Janda Sit-Up Builds Abs With Less Stress On Hip Flexors and Back
December 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment
6-pack abs are extremely important to athlete’s. One of the greatest challenges for athletes is how to build the abdominal muscles without hurting their back. Several abdominal exercises, like straight-leg sit-ups, work the hip flexors at the cost of the ab muscles (rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques, transversus abdominis). This actually causes the exercise to be less effective for aim at the abdominal muscles and puts too much strain on the spine. Around fifty years ago, therapists said that bent-knee sit-ups were better than straight-leg sit-ups because they reduced the activity of the hip flexor muscles. However, biochemically scientists discovered that both straight-leg and bent-knee sit-ups endorsed improper loads on the spine.
How to do Janda Sit-Ups
Canadian scientists, discovered that the Janda sit-up amplified the load on the abdominal while at the same time reducing the activity of the hip flexors.
For the Janda sit-up, just lie on your back with knees bent and feet off the ground and calf supported by a spotter. Now, do a basic curl-up, while pushing down against the spotter’s hands and flexing your hamstring and glute muscles. Flexing the hams and glutes (hip extensors) restrains the hip flexors from expanding – a phenomenon referred to as reciprocal inhibition. The Janda sit-up is a great way to build the ab muscles, while reducing the load on the spine.
Source: Journal Strength Conditioning Research, 22: 1563-1569, 2008
