Perfect Personal Training Warns To Keep Sit Ups Out of Your New Year's Resolution

Jan. 13, 2011 - PRLog -- What you don't know sure can hurt you!

With the New Year now upon us, we'd like to offer some valid advice:  Steer clear of sit-ups! More and more scientific research is stacking up against this long-time fitness staple.

Stuart McGill, PhD, studied the effects of varying exercises on the lower back. Sit-ups, crunches, varying plank and stabilization exercises, and many others were involved and analyzed.  What was found is that a sit-up generates approximately 3500 Newtons of pressure (roughly 786 pounds of force). According to Dr. McGill and The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), pressures above 3300 Newtons are more associated with lower back injury or pain.

Aside from this heavy pressure, sit-ups also involve spinal flexion, which has it's benefits but is also associated with herniated discs.  This little fact makes this exercise even more controversial -- especially for those with any predisposition to spinal disorders or a loss of bone mineral density.

Additionally, prolonged sit-ups tend to lead to aggressive, uncontrolled lowering of the spine back onto the floor or mat, adding even more risk for injury and pain.  To play your core training more safe, we recommend varying forms of planks and other core stabilizing exercises, lateral flexion exercises, and of course, static flexibility training.  Remember -- any exercise can easily do more harm than good if the selection, intensity, or frequency is inappropriate for you.

If you'd like to ask one of our in-home personal trainers a question, or would like more information on this topic, then please feel free to reach Perfect Personal Training by phone at 877-698-3648.  Our team of exercise specialists and weight management consultants are eager to help -- nationwide!

- Brian Walters, MS
Perfect Personal Training, LLC
In-home exercise science and personal training -- available nationwide

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Perfect Personal Training offers in-home exercise and in-home personal training to people in Michigan, California, New York, and most other of the contiguous states -- with or without a home gym!