Sit ups and crunches represent traditional exercises used for training the core muscles and flattening the abdomen. The number of injuries or the inefficiency of the exercises nevertheless indicate that many people don’t know how to do sit ups correctly. Here are some suggestions about how to do sit ups at the gym or at home without any risk and with great effects.
Start by lying down on a hard surface, preferably the floor. If the position is comfortable you can keep the feet flat on the floor and bend the knees. The distance between the feet should be the same as that between the knees or between the hips. When you lie down, the muscles relax, you eliminate the tension and there is possible soreness in the tissues. Now, let’s see how to do the sit ups as such.
It is important to pay attention to the position of the hands. 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. Pulling the neck when lifting is wrong. 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.
The stomach muscles should be pulled toward the spine in support of a lifting move. You should lift just the shoulder blades off the ground, for no more than eight inches in the direction of your knees. Make the rise and the fall back very slow. This rise-lower move represents 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. Seek ways to improve the training once you know how to do sit ups.
The sit ups should not be performed at the same difficulty level all the time. Use more reps to stimulate the muscle growth. You can alternate sit ups with crunches or make a combination of twisting moves and sit ups. The possibilities are numerous from beginner to advanced levels.
