Crunches are probably the single most misunderstood and abused exercise in the entire fitness industry. Somewhere along the way, people realized that if they squeeze their midsection together they will end up 'feeling it' in their 'abs' and some how they equate this to having a flat stomach or mid section. In the case of doing crunches for a flat stomach and showing off your abs we can just throw logic right out the window. Trainers and many people who know better still ignore the most basic principles of anatomy and physiology all in the quest for a flat stomach.
Here are the facts:
1. Crunches will provide stimulus for your abs to get stronger and probably grow. Yes that's right, if you do enough of them and do them intensely they will grow. A crunch is basically a weight training exercise for your abs, the same basic idea as doing a bicep curl. You are working the muscle, which will eventually make it stronger and make it grow. But for some reason people think that a crunch will burn the fat off their stomachs and keep the muscles there small and compact.
2. You cannot spot reduce fat. In other words, working a specific muscle does not burn the fat around that muscle. Your body burns fat systematically all over, not just on one place. For example: if you did 100 bicep curls every day on your left arm, you would end up with a muscular left arm, but your left arm would have just as much fat as your right arm, same deal with crunches. If you do 500 crunches every day, you will just have bigger stronger abs, but all the fat you always had around them will still be there unless you adjust your diet and the rest of your daily activity and workout schedule to lose fat.
This last point is probably the single most misunderstood point of all. People continue to do crunches thinking they will reduce the fat around their mid section and stomach.
3. Crunches may not be the safest exercise for your spine and lower back. A growing body of research shows that a crunch is in fact one of the worst positions you can put your spine in. Most fitness professionals and so called 'experts' do not have any formal biomechanics research training. Therefore they are most unaware of the science behind the shape, structure and function of the abdominal oblique, and lower back muscles. If they did they would definitely think twice about doing or recommending anyone to do a crunch.
Colleagues of mine are doing research on spinal and lower back injuries. And in their lab the only way they can guarantee to herniate a spinal disc is to put a test spine into a severe crunch! Yes, a crunch! The exact same position people put themselves in hundreds of times every workout. In reality the abdominal muscles are not meant to pull your body into a forceful curling or crunching position. They are meant to stabilize your trunk or "core" as it is being called now. In other words they are meant to simply hold your core in place as your arms and legs move and do work such as running, jumping, throwing and the like. All of these motions will work your abs without forcing you into the potentially dangerous position of a crunch.
So how do you get a 6 pack without doing crunches?
Simple, eat less food, and burn more calories. Being able to see a well defined 6 pack has nothing to do with doing any sort of ab exercises. It has everything to do with burning fat. As soon as you strip away enough fat you will eventually see that you already have a nicely formed set of abs. As you have been developing them your whole life every time you stand up walk, run, jump, and every other form of activity you can think of.
If you feel like you need to work on your abs, avoid crunches and do exercises that work them in a pattern that they are meant to be used in. Such as planks, side planks, stability ball roll outs, planks on a stability ball, all forms of push ups and modified push ups, medicine ball throwing, sprinting, swimming. There is more, but I think you're getting the picture. Incidentally all of these exercise will work the muscles of your core in a balanced manner (unlike crunches which do not work your oblique or your lower back muscles).
Even though crunches will work your abs to some degree there is good evidence to show that this is by no means the best or the safest way to work them. The associated risk to your lower back in most people's case should outweigh any benefit they think they are getting by working their abs in this way. Each person should weigh the risk and reward of doing crunches for the sake of having bigger stronger abs, and the risk of injury and chronic pain and problems with their lower back. And lets make no mistake about it, crunches never have and never will give you a flat stomach or cause you to lose fat off of your midsection.
Have you been missing out? Do you know what the most captivating and healthy fruit is? It can make you lose weight-get a high equal to a runner's high or even sex? It makes nearly every organ in your body healthier and prevents the wear and tear from stress. Further, they were discovered by the Ancients who knows how long ago.
The answer is chiles. Chiles are actually a fruit and often misunderstood. Many never get to experience the healthful benefits of frequent consumption because they are afraid of the spiciness or worse yet, they believe old wives tales about chiles being hard to digest or causing ulcers. All untrue of course. Chiles actually cauterize ulcers.
