What is the correct sit-up posture?

Sit-ups are a common weight loss exercise for slimming the waist and reducing belly, but nowadays many young people don’t know very well how to do sit-ups, which leads to their failure when they choose sit-ups to lose weight. In fact, there are some precautions and key points when doing sit-ups. The following editor will tell you how to do sit-ups correctly in daily life?

Coordinate with breathing

To reduce the belly, you need to coordinate your breathing. The lower abdominal muscles will become firmer, achieving the effect of reducing the belly.

When practicing: exhale when you are rising (when you are exerting force), and inhale when you are releasing force. In a static state, for example, when maintaining a 45-degree angle, maintain normal chest breathing and do not hold your breath.

Normally: Abdominal breathing helps to tighten the transverse abdominal muscles. When inhaling, feel the abdominal cavity pulling inward and upward, inhale fully and then exhale deeply. You can consciously practice abdominal breathing when sitting, standing or walking, and make it a habit.

Slimming principle: This breathing method ensures that the muscles deeper in the abdomen are involved in the work at the same time.

Note: You may not be used to abdominal breathing when you first start practicing, or even suddenly don’t know how to breathe, but this breathing method not only helps stimulate gastrointestinal motility and promote the excretion of waste in the body, but also makes the airflow smooth and increases lung capacity. In addition, abdominal breathing is a good way to prevent constipation.

Don't hold your head with your hands

Generally speaking, sit-ups involve crossing the fingers of both hands and placing them behind the head. However, in the process of sitting up, one often uses the strength of the hands to lift the head, which can easily cause strain on the neck muscles. The correct way is to cross your arms in front of your chest, or place your hands beside your ears. When sitting up, you should use your abdomen rather than your arms.

Principle of weight loss: Crossing the fingers of both hands and placing them behind the head can easily cause the back to bend, the lumbar disc to compress, and the spine to be damaged. It also reduces the workload of the abdominal muscles.

Note: When placing your hands on your ears, remember not to press your ears hard. Beginners of sit-ups can also place their hands at their sides to make getting up easier.

Standing height

The higher you stand, the more effective sit-ups are. The correct way is to keep your body at a 45-degree angle to the ground as long as possible (at least 30 seconds) to exercise your abdominal muscles most effectively.

In fact, simply relying on sit-ups can only achieve partial fitness effects, because sit-ups target the abdominal muscles. Long-term exercise may strengthen your abdominal muscles, but other parts of the body, such as the thighs or buttocks, are less exercised. Only by effectively combining sit-ups with aerobic exercise can you truly achieve the perfect weight loss effect.