Sit Up | Illustrated Exercise Guide

Primary muscles: Abs
Secondary muscles: Hip flexors
Equipment: No equipment
Exercise for the opposite muscles: Alternating superman

SIT UP INSTRUCTIONS

1. Lie down on your back, keep your knees bent and your back and feet flat on the mat.
2. Slowly lift your torso and sit up.
3. Return to the starting position by rolling down one vertebrae at a time.
4. Repeat the exercise until set is complete.

PROPER FORM AND BREATHING PATTERN

When doing sit ups, keep your abs engaged, your chest open and your shoulders, neck and back relaxed. Breathe out as you crunch and use only your ab strength to lift your torso up. Inhale as you slowly return to the starting position, rolling your spine one vertebrae at a time.

EXERCISE BENEFITS

Including sit ups in your workout routine helps to sculpt and tone your abdomen and trims down your waist. Both the sit up and the crunch target your abs and, because sit ups involve a greater range of movement, they also work your hip flexors, chest and legs.

DEMONSTRATION

SETS AND REPS

Start with crunches and, once you gain core strength, you can add sit ups to your workout routine. Do 2 or 3 sets of 12 to 16 reps and, if you want to increase the challenge, advance to roll ups.

CALORIES BURNED

To calculate the number of calories burned doing sit ups, enter your weight and the duration of the exercise:

RELATED CORE EXERCISES

Try these other core exercises to tighten, sculpt and strengthen your abs, obliques, lats and lower back:
Alternate heel touchers
Spiderman plank
Bird dogs
Pulse ups