Situps and back

[Airborne]

Hello,

I've been trying to get in shape and when I do the situps I feel most of the pain and burn in my lower back rather than my legs or abs.

I was wondering if this is normal and once I get more used to it I will be fine or if I may have inproper form.

Thank you.

 

[jpc2004]

There could be many reaons for the pain, is the pain you have sharp and specific or dull and general? Sharp pain could be bad, The best thing is to start slow, stretch your abs and back before starting you workout. You may also want to try to isolate your abs more by resting your legs on a bench in the gym or against a wall so your legs form a L shape. Then do crunches slow and concentrated. As I said earlier, it is really hard to say, especially since I dont know you and have not seen you do sit ups. Take it easy, and if you belong to a gym, ask a trainer for some suggestions as well, but make sure he knows what he is doing. Good luck, and hope the pain is just temporary.

 

[Airborne]

thanks, but its more like I feel 100% of the burn in my lower back rather than my legs or abs, thats the main prob. any reasons for this?

 

[jpc2004]

Thats a tough one, do you do excerices that work your lower back such as the roman chair or dead lifts? If so, when you do them do you feel the same pain? Most people fail to train their lower back and abs, and that could be where pain is derived from. As I said earlier, it is really tough to tell since I dont know you or have seen you do the excersises. How is your back when you run? If the pain does continue I would see a doctor and ask what they think, a good trainer could help too, your better safe than sorry, you dont want to mess up your back. I used to be a trainer, and I have seen some crazy things that people do. Good Luck!!!

 

[NeoCortex]

sounds like your using your lower back insted of your abs durring situps. one of 2 things can be done. My best advice is if you belong to a gym, ask one of the trainners to watch you do a couple and make sure your doing them right, I'm not sure that you are. Second, if you don't go to a gym, have someone hold your feet, make sure your back and head is straight, and make sure your lifting from you abs both coming up and going back down.

 

[Gonzodogg]

Regardless of any kind of back injuries or other workouts, you should still feel at least some "burn" in your abs or hip flexors. If this is not the case, the I am almost positive that your problem is form. Make sure you are doing the situps/crunches corectly so that there is no extra stress placed on your back.

 

[utrico]

I would agree with everything that has been posted so far but I would add one thing. I have had trouble with my lower back for a long time especially when I ran. Sometimes it would hurt so bad that I could not even run a mile. A trainer showed me an excercise to stengthen my back and I have not had trouble since even when I run 8+ miles. I think it is called superman. You lay on your stomach and arc both your arms and your feet at the same time. Do a set of about 25 of those and then do a set of 40 where you alternate opposite arms and legs. In other words, raise your right hand, left leg and then raise your left hand and right leg. I do that 5 x per week. Also, watch your posture. I have found that if you slouch a lot when sitting than that can also aggrevate your back. Hope that helps.

 

[slasher]

When I first started preparing for the PFT, I felt the same burn--and my form was fine. As I got stronger and let my back/abs rest a few days, it just went away. But the advice by the other guys is great, check your form first and go from there. Good Luck.

 

[jamesd]

I had the same experience as slasher. After a few weeks of doing good situps, the pain in my back went away.