Why Crunches & Sit-Ups are Horrible for Your Back

The sit-up or more specifically, the ‘crunch’ has been an exercise staple for decades. Proponents of the crunch touted it as the ideal exercise for building six-pack abdominals and ridding the stomach of excess fat. Since as far back as the 1940s fitness ‘gurus’ in gyms, on television and in magazines suggested that the crunch offered a fast track to a lean, well-defined mid-section.

And for nearly as long, the real fitness experts have been saying “No, no no….the crunch does none of those things and is in fact, a horrible exercise that increases the risk of injury—particularly the back.”  Let’s take a look and see which viewpoint is correct.

We’ll start by taking a look at the crunch movement to get a better perspective. There are a nearly endless variety of ways to perform the crunch but among all of them, the basic movements are essentially the same. The movement begins by lying face up on the floor with knees bent. Next, curl the shoulders towards the pelvis with the lower back remaining on the floor. The movement is repeated anywhere from 20 to a hundred times or more. The hands can be behind or beside the neck or crossed over the chest.

Crunches can be more difficult by: placing the feet up on a bench with the back on the floor; performing the movement on an exercise ball; performing the movement on a decline bench; twisting the torso during the up movement; or even by placing a weight plate, kettle bell or dumbbell on the chest to make the up movement more difficult.

But while in theory the crunch is perceived to be a simple, relatively safe exercise, this is not necessarily the reality.

Continue Reading Here....

Back Pain & Muscle Pain - Effective & Natural Pain Treatment Alternatives

Pain and Stress. They seem almost to go hand in hand - not only in their negative connotation, but also in their biological causes and triggers. Back pain and muscle pain is typically caused by inflammation in the proximity where the pain originated, which in turn creates internal pressure, activating pain receptors in the nerve endings and sending the signal (registered as varying levels of discomfort) to the brain.

Some people are born with a naturally higher tolerance to pain - what's been dubbed the "pain threshold". Then there are the rest of us, who have normal or low pain thresholds and if chronic back pain, muscle pain, or nerve related pain or illness were to be introduced into our lives, we would be forced to be a prisoner to "the bottle". The "bottle" being one of the many prescription painkillers or narcotics prescribed to so many suffering daily, chronic muscle pain and nerve related pain. 

So there must be a better way to control the pain, and manage it successfully without constant reliance on and possible addiction to prescription pain medication? And there is. Along with an excellent new naturopathic, herbal pain remedy recently introduced to consumers, there are several things you can do to manage pain effectively, and in turn even reduce stress and improve your overall mental and physical health - all of which are key factors in successful pain management. 

On of the best ways to manage stress and in turn reduce pain, is to employ some sort of low impact, muscle soothing exercise, like basic yoga, tai chi, or water aerobics. These types of exercises not only stretch the muscles and keep them limber and lithe, but they effectively "massage" and calm muscles, have very little impact on joints, strength the supportive muscles of the back, and can even help reduce inflammation in the body. The mind-body connection is very strong, there is no doubt - just start an exercise routine like this and I guarantee your mood, pain and anxiety virtually melt away. 

Exercise also releases and creates endorphins, which are a natural "antidote" to pain, stress, anxiety, fatigue and depression. The release of endorphins can actually reverse the negative effects these afflictions can have on your body. If you're a habitual exerciser, think of how you lethargic you feel after a few days of inactivity, and you'll understand this concept! Inactivity is one of the biggest underlying causes and perpetuators of worsening pain, lethargy, depression and anxiety. 

Meditation is also a great method to reduce pain, anxiety and the host of other undesirable problems so prevalent in America today. Like yoga, and other relaxation techniques, meditation allows you to focus only on you, your breathing, and your body. This faciliatates the "harmonizing" of the body and the mind, the ultimate feeling of well-being, vitality, and tranquility, all of which will help you manage pain and stress. This will keep your mind sharp, focused, and better able to deal with the daily stress life can sometimes bring. 

Combine these few simple lifestyle habits with the use of an herbal pain remedy where needed, or even just employ these habits alone, and I guarantee, pain will not only be easier to cope with when it rears it's ugly head, but also will be reduced greatly in it's severity and frequency. It quite simply is a necessity to living pain free. Published at: https://www.isnare.com/?aid=5903&ca=Medicines+and+Remedies

A Sneaky Way To Bench Press More Weight

It's no surprise that everyone fights over the benches at the gym on Monday evenings. The bench press or variation of it should be a staple of every program. If you're one of the people scrambling for an open bench you're on the right track. When done correctly the bench press can be a full body exercise that will make you harder, thicker, stronger and more muscular in the least amount of time.

Benching is so popular it can be tough to find an open bench at times. But that's okay, and here's why.

