Why Do You Get Chest Pain When Doing Sit-Ups?

Sit-ups are a very effective ab-building exercise. They’re relatively simple to do but can have a positive impact on your overall core strength and stability.

As great as sit-ups are for your core and abs, they can actually help with the development of other muscle groups too. In this article, we discuss whether sit-ups work your chest.

This idea may sound a bit silly but we look into why people feel pain in their chest after sit-ups, whether sit-ups can make your chest bigger, as well as looking at whether sit-ups can burn chest fat too.

Why Do You Get Chest Pain After Sit-Ups?

Normal Post-Exercise Muscle Soreness

As your chest activates during sit-ups, you could very well feel some level of pain and discomfort in the area after the exercise.

This is usually completely normal and to be expected.

Providing any discomfort you feel in your chest after sit-ups is mild, there isn’t usually too much to worry about and things will be back to normal in a day or two.

Poor Technique

If you feel pain and discomfort in an area of your body you shouldn’t after a particular exercise, it could be a sign that your technique isn’t completely correct.

Although your chest does activate during sit-ups, it isn’t one of the primary muscle groups being worked.

With that in mind, you shouldn’t feel too much in the way of pain in your chest after sit-ups.

If you do, it might be worth double-checking your technique. 

Chest Injury

If your technique is correct and you’re still feeling pain and discomfort in your chest after sit-ups, it could be an indication that you’ve picked up an injury.

Anything more than a mild discomfort after exercise should be acknowledged and kept an eye on to ensure no injuries develop that could prevent you from training in the way you want to.

Do Sit-Ups Work Your Chest?

It may not sound right but sit-ups do actually work your chest.

Obviously, your chest isn’t the main muscle group being targeted during the exercise but it does certainly activate during the movement.

While it won’t get as much benefit from sit-ups as your abs (and other core muscles), your chest will be placed under a bit of stress during sit-ups. Any time a muscle group is placed under some kind of stress, it can build and develop as a result.

If you’re trying to build a muscular chest that’s big and strong, sit-ups on their own won’t be anywhere near enough.

But, as a useful addition to your overall training program, sit-ups can help work your chest that little bit harder throughout your training week, helping you to reach your fitness goals a bit quicker.

Can Sit-Ups Make Your Chest Bigger?

Sit-ups could potentially help in your mission to get a bigger chest, but they’re unlikely to be enough to do so on their own.

Doing sit-ups as part of an overall muscle-building program can go a long way in helping you build that big muscular chest you’re aiming for.

It’s worth keeping in mind that your chest won’t be working hard enough in sit-ups to make big steps toward your fitness goal on its own, but sit-ups, as part of a well-planned routine, can make a difference to your overall chest development.

Can You Pull Your Chest Muscle During Sit-Ups?

Usually, a pulled chest muscle is the result of lifting something heavy and putting too much pressure on the muscle.

As sit-ups don’t involve any heavy lifting, it would be unlikely that you can pull your chest muscle during sit-ups.

However, that isn’t to say it would be impossible to do so. Accidents and injuries can happen in different ways, including some that are completely unexpected.

If you aren’t careful and don’t properly warm up and prepare your body for exercise, a pulled chest muscle could be a very real possibility.

Do Sit-Ups Burn Chest Fat?

When it comes to burning fat, the key thing to remember is that you can’t choose where on your body the fat will be burned.

If you follow a fat burning training program that includes sit-ups, eventually your chest fat will be burned.

However, the program may be burning fat for a long time before it finally hits your chest.

Sit-ups can be a part of a fat burning program so they can certainly help in burning chest fat. Just remember that you can’t directly target the fat on your chest during your exercise.

That’s all for this article, but are sit-ups bad for sciatica? Or how many sit-ups can a 10 year old do?

Hope this helped!

Sources

You Can’t Spot Reduce Fat Loss