Skip the sit-ups, save your back

Once the epitome of fitness, the sit-up's reign might be coming to an end. Doctors have long argued the exercise is too risky for one's back. One professor of spine biomechanics told the Wall Street Journal sit-ups can place "hundreds of pounds of compressive force on the spine."

And now sit-ups might even be dropped in settings especially known for toughness.

These celebrities over 50 definitely have been doing some ab exercises:

A recent editorial published in Navy Times advocates for the exercise being removed from a physical test sailors have to pass twice a year.

Canada's Armed Forces has already cut it from its fitness tests, contending that sit-ups don't relate much to the conditioning required to get soldiers ready for the battlefield.

Many experts say a better alternative to sit-ups is plank exercises.

Do your new ab routine in style with fun workout gear:

More from AOL.com:
Pregnant women share their self-consciousness with their bodies
Lunch lady who gave free meal to hungry child fired for 'theft'
11 things the most likable people always do