How can you damage yourself from doing crunches or set ups?

Question

I did 600 crunches everyday in 3 weeks. It feels awsome, yet Im worried if it might damage my back or anywhere else. Does anyone have any saftey tips to share?

Answer 1

If it feels awesome keep at it. You tear muscle fibers in your abs the same way you can tear muscles anywhere else. It will hurt when you laugh, when you get out of bed in the morning, and anyway that engages the abs. If it isn't hurting, your abs are fine. As far as your back goes, I would do crunches not situps and don't try to see how many you can do in a minute. Just do a certain number, slowly with precision. I would not do crunches on a hard surface (like a gym floor) but always use a mat.

Your body will tell you if you are hurting it. If you did 600 crunches daily (impressive! the crazy guy in American Psycho only did 1000) and felt great then your body is in very good shape. Keep it up.