Sit Ups

If you want your core to be fit and slim, then sit-ups should be included in your workout program every day. The sit-ups are abs-strengthening and endurance-building exercises performed by lying with your back on the floor. These exercises work your abdominals along with other muscle groups, including your lower back and hip flexors.

Benefits

• Burns belly fat: Does not specifically burn belly fat but increases the metabolic rate of muscle cells so that you keep on burning calories even after completing the workout thereby helping you to lose weight.
• Improves posture: Strengthens your core and hip flexors, helping in improving your posture and giving you a sculpted look.
• Easy to do and cost-effective: Does not require any gym equipment and can be done anywhere at any time. You only have to devote your time and effort.
• Modifiable: Can be easily modified to make the basic sit-up more challenging, which would keep you from getting bored. You may do it by holding a weight or add intensity by doing it faster.

Sit-ups Vs Crunches

	Sit-Ups	Crunches
Form	Involves curling your entire torso off the ground and toward your knees	Requires lifting only your head and shoulder blades off the floor
Muscles Worked	Targets all your core muscles and engages your rectus femoris and hip flexors	Used for exclusively working your core
Impact on Your Spine	Repeatedly flexing the spine during the exercise can increase the risks of back pain and spinal injury	Crunches are performed by keeping your spine pressed against the floor, which reduces the chances of back and neck injuries

How to do Sit-ups Properly

If you are a beginner, start with three to four sets of sit-ups, each consisting of 10-12 repetitions. Once your fitness level increases, you may do three to four sets of 15-25 repetitions each day.

If losing weight is your goal, try to combine exercise with healthy eating habits. To lose 1 lb of body weight per week, you should eliminate about 500 calories a day, which is not possible with exercise alone. If you do 100 sit-ups every day, you would burn around 20-40 calories.

Tips

• You may improve your sit-ups by trying different techniques like putting your legs on a chair or touching your knees with an alternating
• Instead of putting your hands behind the head, place them across the chest if you want to avoid excess strain on your neck.

Types of Sit-ups

1. Jackknife Sit-ups: An advanced variation in which you raise your legs and extend your arms parallel to them.
2. Roman Chair Sit-ups: A much harder version of the basic sit-up performed with a Roman chair abdominal bench.
3. Decline Sit-ups: Performed on a decline bench with your head kept at a lower level than your legs and hips.
4. Weighted Sit-ups: Done by holding a dumbbell or a weight plate against your chest.
5. Butterfly Sit-ups: Performed by keeping your knees open to your sides and the soles of the feet together.
6. Incline Sit-ups: Quite similar to the decline sit-ups, except that you do this on an incline bench.
7. Straight Leg Sit-ups: A simple variation in which you keep your legs straight and raise your arms up toward the ceiling.
8. Sit-ups on Ball: A low-intensity variation that uses your body’s balance to work your core.
9. Abmat Sit-ups: Similar to the butterfly sit-ups, except that you do it by placing an Abmat under your lower back.
10. Sprinter Sit-ups: A faster variation of the standard sit-up that targets your core by increasing hip strength.
11. GHD Sit-ups: Performed on a GHD machine to develop your core, back, and hip strength.
12. Frog Sit-ups: Performed by lying on the floor with the soles of your feet touching each other and the arms crossed across your chest.
13. Bicycle Sit-ups: A variation that involves lifting your torso and knees so that you can touch your knees with an alternating
14. Inverted Sit-ups: An advanced variety performed by hanging upside down from a bar and lifting your torso up toward your knees.

Alternative Exercise

Janda Sit-up