Are Sit-Ups and Crunches Bad for You?

Sit-ups and crunches are popular exercises for working the abdominal muscles. They’re the go-to for most people who want to strengthen their core or develop six-pack abs. However, sit-ups and crunches have come under increased scrutiny over the last several years as potentially dangerous movements that should be avoided. Are these exercises really as bad as some say they are? If so, what makes sit-ups and crunches so dangerous and what exercises should we be doing instead? 

The sit-up controversy: too much bending is harmful 

Let’s start by looking at where the idea that sit-ups and crunches are potentially dangerous comes from. This idea is based on studies showing that repetitive bending of the trunk, like the motions used in sit-ups and crunches, damages the discs of the lower back. These studies provide useful insights into how disc herniations (also called bulged, slipped, or ruptured discs) can happen. But the findings of these studies should be interpreted with a fair amount of skepticism. Why? Because they’re all based on research using the dissected spine of dead pigs that were continuously taken into sit-up or crunch-like motions from 4,400 to more than 86,000 times using a machine in a laboratory setting. Based on these studies, well-meaning rehab and fitness researchers began touting sit-ups and crunches as dangerous movements that should be avoided by most people. 

The body has an incredible ability to repair itself and most cases of painful disc herniations are able to heal within a few weeks.

I prefer a pragmatic approach when weighing in on these issues by considering both the research as well as the reality. We are, of course, living and breathing humans, not dead pig spines placed in bending machines for countless hours without pause. What we can take away from this line of research is that too much of the type of bending used in sit-ups and crunches does lead to damage of the spinal discs. But in reality, how many people do you know actually perform anywhere near the number of sit-ups or crunches used in the studies? Some researchers may point out that it’s the...

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