Situps? Please dont.

This post is from my Marine Corps experience. Every year in the military troops have to do a PFT. That stands for Physical Fitness Test. The PFT consisted of pullups, 20 was the max, situps (timed and you pumped out as many as you can in a minute) and a three mile run. If you did not make the three miles in 26 minutes you failed. Well half way through my career the situps were changed to a crunch. You cross your arms over your chest, and bend your knees with feet flat on the ground. When the whistle was blown you raise enough until your elbows or forearms touched your thigh. In my opinion this was a little harder to do, because there were no room to kip. Kipping in a situp, was raising your lower back slamming it on the ground to bring your upper body up to complete another situp. Kipping was a way of pumping out a few more when you were tired. When the situp was changed to basically a high crunch every one thought it was to make the PFT harder. In reality it was to take strain off of the neck and spine. One the kipping was not healthy with the slamming down, and two when doing the sit up we put our hands behind our head and basically pulled. This was putting a strain on our neck as well. So an improper sit up is putting your hands behind your head and basically pulling your way up to a sit up. This pull is pulling your neck and the pull follows like dominos, from your neck to your back bone (spine). If you must do a situp cross you arms over your chest, bend your knees and put your feet flat on the ground. If you keep your legs straight on the ground you are now putting strain on your lower back. Once you start raise enough that your forearms or elbows touch your thigh. That is a proper situp that does not strain your neck, or back. If you prefer not to do a sit up then do crunches. If you do crunches do not put your hands behind your head or on the side of your head. Even with a crunch you will be tempted to pull for one more crunch.