Sit ups and crunches represent traditional exercises used for training the core muscles and flattening the abdomen. The problem is that many people don’t know how to do sit ups correctly, which would explain either the inefficiency of the exercises or the number of injuries resulting from them. Here are some suggestions about how to do sit ups at home or at the gym with great effects and without any risk.
First of all, you need to lie on the floor or on a flat, hard surface and make sure there is no distraction nearby. Once you are in a comfortable position, you should bend your knees, while keeping the feet flat on the ground. The distance between the feet should be the same as that between the knees or between the hips. You may experience a bit of soreness when you rest on the back because the muscles relax and you eliminate the tension. Now, let’s see how to do the sit ups as such.
The position of the hands is very important too. If you are a beginner, it is advisable to put the hands behind the head, cushioning it with the fingers laced together. This is a good form of neck protection, because the muscles in the neck should not participate to the moves in any way. Don’t pull your neck when you lift. Learning how to do sit ups with the hands by the sides of the body or straight up in the air is a bit more difficult, and not at all a good choice for the early training stages. You may try this when you are more advanced in the training routine.
Pull the stomach towards the spine to support the lift. Only the shoulder blades should leave the ground but not higher than 8 inches. The rise is slow and so should be the descent as well. The rising and lowering movement is the basis for the sit ups, and the speed of the performance influences the results. The benefits of the exercises become more obvious when the training is correct. Now that you know how to do the sit ups, let’s see how you can improve them.
The sit ups should not be performed at the same difficulty level all the time. Periodically, you need to change the number of reps so that the difficulty of the exercise stimulates a further muscle development. You can alternate sit ups with crunches or combine the sit ups with twisting moves. The possibilities are numerous from beginner to advanced levels.
