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Sit Ups
Sit ups, sometimes misnamed as ab crunches, is an old-school exercise that isn’t done very much any more. The reason is because it was eventually realized that the abdominal muscles were only helping during the first few inches of the exercise, and only isometrically after. It is also stressful on the back. I personally haven’t prescribed sit ups as an exercise for as long as I can remember. There are many more effective exercises for the abdominal muscles that aren’t too stressful. But, some fitness tests still use sit ups because they are easy to measure and have lots of normative data, so it’ll be taught here for your benefit.
Body Parts Used
During the first part of the exercise, while the spine is contracting, the focus is on the rectus abdominus. About midway, once the spine is finished flexing and movement is limited to the hips, the focus shifts to the hip flexors.
Benefits
Helps flex the spine and maintain control over abdominal muscles and helps stabilize your spine and pelvis.
Instructions for a Proper Sit Up
- Lie on your back on a mat or bench
- Lock your hands behind your head
- exhale as you tighten your abs and lift your torso off the ground and rise up until it is perpendicular to the floor
- Inhale as you return to nearly the starting position. Stop just before touching down and repeat for as many repetitions as desired
Similar Exercises
Sample Routine
If you were interested in a sit up workout, I suggest you instead see samples of complete ab workout routines.
Note: One exercise alone is not sufficient for any goal. All exercises should be part of a comprehensive exercise program. Also, see my list of exercises for more.