The fact is, your bench is going to get stronger on days you're not training bench. That's right. You grow and get stronger while you're recovering. There are also other important muscle groups that need attention if you want to break your bench press rut.

While everyone is fighting over the benches we're going to make sure we're not neglecting other critical muscle groups that will help you bench press more weight.

You probably already know that when you start the lift you are primarily using your pecs, but after a few inches your triceps are going take over. Therefore we'll need to strengthen those triceps with some exercises like rolling dumbbell extensions and dumbbell floor presses.

Your back needs attention as well. You need to train this antagonist muscle group to avoid imbalances. Your lats also serve as a shelf and give you a more stable base to push from. Your back muscles help you stabilize the weight in the eccentric phase which makes up half the lift! Work your back on the same plane as your bench. Bench friendly back movements include barbell rows and close grip lat pull downs.

Since this is an article about bench pressing you won't have to concern yourself with the squat and deadlift right? WRONG!Squats and deadlifts trigger your body to release growth hormone and will temporarily raise testosterone levels in your blood. This puts you in an anabolic state and all your other muscles will benefit.

These are compound exercises that will add muscle mass and work your entire body. Besides you don't want to look like a light bulb do you? You know the type, guys with a huge upper body and tiny chicken legs. The deadlift will build your back up big time.

If you're a chest and arms type of guy here's something you'll be happy to hear. Bicep training can actually help your bench. The hammer curl significantly targets the brachioradialis which is the largest muscle in the forearm. Developing this muscle will help you at the bottom of the bench press and you can build your biceps at the same time.

Oh and if you are one of those guys that only likes to train the chest and arms, please reread this article.

Once you've got your head on straight give some of these exercises a try and before you know it you'll have first dibs on any bench you'd like to use and well on your way to that 300 or 400 pound lift that everyone is striving for.

Critical Bench 2.0 : Triceps Death Workout

Triceps Death Workout

Click Here For More Ways To Increase Your Bench

#1 Worst Ab Exercise of All Time

Got Back Pain? Click Here...

-

Best Yoga Pose for the Lower Back:

Got Back Pain? Click Here...

At some point in your lifting career you come home and your back tightens up on you and you know something just isn’t right so you take some anti-inflammatory pills and throw an ice pack on. It’s not a big deal and part of playing sports and training hard right?Hopefully in a few days it will be completely better, but usually some kind of discomfort or pain lingers. That’s no reason to miss a workout though. Besides you can just avoid whatever causes it to flare up.

Most Dangerous Stretch for the Lower Back

Exercises for Lower Back Pain ...Click Here...

The #1 worst stretch for your back is the Double Knees to Chest.

This is a very common stretch and a lot of the time it is recommended to people who have back pain.

People who perform this exercise bring their knees towards their chest and really pull with their hands to get what they think is a good stretch but in reality it is hurting their back. Plus they might even bring their heads up off the floor which causes more damage to their back.

With this particular stretch, what it ends up doing is it puts a high load and stress on the lower back because your back flattens out.  Whenever this particular movement occurs, it increases the risk of injury.  Even worse, it drastically increases the risk of re-injury, which is why you want to avoid this movement at all costs.

Do This Instead from the New Fix My Back Pain System…

What we can do instead of the Double Knees to Chest Exercise is the Cat and Dog Stretch.

To perform this stretch, start by getting into a 4 point position.  Then drop your head and round out your back like an angry cat.  Focus on rounding up through that mid back. Then in a slow and controlled manner, lift your head up and drop your stomach. Remember to keep your arms straight.

The cat and dog stretch is excellent when it comes to working on improving mobility through the hips and movement throughout the whole spine.

When it comes to your lower back, there are specific movements that we need to improve. One of the movements is mobility of the back, especially the mid back.  A lot of times in that mid back, people end up being really stiff and they need to improve that movement in order to decrease the stress in the back.

You would do this particular stretch for 1 set of 5 repetitions and then you can progress to 10 repetitions.  Now that you know how to perform this stretch, you will have a great way to alleviate some of the pain in your back.

Learn More Here....

Assisted Glute Ham Raise Fixes Back Pain

Got Back Pain? Click Here...

#1 Deadlift Mistake That Causes Back Pain?

Got Back Pain? Click Here...

Fix My Back Pain Official Trailer:

Got Back Pain? Click Here...

Best Stretch for the Lower Back ( Works every time)

Got Lower Back Pain? Click for Remedy Here...

Why Is It Stiff When I Wake Up? Remedy?

Got Stiff When Wake Up? Click Here...

Things To Do When You Strain Your Lower Back?

Got Back Pain? Click Here...

Best Stretch To Do First Thing In the Morning to Fix Back Pain

Got Back Pain? Click Here...