[midnight_starr]

DH and I disagree on this.. DH says I should do sit ups instead of crunches, but I usually just do crunches.. They are easier for me to do and sit ups tend to hurt my back... Any thoughts and ideas on this??? I'm going to go google this and see what I can find out!!!

[Mod-LadyCoconut]

idk what google says... but i'd go with the crunches. i'm a sucker for form, i figure if i'm going to do it then i'm going to do it right and get the max benefit that i can from it. so when people do crunches they are bending their backs and losing their necks and using their arms to propel them forward and very little work is actually being done by the abs. I think if it's better for you back-wise that you should stick to mostly crunches... just make sure the small of your back is pressed to the floor, if your hands are behind your head that your elbows are out to your sides and your finger tips are *lightly* resting against the back of your head so you aren't using your arms to fling you upwards. also, pretend there is an apple between your chest and under your chin so your neck doesn't curl up. if you want to make them a bit harder and work some extra muscles, lift your butt off the floor when you crunch.

I'd go with cruches too.

[~*sierra*~]

i got the best results out of varying things, most of the full sit ups i would do on the physio ball, but the odd time i would do them on the mat as well. you can also do crunches on the physio ball. maybe see if you can try out a gym in your area, they sometimes have a trainer on staff just hanging around (if its a bigger gym) and you can ask for some pointers on situps and crunches.

also a REALLY good ab excersice is planks, hold for like 60 seconds.

[pidge315]

I would say a mix of both.

crunches work a different set uof muscles then sit ups do. So i do both in my workout. i am also a huge fan of leg lifts to work on the lower tummy. But you just have to make sure you do them right. Like sit ups make sure you press your lower back into the floor and use your abs not your arms or legs. And you can do them slowly, that actually makes them more efficient. Slowly might also help with the pain.

but i have to play devils advocate..i agree with dh

sit ups invlve crunches and add a little extra, so technically i would say they are better...

[bittersweet]

sit ups invlve crunches and add a little extra, so technically i would say they are better... [/b]

I'll ditto that. Also like to enforce the SLOW part. It's a much better workout to do them very slow and controlled. That includes when you are coming up and going back down. Don't let your body flop down after you sit-up, go down slowly and contract your abs. Double the workout. Also, if you are able to do them on an inclined bench it's even better.

[Mod-LadyCoconut]

That totally makes sense... but I will say that if you're in poor shape and can't correctly do a full sit-up, you'll be better off doing correct crunches.

[midnight_starr]

Thanks ladies!! I googled it and found some info that leaned towards crunches and some that leaned towards situps so I think I might try a mixture of both... I will probably try them on the ball since it kills my back doing them on the floor... My poor ball needs air though hehe!!