Do you believe painful crunches and sit-ups are the way to ripped abs and a strong core? Is there any truth to this ubiquitous exercise? Find out why crunches may actually be causing damage to your spine…

First let’s bust a myth: There was a small randomized controlled trial done in 2011 where one group did daily abdominal sit-up exercises while the control group did none. After six weeks, detailed measurements were taken and it was found that the sit-ups made no difference to waist size or the amount of fat around the stomach. Myth busted. There is WAY more to losing weight and toning your stomach than doing sit-ups. And keep reading – they may even be doing more damage than good!

Now that we have that out of the way, I’d like you to meet our colleague Dr. Stuart McGill – the man that wants to kill crunches. Dr. McGill is a researcher and professor of spinal biomechanics at the University of Waterloo in Ontario (and how epic is his moustache btw?).

After three decades of research using some pretty fancy technology he literally has come to loathe sit-ups (both full and crunch versions) and so have we! 

Why are those beloved crunches so bad for you? 

Simply put, each time you perform a sit-up or crunch you flex your spine into a position at which it damages sooner. 

Here is a mini anatomy lesson: in between each bone or vertebrae of your spine is a disc, each disc in your spine has a ring around it, and in the middle is a mucous-like liquid called the nucleus. When you flex your spine, like in a sit-up motion, the compression squeezes this inner liquid. When this liquid makes its way out of the disc (it can bulge or herniate) it can hit a nerve root and cause back pain. 

How much compression actually occurs?

Research has determined that both crunches and traditional sit ups generate at least 3350 newtons (= to 340 kg) of compressive forces on the spine. Some perspective: Occupational Health and Safety guidelines consider anything above 3300 newtons unsafe… 

What should I do instead?

Core weakness is often an achilles heel when it comes to spinal function and stability for our clients.

An unconditioned core + a desk job or a job with repetitive motions that require core stability = recipe for low back pain. 

Might I add… pregnancy + birth + postpartum + repeat = big time core weakness + the duties of parenting require lots of core stability = recipe for low back pain. 

This is why we always recommend supportive core exercises when indicated by our testing for each client depending on their current stage of life, fitness level, occupational loads and overall lifestyle demands.

The exercises we choose keep the spine in a safe neutral position, minimize compressive forces, and impact multiple layers of the core complex to get the best results.