Why Sit Ups Won’t ‘Fix’ Abdominal Separation

Why Sit Ups Won’t Fix Abdominal Separation

If you’ve had a baby recently or are desperate to get rid of your ‘mummy tummy’; you might have abdominal separation or diastasis recti –  I’m here to help.

I want to talk about about the fitness industry’s most popular abdominal exercise; Sit ups. I want to discuss why they are often ineffective at toning your abdominals and more importantly, why they need to be approached with caution for new mums or anyone presenting with abdominal separation.

Education in this area is vital, particularly if you’re in the postnatal period or have ever had a baby. The more knowledge you gain about the changes your body went through during pregnancy, the clearer this issue will become to you now. It doesn’t matter how old your baby is, your abdominals may not have regained their function fully if you haven’t had the right support.

• Intra-abdominal pressure

Intra-abdominal pressure is the pressure within the abdominal cavity. Intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) changes depending on your breath and the level of load being placed on your abdominals. When we create too much IAP for our body, it creates a feeling of ‘bulging’ ie the abdominals push outwards or the pelvic floor bears down. When we cough, laugh or sneeze we create a quick burst of IAP and a lack of control is sometimes more obvious when urine leaks but it can also be felt if you put your hands onto your abdominal wall and feel what happens. Every time your belly pushes outwards or ‘domes’, this is putting an element of stress on your system. When you lift your head off the floor in a sit up, lots of people will feel their belly bulge outwards – you need to learn to do this without that bulging feeling to do a sit up effectively.

• Ineffective muscle contraction

Have a think about whereabouts in your abdominal area you ‘feel’ a sit up working –  is it the muscles above, or below the umbilicus?  That’s right – it’s above, isn’t it?  So, when you do a sit up, it’s actually targeting the wrong muscles, which are located below, not above the belly button.  Are you with me so far?  If you’re a new mum or have abdominal separation and you do a ‘sit up’, I’m here to tell you that until you learn to control the intra-abdominal pressure they create, you’ll only make that ‘gap’ worse.

• Bad for posture

The majority of people sit down for most of their working day.  Think about the position your spine/shoulders are in during this position.  Is your spine straight, your shoulders down and your neck supported, or is your spine bent slightly forward, your shoulders rounded and your chin poked out in front of you?  Now picture the position your body is in during a sit up.  That’s correct: your spine is flexed forward, your shoulders are hunched and your chin is pulled down towards the chest.  So, tell me, why would I suggest people do sit ups if all they do all day is sit down in a forward-flexed, hunched forward position with a chin poke?  Doing endless amounts of sit ups can and most will exacerbate this posture. AND if you’ve had a baby, this downward facing action is even more ineffective as it will put increased pressure into your pelvic floor.

• Can make back pain worse

Suffer with a bad back?  Well, you guessed it, doing sit ups won’t help this situation.  Pilates-based exercise is the best thing to do if you have a dodgy back, poor alignment or sit down all day.  Pilates works the deep internal muscles of the abdomen which helps tone the tummy, eradicate back pain and releases tension.  Doing sit ups won’t help you in this department one iota, I’m afraid.

• Abs are made in the kitchen

And finally, if you’re eating processed, unhealthy, high sugar and salty foods, then that muffin top is there to stay.  Effective fat loss is 80% nutrition, and 20% exercise.  So, if you’re not cooking from scratch using fresh, good quality ingredients, but instead eating microwave or ‘on-the-go’ convenience meals, this will certainly be attributing to your weight gain.

And, there you have it, my top reasons why doing endless sit ups will NOT, get you a toned tummy, and why they’re totally unsuitable for postnatal women presenting with abdominal separation.

Join my Centred Mums Collective Online membership or one of my in person classes to learn how to control IAP and get your abdominals working in the right way to close your separation.