Sit-Up
Trains the Abs.
- Equipment
- Body only
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, either free or held.
- Cross your arms over your chest or rest your fingertips beside your ears without pulling.
- Tuck your chin slightly so your neck stays neutral.
- Curl your spine up one segment at a time, starting with your head and shoulders, until your torso is upright.
- Lower back down under control, reversing the same sequence rather than dropping.
Common mistakes
- Pulling the head forward with the hands, which loads the neck instead of the abdominals.
- Hinging straight up from the hips with a flat back. That is a hip flexor exercise the abdominals hold position for. Curling the spine first is what makes it a sit-up.
- Anchoring the feet and hauling. Held feet let the hip flexors contribute more; free feet make the abdominals work harder to keep you from tipping.
- Assuming the hip flexor involvement makes it useless. The iliopsoas does a large share of the work in a full sit-up, which makes it a less direct abdominal exercise than a crunch — not a useless one. Hip flexion is real work and the iliopsoas is worth training.