Why sit-ups can be BAD for your body (and that wobbly gym ball won't help either)

The area of the body that gets most attention at gyms is the ‘core’. Workouts promising to hone your midsection so it not only looks good but supports your back and posture have become the norm. There is also a never-ending range of ‘core’ equipment, from core boards to semi-sphere balance trainers.

                               Many experts believe that the principles of core fitness have been taken out of context by the industry

But some experts now suggest so-called core-training classes and equipment are largely a waste of time and an unnecessary fad.

‘There’s a lot of nonsense out there,’ says Professor Stuart McGill, director of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo in Canada.

Recent research suggests that many devices that claim to work your core muscles fall well short of their promise. In one recent study, at the Liberty University in Virginia, researchers measured the degree to which core muscles were activated using a variety of equipment.

Many experts believe that the principles of core fitness have been taken out of context by an industry intent on making millions. 

The results showed that some, including sliding ‘core boards’ (which slide from side to side or back and forth, supposedly to target the midriff) offered no greater benefit than traditional crunches and sit-ups.

                                       Exercises on a wobbly ball won't target the right range of muscles effectively, one expert claims

In one study, on rowers who followed an eight-week core-training gym programme in addition to their normal training, there was no improvement in a rowing-machine time trial at the end of the study.

So you heard.