What’s the proper way to do sit-ups? at He's Fit

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What’s the proper way to do sit-ups?

Posted May 22, 2007 at 05:08 PM by Adam Berger

Section: His Fitness, Strength Training

Sit-ups can strengthen your belly muscles, but doing them incorrectly can hurt your back.

Sit-ups should be done while you lie on your back with your knees bent enough for the soles of your feet to touch the floor. Place both hands on your chest and slowly raise your head off the ground. Raise your shoulders about one foot and then lower them to the ground. Do this slowly ten times, rest a few seconds and then do two more sets of ten.

After a week or two this exercise will feel easy, so add a light weight held on your chest. As you become stronger, you can use heavier weights [and/or include more complex variations of the exercise].

There’s no need to do more than 30 sit-ups in one workout. To strengthen your belly muscles, you increase the resistance, not the number of repetitions. Keep your knees bent to protect your back. If you do a sit-up with your legs straight, you place a great force on the iliopsoas muscles that increase the arch in your back, which can damage the ligaments and joints. If your belly muscles are weak, you are likely to arch your back excessively when you sit up and increase the chances of injury. If you are doing sit-ups to flatten your stomach, you need to raise your head only about one foot because going higher than that uses the quadricep muscles in the front of your upper legs, not your belly muscles.

This post is written by Dr. Gabe Mirkin, M.D. and used with permission. Dr. Mirkin is board certified in Sports Medicine and has practiced for over 40 years. He has completed more than 40 marathons and was a talk show host of a nationally-syndicated radio program for about 25 years. For more articles by Dr. Mirkin, please check out: http://www.DrMirkin.com">www.DrMirkin.com

Please also be advised that Dr. Mirkin’s opinions and the references cited are for information only, and are not intended to diagnose or prescribe. For your specific diagnosis and treatment, consult your doctor or health care provider.

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Tags: abdominals, abs, back, belly muscles, core, core strengthening, sit-ups

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24 Responses to “What’s the proper way to do sit-ups?” (Leave a reply)

Rachael said:

Hello. I am 13 years old, and desperatly need to flatten my abs. What would you say is the quikest, and most effective way of doing this? I have tried sit-ups, but found them exstensivley hard to do. Is there a better, easier way of flattening my abs?
Thanks in advance,
Rachael M
September 23, 2007 at 11:17 AM
Mark Scott said:

Hi Rachael,

Honestly, the best way to flatten your abs is by making sure you are eating a proper diet and working on building muscle mass in the rest of your body so you can increase your metabolic rate. This in turn is what will help to lower your overall body fat and create flatter abs.

One common myth is that you can ‘spot reduce’ the stomach area and this simply is not true.

Sit-ups or other abdominal work are great for strengthening the muscles, but it’s losing the body fat covering them that will make them flatter.

Best of luck!
September 25, 2007 at 11:09 AM
lindsey hunnie duncan from cupaa fife said:

heyyah rachael
ive got a bit of abelly too
and every night since october the first i ve started to do 100 situps in my bed its so much fun try it
lindsey
xx
October 2, 2007 at 10:38 AM
mercedes said:

HELP! I have a physical test for a job and I have to do 30 sit ups on one minute. That to me is like climbing everest. How do I do this? The pain in my lower back when I do sit ups is more painful than the actual sit up. Help me. I need to get this done and have no idea how. Any tricks or special things to try? Any machines recommended at the gym? Any info is great! Thanks!
October 3, 2007 at 10:59 PM
Julie R. Keen from New England said:

Mercedes,
Are you doing the situps with your knees bent or straight? Are your feet anchored? It might help to really stretch your hip flexors before and after doing the situps. Also really focus on lifting up with your abdominal muscles and keep your other muscles relaxed.
If you need further help, please feel free to contact me directly at .
Julie
October 4, 2007 at 11:00 AM
Beverly from Texas said:

My son recently told me that his PE teacher makes them do sit ups on the hard gym floor with out any one holding their feet. Is this ok for their groing spines?
November 1, 2007 at 05:00 PM
Julie R. Keen from New England said:

