Workout For Abs: Straight Leg Sit Ups

Straight leg sit-ups are a great way to build your abdominal muscles, core strength, and shape. They’re also a great post-workout move that’s easy to perform anywhere. With this post we’ll go over what straight leg sit-ups are, how to do them properly and how they benefit your body.

Overview

sit ups

What is straight leg sit ups?

Straight leg sit-ups are a powerful exercise for adding strong, sculpted abs to your body. In contrast to the standard sit-up, which is done with both knees bent, straight-leg sit-ups are performed with both legs flat on the ground. The typical, bent-leg sit-up is distinct from this variation.

How to do straight leg sit ups?

  1. Put yourself at ease. You might want to find a relatively soft surface, such a yoga mat, as performing straight leg sit ups can be very taxing on your lower back.
  2. Kneel with your feet touching. Laying down to perform straight-leg sit-ups requires that your legs be spread wide, as if you were lying in the position of attention.
  3. Arms crossed over the chest When performing sit-ups or stomach crunches, it may be normal to see people put their hands behind their heads.
  4. Lift your upper body from the floor. Without moving your legs at all, engage your core muscles to lift your abdomen off of the floor.
  5. Lower your upper body back to the floor. Reverse your previous motion by lowering your back and shoulders to the floor.

What are straight leg sit ups good for?

Anybody’s overall fitness program should include building a strong core because it can aid in the treatment or prevention of common lower back ailments. And because they can complete the whole range of action rather than falling backward halfway up in a bent-knee position, persons with weaker abs or less experience will benefit more from a straight-leg sit-up.

FAQ

There are a number of dangers with this exercise. The person works their hip flexors and abdominals by maintaining their legs straight. The lower back tends to hyperextend and the pelvis tilts forward when the hip flexors contract. And you can do this correctly by downloading JustFit.

According to a different study, the lower rectus abdominis (the muscle responsible for the “6-pack”) and hip flexors are used more during the bent-knee sit-up than they are during the straight-leg variation. The upper rectus abdominis was employed slightly more in the straight leg variation.

When performing an abdominal exercise known as a vertical leg crunch, you keep your legs vertical, or perpendicular to the floor, the entire time. One of the best bodyweight crunch exercises for developing a strong core is vertical leg crunches.