Sit-up
A classic core exercise where you lift your torso from the floor toward your knees and back down.
Overview
The sit-up is a well-known core exercise. Lying on your back with knees bent and feet flat, you curl and then lift your torso up toward your thighs before lowering back down with control. It moves through a larger range than a crunch, involving the hip flexors as well as the abdominals.
It needs no equipment and is a familiar part of many routines. Moving smoothly and with control, rather than yanking up, keeps the emphasis on the trunk muscles.
The movement
- 1Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
- 2Cross your arms over your chest or reach toward your knees.
- 3Curl and lift your torso up toward your thighs.
- 4Lower back down to the floor with control.
Beginner notes
- Moving smoothly keeps the emphasis on the abs.
- Crossing the arms over the chest is a simple hand position.
- A crunch is a shorter-range alternative if the full sit-up is tough.
A note on training information
Where it’s used
Sports this relates to:
Fitness
Strength and general fitness training — the foundation that supports every other sport.
Functional Fitness
Varied, whole-body training built around everyday movement patterns like squatting, lifting and carrying.
Boxing
A striking combat sport built on footwork, timing and conditioning, practised from fitness drills to controlled sparring.
Related exercises
Squat
A foundational lower-body movement where you bend at the hips and knees to lower down and stand back up.
Goblet squat
A squat variation where you hold a single weight close to your chest for balance and control.
Jump squat
An explosive squat variation where you spring off the floor at the top of the movement.
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Movement patterns
- SquatA knee-dominant pattern: bending the hips, knees and ankles to lower and rise while keeping the torso upright — the foundation of lower-body strength.
- PullDrawing a load or your own body toward the torso — horizontal rows and vertical pull-ups — building the lats, mid-back and biceps and balancing the push.
- LungeA split-stance, single-leg-emphasis pattern: stepping or dropping into a staggered stance and pushing back up to build single-leg strength, balance and stability.
Techniques
Playing surfaces
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How this page is maintained
- Content type
- Exercise
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
- Verified external sources
- 0
- Content updated
- 2026-07-06
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