Sit-ups on a hard surface will not harm a growing spine. Seems a bit unkind, however! And it’s not the best abdominal exercise ...
November 1, 2007 at 07:09 PM
edith from http://www.bigoo.ws said:

what can sit ups do 2 u anyways?
November 7, 2007 at 05:37 PM
Julie R. Keen from New England said:

They are for strengthening the abdominals, but they are not the most efficient way to strengthen them. There are other more effective exercises that cause less strain on the lower back.
November 7, 2007 at 07:25 PM
Jon from Indain Trail, NC said:

I’ve heard that if you eat a cup of yogurt a day, you will loose weight (burn more calories digesting it). Does anybody know of any other foods that have the same effect? I dont mind the flavor of vanilla yogurt, but when I eat it, I can get quite gassy (lactose).

Going to start sit ups now —good luck to me :-)
January 20, 2008 at 10:19 PM
optimizare site said:

This is by far the most frequently asked question I get. Abdominal muscles are the most wanted muscles on any male or female physique. Usually, abdominal questions are followed by a comment such as, “I do 100 sit-ups a day and I’m not seeing any results.” This book will outline the information you need to improve your body in this region. Throughout the book I often will refer to the abdominal region as the core.
January 23, 2008 at 06:36 PM
Shuntae Davidson from Griffin-Spalding County said:

When doing situps they are very good for you but just make sure that you do them correctly don’t hurt your back or don’t pull a muscle

love,shuntae
February 4, 2008 at 02:40 PM
Jenifer from Texas said:

Hey, Racheal.

If you find a good excersise for your abs, then heres a trick: suck in your stomach while doing theese. If you don’t, your mucle will grow on your belly and look like you have a huge stomach, even though it’s muscle. If you suck in, you will hav soid abs.
February 10, 2008 at 07:53 PM
grand canyon helicopter tours from Jefferson, WI said:

Muscular activity accounts for much of the body’s energy consumption. All muscle cells produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules which are used to power the movement of the myosin heads.
February 28, 2008 at 11:55 AM
micker from Tacloban, Philippines said:

Is it okay you do a sit- ups while putting barbell on your chest?
April 10, 2008 at 12:13 AM
Julie R. Keen, PT, NSCA-CPT said:

micker,
If you are looking to make the exercise more difficult, there are more safe ways to do it. Using a barbell could cause too much strain. Try holding a weight plate across your chest, or do them on an incline. You could also do them on an unstable surface like a stability ball.
Hope that answers your question,
Julie
April 10, 2008 at 10:10 PM
hunter said:

Hi guys,

im 15, currently doing a 25 minute run. 30 situps and 30 pushups. I’m still working on doing them correctly however. Anyway, i need help with a diet. I am no tlooking to get buff, but yeah tone up a bit, get flatter abs. I want to increase this however, in a few weeks. I am much more involved with music than sport, i also need a bit of help with dieting, its hard to find guides cause theyre all for adults, if someone has a book that could help me out or give me a link ro guide then thatd be sweet. At the moment im basically just norm, like i have big shoulders but not much going for me in muscle.

Thanks alto guys, appreciate it.
April 14, 2008 at 08:02 PM
alok said:

Is it good in sit-ups to release all stomach air while lifting your body up the ground?
June 10, 2008 at 07:52 AM
Tommy from N.S.W said:

Help
All my friends at school have abs and i want some. i have some flabs and i want to get rid of it but how?? i’ve tried sit ups and i play lots of soccer but i see nothings changed. i want abs please some one tell me the anwser
June 24, 2008 at 02:00 AM
tommy from N.S.W said:

Hi its me again tommy i am 12 years old and i still have flabs and i want abs please some one tell me
June 24, 2008 at 02:10 AM
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July 30, 2008 at 01:45 AM
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July 31, 2008 at 10:46 PM
scottsdale cosmetic dentist from around said:

If you are doing sit-ups to flatten your stomach, you need to raise your head only about one foot because going higher than that uses the quadriceps muscles in the front of your upper legs, not your belly muscles.
December 23, 2008 at 03:53 AM
Aquamarine from USA said:

That’s great info. I am also thin and want to be fat. My friends told me to do situps daily. But i don’t know the proper way, after reading your post, i will do it properly.
December 23, 2008 at 08:09 AM