sit-up

Sit-ups begin with the practicing individual lying with their back on the floor. Typically, this is done with the arms across the chest or hands behind the head. The knees and toes are bent to reduce stress on the back muscles and spine. Both the upper and lower vertebrae are elevated from the floor until everything superior to the buttocks is not touching the ground. Some{{who|date=July 2024}} argue that sit-ups can be dangerous due to high compressive lumbar load{{cite journal |first1=Stuart M. |last1=McGill |title=Stability: from biomechanical concept to chiropractic practice |journal=Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=75–88 |date=June 1999 |pmc=2485366 }}{{Unreliable medical source|date=July 2024|reason=Chiropractic is not science}} and may be replaced with the crunch in exercise programs.{{cite book|last=McGill|first=Stuart|title=Low Back Disorders: Evidence-based Prevention and Rehabilitation|year=2002|url=https://archive.org/details/lowbackdisorders0000mcgi|url-access=registration|publisher=Human Kinetics Publishers|isbn=978-0-7360-6692-1}}{{Page needed|date=November 2010}} Performing alternative abdominal exercises to sit-ups actually increases the ability to do sit-ups.{{cite journal|title=Effects of Sit-up Training versus Core Stabilization Exercises on Sit-up Performance|year=2009 |doi=10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181a84db2|last1=Childs |first1=John D. |last2=Teyhen |first2=Deydre S. |last3=Benedict |first3=Timothy M. |last4=Morris |first4=Jamie B. |last5=Fortenberry |first5=Andrew D. |last6=McQueen |first6=Rene M. |last7=Preston |first7=Janice B. |last8=Wright |first8=Alison C. |last9=Dugan |first9=Jessica L. |last10=George |first10=Steven Z. |journal=Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise |volume=41 |issue=11 |pages=2072–2083 |pmid=19812508 |doi-access=free }}

Performing sit-ups do not cause the spot reduction of fat at the waist.{{cite journal |first1=Frank I. |last1=Katch |first2=P. M. |last2=Clarkson |first3=W. |last3=Kroll |first4=T. |last4=McBride |first5=A. |last5=Wilcox |date=September 1984 |title=Effects of sit up exercise training on adipose cell size and adiposity |journal=Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=242–47 |doi=10.1080/02701367.1984.10609359 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02701367.1984.10609359 }}

Gaining a "six pack" requires both abdominal muscle hypertrophy training and fat loss over the abdomen—which can only be done by losing fat from the body as a whole.{{cn|date=March 2022}}

Image:US Navy 030523-N-1485H-003 Seabees conduct their sit-up portion of the Navy Physical Readiness Test.jpg conduct a situp variation]]

The movement can be made easier by placing the arms further down away from the head. Typical variations to this include crossing the arms to place the palms on the front of the shoulders{{cite web|title=Sit-up (arms crossed)|url=http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/RectusAbdominis/BWSitUpX.html|access-date=20 November 2014}} and extending the arms down to the sides with palms on the floor.{{cite web|title=Sit-up (arms down)|url=http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/RectusAbdominis/BWSitUpAD.html|access-date=20 November 2014}} The 'arms on shoulders' variation is also used to make the incline sit-up{{cite web|title=Incline Sit-up (arms crossed)(2qqa)|url=http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/RectusAbdominis/BWInclineSitUpX.html|access-date=20 November 2014}} easier.

More intense movement is achieved by doing weighted sit-ups,{{cite web|title=Weighted Sit-up|url=http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/RectusAbdominis/WtSitUp.html|access-date=20 November 2014}} incline sit-ups with arms behind neck{{cite web|title=Incline Sit-up|url=http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/RectusAbdominis/BWInclineSitUp.html|access-date=20 November 2014}} and even harder by doing the weighted incline sit-up.{{cite web|title=Weighted Incline Sit-up (arms crossed)|url=http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/RectusAbdominis/WtInclineSitUpX.html|access-date=20 November 2014}}

With improper form, full sit-ups have been found to cause back pain and arching of the lower back, increasing the risk of back injury.[http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/abdominal.html Abdominal Training]

In 2015, it was revealed that every branch of the U.S. armed forces have begun to phase out sit-ups and crunches, due to the high rates of lower-back injury. They have been replaced by planks.{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/05/sit-ups-crunches-lower-back-pain/639437/ |title=The Sit-Up is over |first=Amanda |last=Mull |website=The Atlantic |date=28 May 2022 |access-date=31 May 2022 }}

{{commons category|Sit-ups}}

• Crunch (exercise)
• Plank (exercise)
• Squat (exercise)

{{Reflist}}

{{Strength training exercises}}

Category:Bodyweight exercises

Category:Aerobic exercise