Skip The Situps And Crunches, They’re Not Very Functional

If you read my article on skipping bench press and high-rep pushups, or my post on functional exercise, you’ll know that my stance on sit-ups and crunches is largely the same.

Here it is by the way: Functional Fitness – Work Out With These Exercises.

And why is that?

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Crunches And Situps – Not Very Functional

It’s because they’re, as the title implies, not very functional.

They make you use your core and abs in somewhat unnatural ways – with a type of movement not really present in daily life at all, whether now or a thousand years ago.

You lie down on the floor in order to crunch the front of your body, the abs, together, and that can have some suboptimal side effects regarding your posture, often more crunched together as a result.

Not what you want.

That said, with the sit-up especially, a few of them are okay, maybe 10 or so, since it’s still a natural way of getting up from the floor when lying on your back, just as the pushup is.

That volume could happen naturally throughout your day and likely nearly did before we had beds (a few times isn’t that far-fetched.

Alternatives To Sit-ups And Crunches

So, sad that your fav and most convenient exercises just went out the window?

Don’t be.

They’re easily replaced with more functional exercises, and ideally standing ones at that.

But, as a more direct sit-up alternative, try just lying down and sitting up from the floor 10 times or so.

It will be similar, but not just straight sit-ups, let your intuition decide in what way you want to lay down and get up again.

And then we have a few more from the functional exercises list, including squats, lunges, dumbbell rows and military presses, etcetera.

Check that one out, and know that all of these are much better to focus on and replace them with than any workout machines or unnatural workout equipment will be.

Replace X sets of situps and crunches with functional exercise reps and you’re golden, because you still want to be exercising.

Yoga, dance, running and carries will do wonders for your core and abs too, without sacrificing posture.