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Overview
Sit-ups are among the most basic of all workouts for the abdominals. Sit-ups effectively work the entire abdominal muscle group with greater stress on the upper abdominals. This ab workout can be done either on the flat ground or on an incline bench, and the sides of the abdominals can be worked by incorporating a simple twisting motion into the movement.
Setup
Locate the sit-up bench in your gym. Many of these benches are adjustable so that the incline can be varied. Obviously, the higher the incline, the greater the stress will be put on the abdominal muscles. The benches may look slightly different from one gym to another, but the idea is the same: you should lie with your back flat on the bench and your feet beneath the pads at the end of the bench. Place your hands behind your head and lock the fingers together.
If you decide to do this exercise on the flat ground, most gyms will have an area with pads on the ground for stretching and doing sit-ups. You will probably need to find someone to hold your feet down as you do your sit-ups.
Movement
Use your stomach muscles to pull your body upward and forward as high as possible. Lower the body back down until your back lies flat against the bench where you began. To incorporate rotations into your sit-ups, do one sit-up straight forward, one with the body rotated to the left, one straightforward, then one rotated to the right, and so on.
Tips From the Trainer
You can increase the intensity of this exercise in two ways: you can adjust the bench to a higher incline or hold extra weight in your hands. To increase the weight, take a weight plate and hold it behind your head or just in front of your chest.
Try to resist the temptation to begin this motion by jerking your body off of the bench or by raising your waist off the bench and quickly slapping it back down at before pulling yourself upward. These movements make the motion easier by relying on momentum to move your body upward, but take the stress away from your stomach muscles.
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