floor and upper leg is vertical. Now keeping the knees bent raise and lower the legs.

Planks are an evil exercise, but highly effective for building core. We have 5 minutes of planks during our warm-up routine at training. 1 Min flat plank, then on to right arm back to middle, then left and back to middle. (Equivalent of 150 sit-ups?)

It took me 5 months to build up to the 1st minute using my toes only before having to drop to my knees for the rest.

But it has done wonders for core strength.

 

[Buka]

Planks - bah, nasty sons o beaches. But they are dead-on money. I'm in agreement with you guys.

Rock solid core work that unites the strength of the hips with the strength of the upper body. Planks - you don't have to love them, you just have to do them. I think all Martial Artists should be plank people.

 

[EklectikButterfly]

I love crunches and after lots of crunches I feel a good "pain" after with my muscles being worked out. I hate hate hate sit ups. It's too much stress on my bad knee!