Can sit-ups help you train your abs?

1. Can sit-ups help you train your abs?

Let’s first look at where the force is applied when doing sit-ups? When doing sit-ups, the entire upper body turns upward from a lying position. In addition to the rectus abdominis in the abdomen, the force point is the iliopsoas muscle. In fact, in order to maintain the stability of the body, the iliopsoas muscle will reduce the strength of the rectus abdominis. In addition, many friends who cannot find the correct force point have phenomena such as holding their heads, so the training intensity of the abdominal muscles is almost gone.

Sit-ups are effective in enhancing physical fitness, but if you want to get a six-pack, sit-ups are not enough. It is recommended that those who want to have a six-pack abs do sit-ups.

The biggest difference between crunches and sit-ups is that crunches can isolate the rectus abdominis muscle for exercise. The training intensity and standard posture of the rectus abdominis muscle alone are better than those of sit-ups.

2. What are the exercises for sit-ups?

1. Rectus abdominis crunch

The simplest crunch to exercise the rectus abdominis is the knee-to-knee crunch. First, lie on your back on a mat with your legs bent, your head relaxed and neutral, your arms stretched and parallel, and use your abdominal force to bring your hands to your knees. When falling back, keep your upper body as close to the ground as possible but not touching the ground. Exhale while exerting force, and inhale while falling back. Depending on your physical condition, do this until you feel sore in your abdomen and cannot do the next set.

2. Curl up for the internal and external oblique muscles

In fact, the reason why many girls do not have obvious abdominal muscles is because of their high body fat content. Belly fat has become one of the most troubling problems for women nowadays. In addition to the upper and lower abdomen, the sides of the abdomen are also the parts that need special training.

The training method for the internal and external oblique muscles of the abdomen is still to bend your legs and arms, place your hands next to your ears, rely on your abdomen to exert force alternately left and right, relax your head, and let your left elbow try to touch your right knee, and vice versa. The intensity of training is still to achieve exhaustion.

3. Sit-up crunch for the lower abdomen

Stay in a sitting position, first use the strength of your arms to support your body, put your hands behind your hips, keep your waist and back in a straight line, keep your legs together, lift your legs and then pull your legs back to your abdomen, keep your calves and calves at 90 degrees, ensure standard posture, and feel the force in your lower abdomen.

4. Bicycle crunches that engage all core muscles

Bicycle crunches are a comprehensive training exercise for the core abdominal muscles. Some friends who don’t like bicycle crunches can choose to use plank support instead.

The starting movement of bicycle crunches is the same as that of internal and external oblique crunches. Bicycle crunches increase leg movement. The legs should be alternated like pedaling a bicycle. During the movement, make sure that the calves and thighs maintain a 90-degree angle. The upper body is as close to the ground as possible but not touching the ground. The head is relaxed and the hands are placed by the ears. When circulating the movement, the left elbow touches the right knee, and the right elbow touches the left knee.