HOW CRUNCHES FATTEN, not flatten, YOUR ABS…and more important reasons why you should stop doing them.

Do crunches literally ADD fat to your abs? No, of course not, but they can leave people with a bigger “pooch” than they started with. Additionally doing lots of crunches (like those awful 30-day challenges you have seen on social media) often leads to back pain and disc injuries.

Why?

When the rectus abdominals (the top layer of your abdominals better known as the 6-pack) are placed under repetitive stress and pressure, the tissue that separates them (called linea alba) can stretch, ALOT. This tissue, which is especially vulnerable to separating beyond its normal boundaries with abdominal weight gain (from an increase in body fat or during pregnancy) has no choice but to pull apart even further with the additional stress of excessive crunches and/or back bending that may be performed in traditional yoga or gymnastics.

So what’s the problem?

If the linea alba stretches beyond normal limits, a diastesis recti will occur which is the name for a much larger than normal separation between the left and right sides of the rectus abdominals. Common signs of this are: a “pooch”, a misshapen belly button, and/or a vertical protrusion in the center of the abdominals (looks like a hernia) that you can see during a crunch. But the aesthetic issues will be the least of your problems…

When you have a diastesis, communication between the 6-pack muscles and the deepest muscles (transverse abdominals or TA) gets weak or lost. When the abdominal muscles are weakened, they can no longer act as a girdle to hold in your organs (ie: pooch), you become highly susceptible to hernias and your back no longer has the support needed to stay stable (low back pain).

Additionally, repetitive back and forth bending of the spine also leaves your discs susceptible to herniations, so be careful not just with crunches and backbends, but with any fitness regimen that may be putting your discs under the same kinds of stress.

So all in all what are your best LONG TERM ab strengthening and back health exercises to do?

Any exercises (and fitness regimens!) which keep your back in neutral are best. Planks and side planks are great as an example.

And if you do have a diastesis, you can get help. Make an appointment with a physical therapist who understands this issue. And if PT does not help, surgery can also be an option.