Ab Exercises for Burning Fat
If you have a history of lower back pain or have not developed proper core endurance then it is best to avoid the traditional sit-ups and related ab exercises (ie. leg lifts, crunches, etc…). Don’t worry you can still burn fat by NOT doing these exercises.
The reason is that these “old school”, “flexion-type” ab exercises impose a great deal of stress on your lower back. Any abdominal exercise that involves flexion of the hips and heavily activates the abdominal muscles will also usually produce a greater amount of pull (or strain) on the lower spine.
Instead, you want to focus your ab workouts on endurance exercises that keep your spine in a neutral position. In so doing, you will lessen the strain on your back while greatly developing the deeper abdominal muscles such as the tranverse abdominus and internal/external obliques.