I'm quite fit, muscular, good condition etc. Never had any back injuries of any sort.

Whenever I do exercises that isolate my abs (crunches, sit-ups, leg raises, etc), basically any abs exercises I do lying down, I'm forced to stop, not because of my abs, but because of my back. My back starts to hurt, and not in a good way, and I usually tap out because I don't want to risk serious injury.

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong, and how I can fix this?


I'm fairly certain it's my posture while I'm on the ground. When I do multi-join exercises where my abs play a main role, they do their job fine and my back doesn't get that 'bad' pain. When I'm doing crunches / sit-ups at the gym, on one of those benches/stands that require you to do your abs exercises at an angle, once again, my back is fine. Just when I'm lying on the ground, the back messes me up.


I've had this problem for quite a while now, help will be very much appreciated.


-Zero

Two videos which go over extensivly lower back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyyVGgouJvY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSIiPmSB ... re=related

Your abs are being working during most upperbody excercises so what my guess is happening is that your unable to maintain good contraction in your abs causing your back to start interfereing in your what you call ab excercises. If your gonna work your abs isolate them on machines and don't be so concerned with "reps" or "weight" but contraction in your abs.

And remember ab definintion is largely diet and reduction in body fat.

I saw the two links you attached here and i got idea for abs workout perfectly.

Its very nice video for abs exercise , I really impress. but I just want to say about Back pain. before two month I had back pain in my body back side, So that's why I was so much tired about that, Then I had to meet my personal doctor so He has to suggested me Yoga exercises, then I start the yoga exercise and within a two month I completely loss my back pain.

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8gb micro m2

yeh if your lower back hurts while doing abs... as in your lower back muscles it means your abs arent strong enough... strengthen your abs slowly along with lower back exercises and you'll notice a big difference... thats why yoga and all those kinds of exercises work well because they strengthen your core...

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A wise man once told me
"Bros before hoes, unless hoes have no clothes!"

I had this problem also a while back and a trainer gave me two great tips.

1. Stretch your quads before working out your abs - it sounds weird but it helps.

2. Try exhaling when you are contracting the muscle. This also helps take some pressure off your back and concentrates it on the abdominal muscle.

I know the pain you're on about. I used to get the same thing whenever I did ab exercises lay on my bed, in the mornings.

It's probably going to be about weakened abs, weakened lower back muscles, or disproportionate strength ratios.

Train abs more gently for a while and train your lower back a bit. Once the strength of front and back is similar, you should be ok.

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Day I don't quite know, of Celibacy Challenge

This truly sucks!!!

Hey, I am a Personal Trainer and I injured my back a few years ago, so have had to deal with and fix my own lower back pain.

First thing I would say is dont do sit ups at all if u have pain, you can maybe do crunchs if you really want, but wise to stay away from them as well. These will just cause more pain and limit recovery.

The "abs" or core is made up of differant muscles; Abdominos rectus(6 pack) Internal Obliques(side), External Obliques(side), Tranverse Abdominus-TVA(deep muscle that wraps around like a natural weight belt) and the deep back muscle group erector spinae( of which there a few differant muscles). This is NOT every muscles involved in the core, just trying to make it easy to understand!!

A very important muscle in the core is the TVA. It is a muscle that is deep to your other muscles, it wraps around your back and it looks similar to a weight belt you would have seen weightlifters use. This muscle is extreamly important in stabilising your spine and taking pressure of your back. It needs to be used in EVERY exercise you do. When i started working out I had trouble activating that muscle, which is very common. To help activate this muscle during exercise you need to suck your belly button in, think that u are sucking it all the way to your back. Also you need to breath out on the HARD part of the exercise. This will help activate various core muscles. I used to struggle doing both at the same time, so I would practise, just suck ur belly button in and then breath out....keep doing it until u can do it properly.

Back pain can be caused by a million differant things, but one way to fix it is to strenghten your core as a whole, not just focusing on your "abs". As i suggested I would stay away from sit-ups and crunchs also you mentioned that leg raises hurt, well dont do them! If it hurts, dont do it...simple! Also make sure your technique is good, so many back injuries happen by incorrect lifting techniques

While we all want an awesome 6 pack, training for one is largely misunderstood. We do a million sit ups because we think we will get huge abs, it just wont happen.As our abs cant really increase in size very much. Also its not very functional. Diet is key to a 6 pack!

To help strengthen your back I would suggest doing some Pilates classes. You can start with 1 a week then increase to 2 or 3 if you want. Alternatively go to a Pilates qualified physiotherapist that can take you for a session and give you some exercises to do at home. Pilates is so good for you, and core strenght is its main focus. You could also do exercises like front bridges(plank, prone hold/hover) and side bridges as well
Fender, you had a smart trainer, the reason he said stretch your quads is that beacause alot of the muscles of the hip/leg start further up the body in the core, and are therefore involved in some contractions. Also exhaling will automatically activate (turn on) your core muscles, therefore taking pressure off your spine.

I hope that all makes sense, i tryed to explain it well, but if you dont understand any of that or just have any questions just ask and I will try to clear it for you! Hope that helps.[/quote]