Sports practice and athletic training are subject to permanent evolution, and it’s no wonder that conventional sit ups are no longer seen as effective or valid. The essential move of the sit ups used to be the lifting of the torso from the lying position towards the bended knees. At present, the lift is done only partly, with a tightening of the abdominal muscles and almost no bending towards the knees. There are a few tricks on how to do sit ups that are effective and you should be aware of.
The position of the body controls everything. There is a common risk to strain the neck muscles instead of tightening the abdomen. Keep in mind that the head plays no part in the move. This is in fact the whole purpose of the laced fingers behind the head: to support the movement and allow only for the abdomen muscles to take over the effort. Do not lift the body at more than eight inches from the floor. You can learn the most effective sit ups by following the direct instructions of a gym coach.
Anyone can appreciate how effective sit ups are by noticing the adaptation of the body to the training conditions. If sit ups seem difficult to perform at first, the more you practice, the easier it gets. The difficulty level of the exercises should not be increased too often or too soon. If you train with regular sit ups for one or two weeks, all you have to do is just to increase the number of reps per week, then, you can think of another difficulty element to include in the routine. A Swiss ball works well for advanced training levels helping you perform effective sit ups.
Lie on the ball with the lower back and keep the torso parallel with the floor. The feet should keep you balanced during the exercise. With the hands behind the head, lift the torso a few inches while remaining in the horizontal position on the ball. To take the maximum out of these effective sit ups, you could keep the body a little below the horizontal line in order to tighten the abs more when lifting. Do not ignore the safety of the lower back during the exercise, no matter how you keep the legs. It is false to judge effective sit ups by the way they push the body limits and cause pain, since a certain comfort level has to remain permanent.
