Remember back in high school gym class when you had to perform sit-ups to build 6 pack abs and demonstrate your fitness level?

Well, turns out that all that effort may have been for naught, as more research studies and anecdotal evidence suggest that sit-ups do little, if anything, to strengthen abdominal muscles – let alone help you build 6 pack abs.

So which exercises can bring you closer to the ideal “six-pack”?

Why Sit-ups Suck: Real Exercises that Build 6 Pack Abs

Dr. Stuart McGill, professor of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo, argues that sit-ups can do serious damage to your back (read “The Painful Lumbar Spine” in the January 2010 IDEA Fitness Journal).

In the October 2009 edition of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, a study from Ohio’s Youngstown State University concluded that strength gains, body fat reduction, and waist size loss were non-existent for both its non sit-up and sit-up control groups.

Entitled “Traditional Exercises Do Not Have a Significant Impact on Abdominal Peak Force in Healthy Young Adults”, authors Ken Learman, Jennifer Pinter, and Renee Rogers suggest that low-intensity, low resistance abdominal training should be dropped in favor of exercises that promote the necessary repetition failure, i.e. muscle fatigue, required to build real strength.

Confused about sit-ups? Weren’t you always taught they help build 6 pack abs?

I certainly was, until I broke down the steps involved in classical sit-ups and crunches and noted the following:

• Traditional sit-ups benefit your hip flexors more than your abdominal muscles and DO NOT help build 6 pack abs. When your muscles contract, the stomach, rib cage, and shoulders are pulled towards your hips. By bending at the hips and pulling your torso upwards, the abs only benefit at the start of the sit-up. Beyond the first 30-45 degrees of motion, abdominal muscles only work as stabilizers, while the hip flexors power you upwards.
• Understandably, our sit-up efficiency declines as we proceed. The spinal flexion decreases and we lose the necessary form – turning the “abdominal” exercise into something that only works the hip flexors.
• Accelerated sit-ups are even more dangerous. Note that your hip flexors are attached to the pelvis and lower back, so that their fast movement can lead to unsafe motion and bending on your lower spine. Tight hip flexors can tilt your pelvis towards a bad angle.
• With targeted stomach “crunches”, the upper and mid-back bend and flex as your shoulders move towards the hips (spinal flexion). While related to full sit-ups, the range of motion here is deliberately limited to place “burning” stress on the abs.

So, what should we do to build 6 pack abs safely?

Clearly, 50-100 sit-ups daily aren’t the answer, since your abdominal muscles will not be sufficiently fatigued prior to being the strengthening process.

A daily three-thousand sit-ups routine won’t do the trick either, even if we had the time and discipline of a professional boxer.

Instead, consider the following three (3) exercises to help build 6 pack abs:

1. Squats: Your abs should work together with your back muscles to build good posture and support your spine. Squats (or “deadlifts”) supercharge your core stability by targeting many muscles, including glutes and quadriceps. Fat loss during recovery time will also vastly improve.
2. Plank Exercises: The plank is an increasingly popular exercise that targets a person’s core, i.e. the back, hips, and of course the abdominal muscles. Beginners can start with a series of 10-second, elbow bridge planks:
   - Lie face down on the ground or use an exercise mat .
   - Place your elbows and forearms underneath your chest.
   - Prop yourself up as a “bridge” using your toes and forearms.
   - Maintain a flat back and stop your hips from sagging to the ground.
   - Hold your position, focusing on tightening your abs, until it becomes too difficult to maintain a flat bridge.
   - Return to start position.
3. Dr. McGill’s Modified Curl-up: Lie flat on your back with one leg straight and the other bent. Placing both hands under the small of the back, lift your shoulder blades off the floor – don’t curl the spine! Hold this position for 2-3 seconds before returning to your start position. This exercise avoids stressing the back while tightening the abdominals.

The best abs exercise for working the abdominal muscles means replacing sit-ups with true crunches and spinal flexion exercises that promote core stability. Combined with sensible fat loss, you can confidently start with the above options, and then move to a more advanced abs workout program to build 6 pack abs that eveyone finds attractive.

One Response to “Sit Ups DO NOT Build 6 Pack Abs”