Sit-ups help page 2

[MissJecka]

Thanks! PB Fitness doesn't include back exercises. What would you suggest?

The ones I do are:

Swimmer

Swan

Cat Stretch

Child's Pose

I actually do all four in that order after I do my planks.

[sbhikes]

Back exercises we do in my class:

Stand in a squat position. Raise up your arms straight, palms facing each other. Now flap your arms back as far as you can and back to center. Switch your palms facing out and do the same. You should feel this in your lower back.

Stand in a squat position and hold a very large ball or other object straight up over your head. Hold it as high as you can for as long as you can. This will HUUUURRRRRTTT!!!

One day we did situps over a large ball. Sit at the end of the ball, lean back over the ball, do situps one hand to each ankle. Try to keep the chest high. Really made my abs sore like nothing else and did not hurt my back, so it was obvious I wasn't using back muscles to make up for my flabby abs.

[Knifegill]

Sorry I can't help you, other than to diss sit-ups in entirety. The damage they do the spine is enormous, and they're not exactly functional unless you are a very weak person to start with. If I try to do sit-ups, I get a nauseating scraping POP each rep, somewhere around L2 or L3, and if I don't stop, it gets swollen and hurts for up to a week. That's a cartilage/soft tissue injury. I'm just lucky it out-and-out hurts me, unlike many others who simply accumulate damage for decades only to accrue scar tissue and damage.

I do hanging L-sits, leg lifts, backwards leg lift with gentle spine flexion, lots of good core work, but not with pressure on the spine.

[jenn26point2]

Abs are stabelizer muscles, not contracting muscles. Do planks. Obviously do sit ups to pratice but, planks will strengthen. Sit ups wont. Sit ups are more a measure of strength than a builder of strength.

Sit ups test hip flexor strength - so says the Army. And hip flexor strength is precisely why I'm doing battle with my sciatic nerve right now (muscle imbalance so say my chiropractor/running coach).

unless you HAVE to do sit ups, like b/c it's a part of your job or something, I'd give them up.

[BigJilm]

The situps are required for the role. There are two stages, below is the technique requirements.

: Fitness in the ADF - Defence Jobs Australia

Initially I can do them with feet anchored, but once I hit recruit training there are further minimum standards that must be met, which include in anchored situps.

[jfreaksho]

The situps are required for the role. There are two stages, below is the technique requirements.

: Fitness in the ADF - Defence Jobs Australia

Initially I can do them with feet anchored, but once I hit recruit training there are further minimum standards that must be met, which include in anchored situps.

Those aren't even full situps! However, I don't feel my feet lifting up like they do in a full situp- there's not much emphasis on the hip flexors at all for me.

I stand by my advice though- you'll have better results from doing leg raises, planks, and pullups/chinups than you will from doing more of those.

[BigJilm]

Cool beans... Leg raises and planks it is...

[Velocity J]

I agree that planks and leg raises are better exercises, but since you are required to do sit ups it makes sense to continue practicing them.

You could try working on just the eccentric (the negative) part of the sit up movement for awhile to build up strength. Start from the up position and work on slowly lowering yourself back down with control and without the feet lifting up. Then use your arms to push off the floor to return to the up position.