For anyone who has struggled on a gym mat, hands behind head, straining to touch elbows to knees, there's good news: The sit-up's reign¹ as a workout standard may be ending.

对于那些躺在健身板上、双手放在脑后、吃力地弯起身子靠向膝盖的人们，这儿有个好消息：仰卧起坐作为锻炼的标准日子可能要结束了！

People from high-profile exercise gurus to military experts are arguing that the sit-up, that staple² of fitness tests, presents too great a risk of back injury.

许多知名运动教练和军事专家都认为，仰卧起坐（体能测试主要项目）具有很高的背部受伤风险。

A recent editorial in Navy Times, an independent publication that covers the U.S. Navy, called for banishing³ the sit-up from the physical-readiness test sailors must pass twice each year.

海军时报》（一份专门报道美国海军的独立刊物）最近一篇社论呼吁从水兵每年两次必须通过的体能测试中废除仰卧起坐项目。

The editorial called it "an outdated⁴ exercise today viewed as a key cause of lower back injuries."

该篇社论称，仰卧起坐是“一种过时的运动，是造成下背部伤患的主要原因”。

The Canadian Armed Forces recently cut the sit-up from its fitness test, citing concern over potential injury and its lack of connection to actual military work.

加拿大军方最近废除了体能测试中的仰卧起坐项目，原因是该项目可能造成伤害、以及和实际的军事工作并没有多大关系。

Tony Horton, creator of the popular P90X video workout series, says he no longer does sit-ups or crunches⁶, their truncated⁷ cousins.

著名P90X锻炼系列视频的作者托尼·霍尔顿表示，他再也不会做仰卧起坐和卷腹了。

"I really believe that the traditional, antiquated⁸ crunch⁵ has seen better days, and it's time to make a change," Mr. Horton says.

霍尔顿说道：“我真的认为这种传统、过时的卷腹方法曾经红极一时，但是现在是时候做出改变了。”