Press Sit-Up
Trains the Abs.
- Equipment
- A barbell
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Push
- Level
- Advanced
How to do it
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat, holding a barbell across your chest with a grip a little wider than the shoulders.
- Press the bar to arm's length above the chest.
- Keeping the arms straight and the bar over the shoulders, curl the trunk up off the floor into a sit-up.
- Finish sitting tall with the bar directly overhead, arms locked.
- Lower back down under control, keeping the bar stacked over the shoulders as the trunk uncurls.
- Return to lying with the bar above the chest and repeat.
Common mistakes
- Letting the bar drift forward. If it moves out in front of the shoulders the trunk has to fight it as well as the sit-up; the bar stays vertical above the shoulders the whole way.
- Pulling the bar towards the head to help. The arms are straight and do not change position; the trunk does the sitting up.
- Yanking the neck. The chin stays neutral and the movement starts from the ribs curling towards the hips.
- Loading it before the empty-bar version is steady. A wobbling bar overhead while lying down is not a place to find out the load is too much.