Sit-ups often come to mind when you think about working your abs or strengthening your core. It’s one of the most old-school, well-known exercises for ab-shredding, but recently, it’s become less and less popular as fitness enthusiasts prefer other effective ways to achieve the same outcome. Why are sit-ups falling out of favor? Let’s look at the research and the pros and cons of sit-ups.
Pros
Sit-ups are an abdominal bodyweight exercise you perform by lying on your back and raising your torso. You can try different variations, from the traditional sit-up to a sit-up with a stability ball and V sits.
Sit-ups work various muscles, including your:
- Rectus abdominis
- Transverse abdominis
- Obliques
- Hip flexors
- Chest muscles
- Glutes
Here are some of the pros of the old-fashioned sit-up:
- Promote better posture.
- Work your lower back and gluteal muscles.
- Research shows that the ability to perform more sit-ups is associated with higher levels of muscle mass and function.
- Stronger core muscles are linked to better muscular endurance and strength in athletes.
- Better balance and stability.
- Improve flexibility.
- Reduce back pain by building strength in your lower back, hips, and pelvis.
- Many people believe sit-ups can cause injuries, but one study of U.S. Army soldiers found that sit-ups made no difference to the exercise program in terms of musculoskeletal injuries.
- Sit-ups can be beneficial as long as you’re careful and maintain proper form.
- One study showed that sit-ups were beneficial for strengthening the diaphragm and improving respiratory function.
Cons
Experts at Harvard Health state that the sit-up’s downfall is largely due to fitness professionals realizing the limitations and potential risks as well as identifying similar and more dynamic exercises. No longer are sit ups a popular way to help tighten abs and trim the waistline. Harvard experts say that static core exercises like planks are the way to go for the following reasons:
- Sit-ups can be hard on your lower back because they put pressure on your curved spine against the ground.
- If your hip flexors are too tight, this can put more pressure on your lower spine, leading to discomfort in your lower back.
- Plank exercises are more effective for balancing muscles on the front, sides, and back of your body compared to sit-ups.
- Planks tend to be lower-impact and put less pressure on your neck and spine compared to sit-ups.
- Researchers used the Army Physical Fitness Test or APFT to measure core strength and revealed that military personnel were able to boost their core strength with and without sit-ups.
Concluding thoughts
If you perform sit-ups carefully and with proper technique, you should still see results by including this traditional exercise in your workout program. However, you might decide to join the many people who are ditching the sit-up in favor of planks, lying leg lifts, and Russian twists. If you have back pain or your hip flexors are especially tight, you might want to try other moves. Research shows that performing various core exercises delivers the best results, so you might choose to include two or three ab and core moves in your workout schedule.
