There are many popular exercises performed every day by people at the gym that makes me cringe. Probably the worst one is excessive crunches. There simply isn't enough time to tell people how much damage they are doing to their low backs by performs hundreds of crunches or, even worse, use the trunk flexion machine. Here is a good article written about Dr. Stuart McGill, who is a leading back researcher and has been a very influential figure in the fitness industry for some time. "While there are lots of ways to injure a back, the sit-up is an easily preventable one. According to his research, a crunch or traditional sit-up generates at least 3,350 newtons (the equivalent of 340 kg) of compressive force on the spine. The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health states that anything above 3,300 newtons is unsafe." The point is, our lumbar spines only have so many flexions in them before the disks herniate. Why perform hundreds of crunches per day knowing that is a great predictor of future back pain? The problem is often vanity. Everyone wants the six pack. Truth is everyone has a six pack...it's just covered up by a layer of fat. If you truely want a better looking mid-section then you need to turn your focus to your diet and create a caloric deficit while eating the proper amount of protien and dietary fats. One of the great core exercises is the bird dog. This can be a difficult exercise to perfect without instruction. They keys for this exercise are:
- set up with your hands directly under your shoulders and hips directly under your knees
- Extend at your hip and opposite shoulder. The key is to press your hand and foot out as opposed to just lifting your limbs up. You should have zero movement in your back.
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