How do I do a sit up?

Question

I have being going to the gym for a couple of months, and do all the CV and weights but find its all working on my legs not my tummy or bum.

When I try do situps I can't lift myself. and when I do crunches it really strains my neck, and it;s really uncomfortable. I know I look really awkward when doing it, like I am struggling.

I have tryed different ways and doing it but I am just so clumsy.

I have tryed using one of them 'thingamabobs' lol and I cant use them either, I push to much with my arms apparently. Everyone else looks so natural doing them

Answer 1

Hey why don't u ask one of the trainers? They helped me when i didn't know how to do sit ups.

I used 1 of those exercise balls u can rest ur back on it while u do them but yeah definitley go ask ur trainer thats what there there 4!

Answer 2

One easy way to learn is to do them BACKWARDS.

Start in the sitting position, knees bent, feet flat on floor. Roll back on your buttocks a little bit, breathing out so that your torso folds forward a little. Don't go too far. Breathe in as you come back up to the sitting position. Do a few of these in a session, and try to keep your breathing easy and open, and your neck long & loose (relaxed). If they aren't, then you're trying too hard, or going too far back.

Each session, try to go a bit further back (millimetres), but make sure that your breathing and neck are properly relaxed. Do the movement slowly and gently, and make sure that your upper body folds forward as much as possible (you may find that your head wants to roll forward, too, so that you look towards your belly button).

With practice, you will get a bit further all the time. Eventually, you'll be able to roll all the way down into a lying position. When you can do this, you'll find that it's easier to come back up. Do NOT attempt to sit all the way up until you can lie down fully !

Answer 3

The sit-up is a strength training exercise. To perform it, a person lies down on the floor with their knees bent at a 90 degree angle, they then sit up without moving their knees. The hands are placed behind the head/neck, across the chest or straightened out parallel to the body. It is intended to work the abdominal muscles, but it also utilises the hip flexors and lower back. This imprecise targeting of the abdominal muscles has caused sit-ups to be replaced by crunches as the most common abdominal exercise.

Many people do many sit ups each day in an attempt to gain a "six-pack", but abdominal exercises may need to be combined with some form of cardiovascular exercise such as running to lower body fat to allow the abdominal muscles to be seen.

The sit-up places considerable stress on the lower back vertebrae, so individuals who experience lower back pain should perform the crunch instead.

The use of sit ups as an exercise to increase trunk strength should be viewed as the preferred exercise above exercises like a crunch. The reason is that a full sit-up is a functional activity that builds function into movement and has many more positive benefits to the participant other than just improving the look of the six pack.[citation needed] The crunch movement can still be included in the complete sit up and therefore giving the participant maximum benefits.

The sit up should also be carried out to suit the individuals level of ability, and therefore can not be simply described as hands behind the head and knees bent to 90 degrees.

The individual should conclude to what weight should be lifted (i.e. anything above the waist) and how much leverage they have to pull against (i.e. everything below the waist).

As abdominal strength increases, the amount to be lifted can be gradually increased by varying these two variables. This is done by moving the position of the arms and legs in relation to the pivot point. To further increase resistance beyond position of your arms and legs, a medicine ball may be used. Similarly to creating resistance with one's hands positioning, holding the medicine ball further above one's head will increase the resistance.

Some sit-ups are performed in a sideways manner. The purpose of these is to strengthen the Abdominal external oblique muscle, opposed to the frontal abdominal muscles. To perform these, the person lays on one side, legs together, with their arms in front of their body, hands clasped. Contracting the oblique muscles on the upward-facing side of one's body, will pull one's body into a bow-shape, similar to the effect of an abdominal crunch.

Answer 4

You dont have to do a full situp for it to be beneficial. Come up from sitting position about 2 inches and stop. When sitting, go down about 2 inches and stop. This starts the exercise of the muscles and helps you build them up.

Answer 5

A couple of years ago I got a weight bench. Optimally heavy bench-presses are the best way to add muscle to the chest. If you concentrate of tensing your stomach muscles whilst you do them, they also work the stomach. I've got a better stomach doing these than I did with doing sit-ups.

Answer 6

lol i can do no n stop sit ups nd press ups, gym is the place for meeee! but as your saying you seem to be struggling, try using that thingamabob which is allcurved round nd it helps u do lotsa sit ups, lol thingamabob? doh! i dont even know what its called, good luck!

Answer 7

lay your back on the ground with your knees & legs elevated and raise your shoulders off the ground and then back down to the ground.

do this like maybe 25 times... or if you can do it more than do like... 50 times or something. i try to keep it simple... everynight before i go to bed i spread out on the ground and do 25 sit-ups...

Answer 8

get a girl to sit on you ...the rule is she not to move,you will do all the moving.....hehehe!That will get you going.....what a lame excuse ;don't know how to do sit-up...