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Situps under scrutiny

#1
elte Offline
"Sit-Ups Are Outdated And Need To Be Replaced By More Relevant Exercises: Experts"
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/118933...xperts.htm


I find sit-ups to be a good exercise still.  The Navy found that they were causing lower back injuries.  However, the key seems to be to pin the feet down so that instead of the back having to bend, the bend can be done lower down at the hips.  It makes sense that bending the back should be avoided.  However, if the back is held rigid, the sit-up should be safe.
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#2
C C Offline
Years ago I replaced situps with standing toe-touches. Especially when I discovered that they actually seemed to strengthen my lower back rather than hurt it.
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#3
elte Offline
I got to thinking of some other things about sit-ups that seems to help them be safer.  Besides pinning down the feet, I reduce the range of movement by having my knees bent pretty much and by not trying to go all the way forward over.  Also when doing them I try to keep my back rigid. That should still work the stomach muscles some.

I think I'll try out the toe-touches while standing and see how they feel since I used to do them and maybe mostly forgot about them.  If they feel straining, maybe the key is not to go all the way down, especially if that is feeling like a strain.   It might help to try to bend just at the hips while trying to keep the back stiff.  I can't recall if they were adversely affecting my back or not since it's been a long time since I did some.  I wonder if my push-ups compensate for not doing them since the back muscles are rigid then.  I recall in the past doing some back arches though also, yet those seem risky for the back.
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#4
C C Offline
(Jan 25, 2016 01:38 PM)elte Wrote: I think I'll try out the toe-touches while standing and see how they feel since I used to do them and maybe mostly forgot about them.  If they feel straining, maybe the key is not to go all the way down, especially if that is feeling like a strain.   It might help to try to bend just at the hips while trying to keep the back stiff.  I can't recall if they were adversely affecting my back or not since it's been a long time since I did some.


Only try a handful a day for the first week, otherwise there will be painful, lingering stiffness later on from the hamstrings upward. Maybe five a day or less the first week and then add one a day afterwards until it becomes clear that your body has adjusted to handle a bunch more (up to a hundred and eventually two hundred plus).

Of course, I'm really thinking of the negative consequences on someone who has not been doing any related exercises at all. Since you already do situps (etc) you might be able to cope with a fair amount right off the bat. But I'd still limit it to five a day for the first week or so to be on the safe side (wait & see).
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#5
elte Offline
I have been doing exercises every other day to allow my muscles to recuperate, and I hope to check out the standing toe-touches tomorrow. I seem to combine strength and cardio type exercises, which means if I do my exercises every day I get too weak from soreness.
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#6
elte Offline
The standing toe-touches seemed to work well with some observations used to adjust the technique. I found that keeping the knees bent somewhat and separated a little bit helped give the feel of movement I was looking for, basically have as much of the bending be at the hips as I could get so as to try to keep my back more rigid.
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#7
elte Offline

I saw how you are new to the forum here and give my welcome.  I am fighting off type two diabetes and have recently increased my efforts to improve my diet.  I have switched to eating a lot more vegetables raw.  That slows down digestion and helps the food to give energy over a longer time period, and it also transfers fewer calories to the body.  It helps the gut microbiota, which then can help the body's health.
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