Classic sit-ups are among those ab exercises which everybody knows. When somebody starts to train his abdominal, it is the first ab exercise it comes into his mind.
Some expert fitness trainers say it is one of the most crucial bodyweight techniques to strengthen the midsection. Others say it is useless and can even be harmful. Overall, there are many questions about doing it.
Within this post, I would like to answer these questions.
- What are the benefits of sit-ups?
- Are sit-ups bad for the lower back?
- Sit-Ups vs Crunches?
- What muscles do the sit-ups work?
- Can I build six-pack abs with sit ups?
- How should I breathe during sit ups?
- How often should I do sit-up workouts?
- Do sit-ups burn belly fat?
- What about sit-up variations?
- Are sit ups good for women?
- How long would it take me to get a six pack if I did 50 sit-ups every day?
- Are incline/decline ab benches useful?
- 2 Simple Tips to Boost Your Sit-Ups
What are the benefits of sit-ups?
Posture improvement: Maintaining good posture is easier if you have a strong, solid core. As a result of good posture, you will feel less pain and tension and have more energy.
Enhanced back health and injury prevention. In addition to strengthening the lower back and hips, sit-ups also strengthen the pelvis and hips. By having a strong core, one can maintain a firm center, which reduces the likelihood of back pain and injury.
Improved Core strength: Your core muscles should be firm, tight, and toned to minimize the risk of injuries and back pain. Your daily routines and athletic activities will be more enjoyable with improved mobility.
Better athletic performance in sports: An athlete’s muscular strength and endurance are influenced by stronger core muscles. You can perform more effectively during sports or physical activities with a strong core, which gives you appropriate posture, stability, and form.
Gain in muscle mass: You can build muscle strength in the abdominals and hips by doing sit-ups.
Increased flexibility: The spine and hips become more flexible when you move your spine. Increased hip and back mobility, along with the release of tension, is the result of doing sit-ups. Improved flexibility boosts circulation, concentration, and energy.
Improved balance and stability: When you move through your everyday activities and participate in sports activities, your body remains balanced and stable due to a strong core. The abdominal muscles work with the pelvis, lower back, and hip muscles. Falling and injuring yourself is less likely when you have a good balance.
Are sit-ups bad for the lower back?
Many people who start doing it complain that they have lower back pain. You have to understand that pain in the back or your spine is not because this type of ab workout is harmful but for other reasons.
These reasons can be:
- The exercise is done improperly.
- No warm-up activities and stretching are done before the training.
- The person does not do any other workouts to train his lower back muscles.
- Poor posture. You do not hold your torso stable.
- You don’t have the required fitness level yet.
Doing this abdominal exercise is not more dangerous than any other type of core training. If you get rid of the mentioned reasons above, you will not have back problems, and you can train your whole midsection effectively.
Are sit-ups bad for you if you have chronic lower back pain, spine problems, or back injuries? Yes, I would not do it. It makes the issues worse.
Here is a video to understand the proper sit-up technique.
Sit-Ups vs Crunches?
Crunches and sit-ups are both commonly used abdominal exercises to develop core strength. Crunches work your stomach muscles, but sit-ups engage multiple muscle groups, including the hip flexors and muscles in your legs.
Sit-ups and crunches differ mainly in the range of motion required. To complete sit-ups, you must reach your knees close to your chest. Crunches only need a slight rise from the ground. Sit-ups are more effective than crunches because of their range of motion. Sit-ups have the disadvantage of being at a higher risk of injury.
On the other hand, traditional crunches allow for targeted workouts of the abdominal muscles because the exercise concentrates mainly on them.
Any exercise must be performed with proper form, but sit-ups require it especially. Doing sit-ups incorrectly, too soon, or too many may result in a condition called hyperlordosis of the back. To achieve the best, safest results, start slow and concentrate on proper sit-up form.
Additionally, neither crunches nor sit-ups burn fat. To achieve a flat, muscular stomach, you need to combine these exercises with a healthy diet and aerobic exercise that burns fat.
What muscles do the sit-ups work?
Besides strengthening the hip flexors, chest, and neck, sit-ups also work your rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, external and internal obliques. In addition to strengthening the lower back and glutes, they promote good posture.
Sit-ups allow users to work more muscle groups than crunches and static core exercises could. Consequently, they are a perfect addition to a fitness program.
Can I build six-pack abs with sit ups?
I think you already know the answer. It is nearly impossible to get flat abs just because you do hundreds of reps daily. You want to burn belly fat first. It is a great technique to define and strengthen your rectus abdominis, but not the best one for oblique muscles, for example. You need to do other core workouts as well to train your whole midsection and your low back.
Moreover, to get the best results, you need to use different equipment to make the movement by using an adjustable ab bench, medicine ball, or other machines.
In addition, without a healthy diet, it is nearly impossible for most people to get a flat stomach. To get there, you need to take in balanced nutrition and follow a workout routine containing various conditioning, strength, and cardio workouts. The aim is fat loss while you have a healthy lifestyle. That is the best way to lose belly fat.
Learn more: Reviews: Best Sit Up Benches for Home
How should I breathe during sit ups?
Many people do not know how to breathe properly while they do abdominal exercises. It is vital to concentrate on breathing since “without air,” performing the motion properly is more challenging and more tiring.
