Janda Sit-Up
Trains the Abs.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and your heels dug into the floor, or hooked against a partner's hands.
- Press the heels back toward you throughout — as if trying to drag them along the floor.
- Keep that pressure on and let the hamstrings and glutes tighten.
- Curl your shoulders and upper back off the floor, one vertebra at a time.
- Go only as far as the heel pressure holds.
- Lower under control, keeping the heels pressing the whole way.
Common mistakes
- Letting the heel pressure go. Dragging the heels back is the entire method — it is what keeps the hip flexors quiet, and without it this is an ordinary short sit-up.
- Pushing the heels down instead of back. Down braces against the floor; back is what tightens the hamstrings.
- Expecting a full sit-up's range. Most people get a short way before the heel pressure fails, and that point is the end of the repetition.
- Adding load. This is a position and a cue rather than a strength exercise, and weight mostly makes the heel pressure impossible to hold.