Crunches are Bad! Seriously?

Posted by admin on August 25th, 2010

Who knew sit-ups and crunches could be so controversial? I’ve done plenty of both during my workouts but apparently, they are both bad for your back. I remember reading years ago that doing the full sit-up was bad for the back so I started doing crunches. I’ve also heard opinion from a personal trainer that crunches are terrible for the back so how are we supposed to work our abs?

Why Crunches and Sit-ups are Bad for the Back

First, let’s go over why crunches are getting such a bad rap. Plenty of people are dealing with back pain. A friend of mine had to have back surgery in order to replace a bad disk and I witnessed her pain before her surgery. She couldn’t step off a sidewalk without feeling terrible pain. There is no telling what caused her damaged disk, but the point is, back pain is quite an ordeal.

Protecting our back is important in daily activity. Have you ever been told to lift with your legs and not your back when attempting to pick something up? Our spinal disks can be damaged when under an unhealthy strain. When strain is placed on the back of our spines there is risk of disk bulge or herniation which can cause constant back pain and leg pain.

Performing crunches or sit-ups causes bends at the weakest point of your back. What makes it even more dangerous is that this movement is typically done repeatedly, sometimes for hundreds of reps.

Then How the Heck are We Supposed to Work Our Abs?

Whether or not you are after six-pack abs, having a strong core is important. Your core muscles help to support your spine and provides stability as well as balance. We can still work out our abs without crunches. Rather than doing isolation movements like crunches or sit-ups, we can do exercises that cause our muscles to work the way they were meant to perform.

Find exercises that challenge your core muscles such as: