isotopia12 - the deal with situps are the contraction of the abdominal muscles which do develop over time and good to have to strenghten your frontal area and your core which is the area from the nipples to the knees. You won't get a six pack until you lower your body percent fat to at least 6% or lower.
you could be like 12% body fat and still do situps and the six pack wont show. To show the six pack the layer of fat in the abdominal area has to be decreased with diet/exercise routines that lower that percentage like interval training, cardio, yoga, strength training
For thousands of years, this exercise was taught in yoga classes as the 'spinal roll', and it is excellent. The idea is to do it as slowly and smoothly as possible, keeping good posture and relaxed breathing throughout. As your ability progresses, you can slow down the movement until a single repetition (starting from the sitting position, and returning to it) can take more than a minute.
When you first do the exercise, you should lean back slightly from an alert sitting position, trying to keep your breathing & posture correct and relaxed, and then (still staying relaxed) return smoothly to your original sitting position. With practice, you will find that you can lean further back without tensing up, and as your ability improves you can try to 'roll' each spinal bone in turn onto the ground as you lean.
Problems with the exercise started when it was converted by military trainers into a 'power move', involving a hinge-type movement at the hip joint. These 'hinge-up' movements were meant to be a TEST of core strength generally, NOT a training technique. But as soon as you devise a 'standard' test, people will start to 'train for the test', and doing military situps became a commonplace gym technique.
Performed in this way, situps put a massive strain on the lower back. They only train a very small, superficial layer of abdominal muscle that doesn't contribute to good posture (rectus abdominis). And repeatedly training in this way will stiffen the waist, restricting the effectiveness of other core muscles.
In order to solve some of these problems, trainers started to recommend 'crunches' instead. This exercise won't strain your lower back, but it won't train your core any better than military situps do. Even the twisty versions put most of the work on RA. The rest of your 'core' is de-activated because you are lying on your back to do the exercise, and you will still become less mobile if you do them frequently. This lack of mobility usually leads to back problems later in life.
Because of the extreme loads that these exercises put on your RA muscle, situps & crunches can be really good for 'bulking up' this muscle, to produce a 'sixpack' or 'eggbox' look (visible even through a moderate layer of bodyfat). But they won't make you fitter or more capable in any way, and can reduce your ability to move well.
Learn yoga, and progress slowly towards a good understanding of the original 'spinal roll' situp, and you will be able to improve your mobility and core stability throughout your life.
i dont want a six pack do they have anything to gain from situps?
Drew - yes, do cardio too.
ReplyDeleteMarc - They build abdominal muscle
ReplyDeleteSTIFLER! - your better of doing crunches, leg raises, and L sits for as long as u can
ReplyDeletecardio do HIIT training
spencer - If you dont want a six pack dont do them
ReplyDeleteI gusse, but if you dont care then do them! They are good for you!
Courtney - I honestly think it'll slim down your stomach, but if you really want good results do cardio and really work on it everday. Lol ;D
ReplyDeleteisotopia12 - the deal with situps are the contraction of the abdominal muscles which do develop over time and good to have to strenghten your frontal area and your core which is the area from the nipples to the knees. You won't get a six pack until you lower your body percent fat to at least 6% or lower.
ReplyDeleteyou could be like 12% body fat and still do situps and the six pack wont show. To show the six pack the layer of fat in the abdominal area has to be decreased with diet/exercise routines that lower that percentage like interval training, cardio, yoga, strength training
Beachbody Coach Jack
Fitology - Only if you do them properly.
ReplyDeleteFor thousands of years, this exercise was taught in yoga classes as the 'spinal roll', and it is excellent. The idea is to do it as slowly and smoothly as possible, keeping good posture and relaxed breathing throughout. As your ability progresses, you can slow down the movement until a single repetition (starting from the sitting position, and returning to it) can take more than a minute.
When you first do the exercise, you should lean back slightly from an alert sitting position, trying to keep your breathing & posture correct and relaxed, and then (still staying relaxed) return smoothly to your original sitting position. With practice, you will find that you can lean further back without tensing up, and as your ability improves you can try to 'roll' each spinal bone in turn onto the ground as you lean.
Problems with the exercise started when it was converted by military trainers into a 'power move', involving a hinge-type movement at the hip joint. These 'hinge-up' movements were meant to be a TEST of core strength generally, NOT a training technique. But as soon as you devise a 'standard' test, people will start to 'train for the test', and doing military situps became a commonplace gym technique.
Performed in this way, situps put a massive strain on the lower back. They only train a very small, superficial layer of abdominal muscle that doesn't contribute to good posture (rectus abdominis). And repeatedly training in this way will stiffen the waist, restricting the effectiveness of other core muscles.
In order to solve some of these problems, trainers started to recommend 'crunches' instead. This exercise won't strain your lower back, but it won't train your core any better than military situps do. Even the twisty versions put most of the work on RA. The rest of your 'core' is de-activated because you are lying on your back to do the exercise, and you will still become less mobile if you do them frequently. This lack of mobility usually leads to back problems later in life.
Because of the extreme loads that these exercises put on your RA muscle, situps & crunches can be really good for 'bulking up' this muscle, to produce a 'sixpack' or 'eggbox' look (visible even through a moderate layer of bodyfat). But they won't make you fitter or more capable in any way, and can reduce your ability to move well.
Learn yoga, and progress slowly towards a good understanding of the original 'spinal roll' situp, and you will be able to improve your mobility and core stability throughout your life.