When you do sit-ups or any resistance exercise, using the proper breathing techniques can significantly impact your outcome. You can feel energized from your workout when you breathe correctly, whereas improper breathing depletes you of energy.
In addition to injury, improper breathing can also result in headaches, dizziness, and neck and shoulder pain. You should keep your breathing mindful when performing stomach exercises.
Exercise is best enjoyed by exhaling during the harder parts and inhaling during the easier parts of the workout. When performing abdominal exercises, such as sit-ups, crunches, or planks, you should pay attention to this.
If you’re doing sit-ups or crunches, exhale as you lift your torso and inhale when you lower it down.
How often should I do sit-up workouts?
Again, do not do only sit-ups, but a full routine with other exercises. This is another question that splits the community. Ones say that ab muscles can be trained every day. Others say 3-4 times a week is optimal.
There are two reasons why I suggest not training every day. The first is that it needs resting and recovering, whether it is abdominal muscle or not. The other is that if you do ab training every day sooner or later, you will get tired of it and lose your pleasure. I have tried both ways, but the 4 times per week routine works the best for me.
Learn more: List of the best sit-up variations
Do sit-ups burn belly fat?
Obviously, no. You can tighten your core by doing sit-ups. In addition to strengthening and toning your rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, and oblique, they also work your neck muscles as well.
On most days of the week, you should perform high-intensity cardiovascular activity for at least 45 minutes. Processed foods, fast food, and alcohol should also be reduced in your diet.
You shouldn’t stop doing sit-ups just because they won’t remove belly fat! Your core needs to be strengthened with sit-ups. There is much more to your core than the classic six-pack most people strive for. Strong core muscles are beneficial for reducing back pain, improving balance, and increasing flexibility. Core muscles also support the hips and pelvis. Last but not least, you can improve your posture by building a solid core.
What about sit-up variations?
In the last few years, sit-ups have gained a bad reputation. It is claimed that they are worthless and could even injure you.
When done correctly and incorporated into a workout routine, they are not dangerous at all. It is important to remember that they do not promise six-pack abs, especially if your diet is not well calculated, but they can be incredibly beneficial when used correctly.
Besides, they can be enjoyable from time to time. When you do sit-ups, you feel good about how your abs and core burn.
To keep your workout interesting, here are 22 sit-up and crunch variations to try.
Related: Sit-ups with weights
Are sit ups good for women?
Of course! Just do not make the common mistakes mentioned in the first answer. It surely helps to slim your belly and hips.
Overall, it is a valuable core exercise, but it is not enough. A combination of other ab exercises is crucial. You can discover a lot of types of workouts here.
How long would it take me to get a six pack if I did 50 sit-ups every day?
The key to getting a six-pack is to get your body fat down below 10%. To show off your abs, you’ll want to work the gym hard too. You’ll want to shred those abdominals and others.
A six-pack does not come naturally to you, and you have to put a lot of weight against your core to achieve one. Supine bicycles, weighted sit-ups, and abdominal rotations are all good exercises. It is also crucial for you to build the rest of your body in order to decrease body fat, not only for aesthetic reasons.
Do high-intensity interval training (HIIT) instead of sustained cardio and lift a lot of weights. It’s time to say goodbye to fast food junk. An approximate calorie deficit of 20–25% is needed for weight loss. Diets with low fat, medium carbs, and high protein are available. Getting carbs from the right sources won’t make you fat. Intense workouts require them.
Are incline/decline ab benches useful?
Surely. Adjustable benches are handy for getting the most from sit-up exercises and other abdominal exercises. By modifying the angle of the board, you can increase or decrease the resistance.
Sitting on a bench instead of lying on the ground is considered to be much safer. You can reduce your risk of injury with its padded back support. The benefit of using sit-up benches is that they allow you to repeat exercises without the fear of injury.
2 Simple Tips to Boost Your Sit-Ups
It is still one of the most popular practices for training the core muscles. It can be done on the floor or by exercises on an ab bench, and we can make it harder by using a weight or increasing the angle of the board.
However, now I would like to show you a simple technique that will boost the effectiveness of this exercise no matter which version you do.
Firstly, you have to learn the proper sit-up form to avoid injuries and pain while performing the move. Check the video above on how to sit-ups correctly.
Here comes the first trick. When you reach the point where you sit up wholly, tighten your abdomen. With this extra move, you can achieve a better muscle contraction to engage your abdominal muscles more efficiently.
The second trick comes now.
Instead of letting your body back to the ground or board the bench thanks to gravity, we will use the negative phase. In the negative phase, the muscles are stretched, and the external resistance is higher than the muscle power, so the muscles only slow the motion. This is the state when we can reach the highest muscle tension. Also, this is the state when the most micro damages in the muscle fibers happen.
To conclude, after we got up, descend slowly back so that we are continually contradicting our abdominal muscles. The descending tempo should be at least twice longer or even more than the sit-up move.
It is a fact that in the negative phase of the exercises, we can exert more power by 20 – 30%. This way, we can build more muscle mass and strength.
On the other hand, using the negative phase is also useful for beginners, who cannot do any sit-ups yet because they can get their abdomen stronger quickly, for example, by using a TRX or your arms holding in front of you when you descend slowly back to the starting position.
So, the next time you do sit-ups, do not forget to descend slowly back to get even better results. Anyway, this technique works well with almost any other abs exercise, such as crunches.