A question that’s often asked is why do Ab Exercises give me a pain in the neck?
Firstly when exercising you should experience no pain at all. If you’re working hard you may feel some discomfort but never any pain. If you’re working out and it’s painful you should stop and get it checked out and not work through the pain in an effort to make it go away. Working through pain is stupid and can be down right dangerous so please don’t do it.
Pain when performing Ab Exercises (or any exercise) is a sign that either:
- You have a structural problem
- You’ve pulled a muscle
- You have a muscle imbalance
- You’re not doing the exercise correctly
The first two points mean you need to see a Physician / Physiotherapist and follow any advice and exercise prescription they give and the last two mean you need proper instruction so that you can perform the exercise correctly and address the imbalances.
Purchasing a device that claims to eliminate pain while you’re exercising is pointless as it doesn’t address or correct any of the above points and just masks the original problem.
So if you’re getting a pain in the neck and you’re confident it isn’t physical damage consider employing a Personal Trainer who can correct your form and help you correct any imbalance you may have developed.
Another great option is Pilates which is fantastic for correcting muscular imbalances and will work your Abs pretty well to boot not just the six pack muscles but also the deep stability muscles which are so important for spinal and pelvic stability.
Bottom line:
If you have pain when exercising STOP and get it checked out otherwise learn how to do the exercise correctly and work on correcting any muscular imbalances you may have.
It’s possible that a Physiotherapist may recommend you use a machine to help you rehabilitate and in general that’s the only time I’d recommend machines over a functional workout. Unless that is the machine in question makes an exercise more challenging and doesn’t isolate muscle groups.
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