Sit-up

The classic trunk-flexion movement: from lying on your back to sitting tall, rep after rep. Simple, scalable and everywhere in benchmark workouts, it builds the midline endurance every carry, squat and run leans on.

Standard: A valid rep starts with the back and shoulders on the floor and hands touching the floor overhead, and finishes sitting up with the chest tall and hands touching the feet or the floor in front of them.

How to do the Sit-up

1. Lie on your back with the soles of your feet together and knees dropped out, or feet flat and knees bent.
2. Reach your arms overhead until the hands brush the floor behind you.
3. Exhale and curl the trunk up, throwing the arms forward to help the movement.
4. Sit all the way up until the chest is tall and the hands touch the feet.
5. Lower under control back to the floor and let the shoulders touch before the next rep.

Common faults

• Bouncing off the floor and yanking the neck instead of curling the trunk.
• Stopping halfway up instead of finishing tall over the hips.
• Racing early sets so fast the hip flexors cramp before the workout is half done.

Scaling & progressions

• Anchor the feet or reduce the range until the volume is manageable.
• Swap a portion of big sets for slow, controlled reps to protect the lower back.
• Sub V-ups or hollow rocks when you want a harder stimulus, not an easier one.