Fitness Planner | Sit-ups: benefits, how to do, correct posture, who should not do this exercise

There are several ways to do sit-ups - including the US Army sit-ups (above) and CrossFit sit-ups. (Photo: Ketut Subiyanto via Pexels)

Walk into a gym anywhere in the world, and you're likely to see people doing sit-ups or some variation of them. Though people often do these in the (misguided) pursuit of flatter, more chiselled abs, sit-ups are actually among the basic movements of the exercise world

Sit-ups constitute a functional movement that we use in our daily life. Just think of every time you get out of bed. By learning how to do sit-ups properly, you can get rid of small aches and niggles in the body. Sit-ups strengthen the core and improve endurance. There’s scientific research on this: a 2013 study published in the Research Quarterly: American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation found that after sit-ups, the person's strength reached a certain level, increasing the number of sit-ups improved the person’s endurance factor.

While there is a perception that sit-ups can help the exerciser lose fat around the tummy and get a trimmer waistline, it simply doesn’t work like that. “It’s a misconception because it is impossible to carry out targeted fat loss in your body without surgery. Spot reduction of fat with exercise doesn’t really happen,” explains Vinit Mathew Baptist, Olympic lifting coach and nutritionist based in Kolkata.

A study published in the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport in 1983 established that “the conventional sit-up exercise does not preferentially reduce adipose cell [fats] size or subcutaneous fat thickness in the abdominal region.” The study goes on to add that sit-ups do not lead to weight loss or significant changes in “girth and fatfolds” either.

Now, that you know what sit-ups don’t do, let’s find out what they do:

The exercise strengthens abdominal muscles and improves core strength, says Baptist. The main purpose of sit-ups is to strengthen the stomach muscles, which include the rectus abdominus, or the six back muscles that run from the bottom of your rib cage to your waist, and another three layers of muscles on either side of the abs.

By strengthening and toning your mid-section, sit-ups help protect your back. Sit-ups involve the flexion of the spine which targets your six-pack muscles.

Sit-ups also strengthen the diaphragm. Compression of the abdomen leads to increased diaphragmatic work, found Lisa M. Strongoli in a 2010 study published in the Journal of Sports Science Medicine.

Yet another benefit of sit-ups is that you are likely to have fewer injuries and hence fewer days lost at work. A study in Texas conducted with more than 1,100 US army soldiers found that those who were following a core stabilisation programme missed fewer days of work due to lower back injury compared with those on the US Army’s traditional exercise programme.

Apart from working the core muscles, sit-ups also work your glutes, lower back, hip flexors and a bit of the chest and neck too. In short, the movement strengthens your core, and a strong core helps align your shoulders, hips and spine, thereby improving your posture.

However, if you are chasing the six pack and chiselled abs, sit-ups alone won’t get you there. You will need a much more comprehensive fitness programme that includes strength-training and cardio along with a proper diet which would ensure fat-loss. Only after the layers of fat peel away would the six pack be visible. But take heart: even if your abs aren’t visible  after thousands of sit-ups every month, know that they are waiting to pop whenever the fatty layers make way.

There are plenty of ways to do sit-ups and depending on what school of thought you adhere to, you would have your own way to do it. The US army sit-ups demand that you start from lying position with your knees bent, feet firmly planted flat on the floor and ankles pinned down, hands behind the head with interlocked fingers, and you come up to the sitting position by bringing the chest towards the raised knees by engaging your core muscles and then go back down in a controlled manner. The full range of motion requires you to bring the chest to knees.

In CrossFit, sit-ups are performed by keeping your legs on the floor, making a diamond and your hands straight touching the floor behind your head. Then you come up by activating your core muscles without your ankles being held down. To complete the sit-up, your hands must touch your toes or the floor in front of the toes.

There are plenty of variations to the sit-ups: these can be performed while hanging from a bar (toes to bar, knees to elbow) by moving your legs up and down (instead of the upper body as described above) when you do leg raises; or combining both movements, performing the V-ups. You could do similar movements for your love handles by doing sit-ups or V-ups laterally.

Finally, let’s address the question about ab machines which are installed in some gyms. As early as November 1999, a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research conclusively found that abdominal devices “do not elicit any greater or lesser involvement of the abdominal musculature than does performing similar exercises unassisted”. So, don’t fall for the gimmicks and keep it simple.

How to do Sit-ups

1. Lie flat on your back on the floor with legs folded at the knees and the soles of your feet joined together forming a diamond. Keep hands over your head and palms touching the floor behind your head.
2. Squeeze your tummy and butt to engage your core, inhale and come up using the abdominal muscles in one smooth movement. When you are sitting upright, the hands should touch your toes or the floor in front of your toes.
3. Go back to the starting position.

Pregnant women in their third trimester should avoid a full sit-up as it is not ideal and could even increase the risk of abdominal diastasis, says Jayant Arora, director and unit head, Fortis Bone and Joint Institute at Fortis Hospital, Gurugram.

"People with cervical or neck pain should ensure proper posture and avoid pulling oneself up by hands clasped behind the neck. Instead, keep your hands by the ears or  crossed on your chest to avoid this mistake. Also, while relaxing back from the sit-up, avoid jerky movement or dropping your back onto the floor," says Arora.