A common exercise performed in the gym that really concerns us is the supine or hanging leg lift. In fact, you can throw sit-ups into this equation as well. It never ceases to amaze us how many people in the gym are doing damage to their spines as they try to train what they think is their abdominal region.
Anatomy and kinesiology dictate that in order to contract the rectus abdominis, one must approximate the thoracic cage to the pelvis or vice versa (and no, I’m not including isometric contractions here). This is not occurring with the aforementioned exercises, and even with a sit-up, it only occurs during the first 30 degrees of body flexion…the rest of the motion is very, very bad for you!
So, when we see someone hanging or on a Gravitron and bringing their legs up to 90 degrees, or lay on their back bringing their legs up several inches off the floor… or for that matter, doing a sit-up, what is really being done? Well, two things are certain: the abdominal muscles are certainly not being trained and the low back facet joints are getting pounded!
In fact, these exercises target the hip flexor musculature, and this is something most of us do not want to do. We have four hip flexor muscles: Psoas (Minor and Major), Sartorius, Rectus Femoris, and the Iliacus. The Psoas is clinically significant as it partly originates from the anterior discs in the lumbar spine…this means it exerts a force, bringing the lumbar spine into extension. It is a major component of the lower cross fix pattern and it is many times responsible for lumbar damage. The Psoas is also the strongest of the hip flexor muscles and is already a facilitated muscle on most people…training will only lead to back injuries!
It is a shame that people, mistakenly thinking that they are training their abdominal region, are actually training the hip flexors…and this is very pervasive in all gyms! We even seen personal trainers instruct people with these exercises! You can go into a gym at almost any time and see someone hanging and bringing their legs up to 90 degrees. You can usually also see someone on a sit-up bench with the legs locked in (creating a nice anchor for the hip flexors to work) pulling their body all the way up…again, these exercises are DANGEROUS!! Considering most people sit all day long and already have facilitated hip flexor musculature, going into the gym and further shortening these muscles at the expense of the lumbar spine certainly doesn’t make much sense!
So, to open up this discussion, what are some better ways to address the abdominal musculature? Now, I’m not talking about core stability here, I’m only talking about actually addressing the rectus abdominis, along with the internal and external obliques. How can we best go about addressing this area without compromising other parts of our anatomy? What would we want to tell people when we see them doing these dangerous exercises?
Does anyone know anything about exercises that can help with diastasis?
I usually do this by raising my legs for 45 degree, Perform it for 15 times and hold my legs for 10 Sec, 3 sets should rip your abs.
MMA,
Raising your legs up to 45 degrees does not incorporate your abdominal muscles. Raising your legs involves the hip flexor muscles. Being the abdominal muscles attach distally on the pubic bone, they do not exert a pull of the thighs. What you are feeling is primarily the psoas muscle, about as thick as your forearm, pushing against the abdominal wall as it contracts. It might feel as though your stomach muscles are working, but leg lifts do not contract these muscles.