Each one of us is an individual with an individual palate. What is stimulating to one person may just barely be spicey to another. Since chiles are addictive, the more you eat them, the more you will want to eat them, and the hotter you will desire them to be. Those of us who have been "exposed" to chiles early in life, are constantly on a quest for a daily chile fix. Those who have not had the opportunity to eat chiles have much less tolerance for capsaicin. However, it is never too late to start a daily habit of chile eating and develop one's own "chile drive."
The addictive quality of chiles is perhaps not too surprising when you learn that chiles belong to the same family of nightshades as does nicotania, the leaf that tobacco comes from. However, there is some question.
However, true addiction may not be assigned to chiles. Instead, they create an intense craving-a very fine line from addiction. Paul Rozin, Ph.D., a behavorial psychologist of high esteem has done extensive research on the aspects of chiles. What makes people crave them? Why do they eat them when they produce pain? According to Rozin, they are not truly addictive because they do not create an out of control experience with withdrawal symptoms.
The fact that people wish hotter and hotter chiles is explained by Rozin as being a result of tolerance. We adjust to higher heat levels, but we don't need increasing amounts of chiles to feel normal. As opposed to smokers, who can become ill after smoking a cigarette after a long absence of smoking-chile consumers do not experience illness. The preference for chile continues, despite not having chiles for weeks or months.
A study at Duke University Medical Center revealed that in smaller doses, capsaicin and nicotine create some of the same physiological responses which include irritation, secretion, sneezing, vasodilation, coughing and peptide release. In larger does, when injected, capsaicin destroys many of the neurons containing its receptors-while nicotine actually increases the number of nicotine acetylcholine receptors. The result is that large doses of capsaicin result in the body becoming less responsive to capsaicin, but that large doses of nicotine cause the body to become more responsive to nicotine.
Though chile eating may not be addictive, it is definitely habit forming. They add flavor to otherwise bland ingredients in diets such as the Mexican and Indian. Also, through social pressure, young people develop the taste for chiles, just like for cigarettes, alcohol and coffee-all of which have an acquired taste. Through peer pressure, a subtle reward is felt for doing what the adults do-eat chile. This coupled with parental encouragement gets youth started eating chiles.
This is quite interesting! Because, the hotter the chiles one eats, the healthier they are for one. The hotter the chile, the greater the capsaicin level. The more capsaicin one gets, the more healthful properties one gets. Capsaicin is the endorphin level raiser and the substance that gives such great well-being and health to most major organs, internally and externally. Capsaicin reduces plaque in the vascular system, slows blood pressure, increases the pulse, assists gut action, and destroys cancer producing free radicals and more.
Chiles can be too hot for a person, especially the uninitiated. It is always best to start milder and build up to enjoying the hotter chiles. A very good idea is to make a dish with the spiciness one feels good about and then serve a condiment chile such as pequin or other hot chile for those who wish it hotter to just sprinkle it on their food.
Eating too hot chiles or even handling or preparing too hot chiles is best requited by time. However, most do not want to wait that long for the pain to subside. In that case, for internal pain from eating too hot chiles, the best is to eat something sweet or dairy-particularly dairy fat, such as butter, sour cream, cheese or ice cream. Acidic foods such as limes, lemons or vinegar blunt an overheated palate. So do fatty or oily foods, such as deep fried tostados or chips are also good.
When preparing hot chiles, the best cure is prevention. Handle the capsaicin bearing parts the least, by holding the chiles by the stem, not touching the inside of the chile. If you are terribly concerned about getting "burned", then wear rubber gloves. If you get too hot chiles on your fingers or other parts of your body, one of the best cures is to rub fresh lime juice on it. Some treat chile "burns" like any physical burn and apply burn ointment.
Both John Barban & Jane Butel are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
John Barban has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Online Business and Cardio Training. John Barban is a professional strength and conditioning coach and nutrition expert. John wants to help you Discover why one simple change to the way you eat will make you forget about every other super-complicated weight loss and diet program:. John Barban's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.
Jane Butel has sinced written about articles on various topics from Food And Drink, Fitness and Dieting. Jane Butel, the first to write about Southwestern cooking, has published 18 cookbooks, several being best sellers. She operates a full-participation weekend and week long vacation cooking school, an on-line school, conducts culinary tours and team-buildi. Jane Butel's top article generates over 3600 views. to your Favourites.