| Twenty years ago, I hated to do any form of | | | | get your attention? Perform 10 sets of 10 to start |
| abdominal exercise. They were difficult, boring and | | | | with until your abdominal muscles begin to adapt. 1 |
| just simply no fun. For the past 2 decades however, | | | | set of 100 is your eventual goal. Once you have |
| as you can see in the photo above, I have never | | | | reached 100 at one sitting, you will be able to place |
| missed any of my pre-bedtime sessions involving | | | | your lower back and pelvis under loads and stresses |
| 300-400 sit-ups. No matter how tired I am or what | | | | that you once felt were impossible. You want to |
| time of night it is, I maintain the regimen because I | | | | install that retaining wall in the yard this weekend and |
| know that it is a vital component of maintaining | | | | then go to work on Monday with a healthy back? No |
| stability of my lower back and pelvis. | | | | problem. Do your sit-ups. |
| Why are sit ups so important? Stabilizing the pelvis | | | | Some people do sit-ups for cosmetic reasons. |
| with abdominal exercises will allow your pelvis to be | | | | Admittedly, there is nothing more attractive than a |
| more balanced and stable as viewed from the side. | | | | six pack. It goes far beyond cosmetic reasons, |
| When you lift, bend, or twist, the abdominal muscles | | | | however. A six pack can prevent an "on the job" |
| are one of the key structures that stabilize your | | | | injury, an athletic injury, lifting that dresser injury, |
| pelvis. Since the pelvis is 3 dimensional, it should also | | | | changing that flat on your car injury, lifting that baby |
| be balanced as viewed from the front and oblique | | | | injury, digging that hole injury, planting those flowers |
| views but that is a another article in itself involving | | | | injury, golf injury, tennis injury etc. These are the |
| the science and art of balancing the pelvis using | | | | causes of most of the injuries that I treat on a daily |
| various chiropractic techniques. In a few months, we | | | | basis. |
| will delve into that subject. | | | | There is really no excuse for not doing sit-ups. "I |
| If you want to participate in extreme sports such as | | | | don't have time" is not an excuse. It takes 300 |
| mountain bike racing, triathlons, high speed trail | | | | seconds or 5 minutes to do 100 sit-ups. If you don't |
| running, kayaking, and middle or long distance running | | | | have 300 seconds free in your life, you need to take |
| road races, you need to do at least 200-400 sit-ups | | | | a good look at your lifestyle and free up those 300 |
| per day. When the pelvis/lower back is placed under | | | | seconds somewhere. Maybe those seconds could be |
| extreme mechanical stress, the integrity of the joints | | | | utilized when you first lie down in bed at night. This is |
| ligaments/tendons/muscles determines whether or | | | | when I do them along with my nightly stretches. |
| not you will become injured. If the pelvis/lower back | | | | I have learned to love my 300-400 sit ups each night. |
| is stable and flexible, you will survive the storm and | | | | In the beginning, I hated them but now they are an |
| live to participate in another extreme sport again and | | | | integral part of my life. If it were not for them, I |
| again. If your pelvis is unstable, one or more of a | | | | would most certainly have injured my lower back |
| number of things can happen. The lumbo-sacral joint | | | | treating dozens of patients each day. Some patients |
| can misalign and/or the ligaments can become | | | | being over 400 pounds in weight would definitely test |
| sprained, the disc can herniate or rupture, the | | | | the integrity of my lower back and pelvis. Chiropractic |
| sacro-illiac joints can subluxate or a combination of | | | | is a very physical profession. We are not doctors |
| the above can render you disabled for an | | | | that simply give a shot or hand over a pill or potion. |
| undetermined period of time. | | | | Much stress is placed upon our musculo-skeletal |
| For the past 2 decades, those are the conditions that | | | | systems as we lift, twist, rotate, flex, and bend our |
| I have treated more than anything else. Having | | | | bodies to treat, prod, probe, adjust and manipulate |
| treated more than 8,000 different patients and | | | | various structures of patients in pain. Our purpose is |
| conditions during my 2 decades in private practice has | | | | to relieve pain and correct structural imbalances of |
| given me much research data on why people get | | | | the human frame. I have colleagues that can no |
| injured and what things can be done to prevent or | | | | longer practice chiropractic because they have |
| rehabilitate these conditions. | | | | become injured as a result of having weak abdominal |
| OK, so you don't participate in extreme sports. | | | | exercises while continuing to treat large patients. |
| Occasionally, you work in the yard or go for an | | | | Sit ups are not a fad exercise. They should be |
| occasional jog or easy bike ride but most of the time | | | | considered a life long positive habit much like eating, |
| your lifestyle involves nothing extreme. You still need | | | | breathing, running, and walking your dog. |
| to do at least 100 sit-ups per day. Am I starting to | | | | |