How many sit ups should you do in one set?

M

maxitwist07

0
I used to work out, years ago, and would match the amount of situps id do to the amount of pushups. At my peak i would do 50 pushups ans 50 situps and 100 legkicks (bicycle kicks? not sure whta theyre called)

I can still do 100 leg kicks. I cant do 50 situps. Im actuall terribly confused about the proper form for situps as a slot of the time it doesnt feel like im doing it right.
Anyway, I read this article that said you should do 15 in a set (i assume then wait a minute and do 15 more) and after that you should add resistence.
Can somebody verify for me please?
I would like to start getting a routine going and theres nothing worse then that nagging voice in the back of you head that asks 'am i even doing this right? is this even working?'

So please, help me silence that.

If your interested my daily/every second day routine will be
situps, legkicks,
Bicep curls, pushups,
and maybe bench press.
 
Follow up question;

Shoul you twist your body when doing leg kicks, it kind of burns more but im not sure if its a good thing or a bad one
 
Rep ranges: depends on the goal. If you're focused on building strength and muscle in the midsection, then sets of 6-15 with added weight are good. If you're focused on endurance, then keep building up the number of reps. If you're doing them "just because," then all I know is my gut tells me maybe.

Leg kicks: Since you're not entirely sure what exercise you're doing, I'm not sure either. That being the case, I wouldn't recommend twisting your body. Any sort of twisting under load is actively reducing stability, and you shouldn't reduce stability unless you 1) already have good stability and 2) know what you're doing and why you're doing it.
 
If I could add this for reference:
Try reverse crunches


I don't particularly like situps because of the "kyphotic" posture people adapt doing them. Also a lot of people will simply use their hip flexors to do most of the work.

Situp form I like:
- Legs straight (great for indicating if you are not using ab muscles and are using hip flexors instead)
- Hands either at sides or crossed over chest (Advanced trainees can handle the hands on head position because they can recruit ab muscles and the hands do not place any pressure on head)
- Visualized navel draw in and contraction and just focus on contraction of the abdominals
- Speed is pretty slow (faster a sit up is the more muscles groups that are recruited to assist the abdominals)

Goodluck and have fun with it!
 
On Trainerty's note, I hate anything involving flexing the spine. For abdominals and overall core, I generally use exercises like dead bugs, Swiss-ball stir-the-pot, walk-out planks, etc. The core is meant to stiffen the trunk and keep the spine from moving, not for causing damaging motions like constant flexion.
 
Thanks for the reply guys, I appreciate them.
The twisting exercise i was talking about are called bicycle crunches.

I did indeed start bench pressing too. Im doing it 3x10 reps with 30-60 seconds rest in between. I will push it up to 15 a set before upping the weight and going down to 10 a set again, which i think sounds like a good idea.

Edit:
Main goal is for strenght/definition. Also I would like to start an exrcise for my side-abs (obliques?) as i have no muscles there (i mean like none, its weird) So itd be good to have some.
 
Last edited:
Hope nobody Minds me using this post as a sort of 'how im doing' diary.

Just added 5kg to my bench press. Did 10 10 7. Which is good i think.
Quick question, the rests between sets should be about a minute right?

Pushups: Should/do these need to be done in sets, like other exercices? I never did them like that before so it would take some getting used to.

Situps are going well btw.
 
Hi so sometimes when im doing pushups, i get this weird nerve shooting up my left tricep. Its very strange and off puting. Any idea what this is?
 
3x10-15 progressions scheme: Good for now.

1min rest between sets: Good enough. There's always a trade-off with rest periods, in that the less you rest, the lower your performance will be in the next set, while the more you rest, the less sets you can do in a given time frame. You'll always be trying to optimise the balance between volume, intensity and frequency to meet your goals.

Push ups: Like with all exercises, the more practice you do, the better you're likely to get (assuming that the way in which you practice them is good; if you're practicing bad technique, then you'll be working your way into an injury), so multiple sets almost always trumps doing just 1 set.

Triceps pain: You've mentioned doing bench press and push ups, but you haven't mentioned any back work. Unbalanced training messes the body up, so you've gotta balance work on the front of your body with work on the back of your body; work on top with work on the bottom; work on the right side with work on the left side. Make sure that you're practicing good technique on every exercise, and add in a set of pull ups pull downs or rows for every set you do of bench press or push ups. If that doesn't sort you out, then you'll need to look into more specific stretches, rotator cuff work, joint alignment issues etc, which is entering the domain of physical therapy. Notably, your body may already have been messed up, and training through that messed-up-ness may have been the thing to trigger your arm giving you the finger; it's not necessarily training itself that's the problem, even though unbalanced training and iffy technique both lead to these issues.
 
"I don't particularly like situps because of the "kyphotic" posture people adapt doing them. Also a lot of people will simply use their hip flexors to do most of the work"...could not agree more with trainerty. Consider crunches or even acquiring a stability ball. The ball will offer much greater range of motion and is cheap and versatile.
 
I have to be honest with you, brother...depending on your goals, sit-ups aren't necessary. When I wanted to get strong, lose weight, and tighten up about a year ago, I started on a program that didn't involve ANY sit-ups...just a good mix of cardio and resistance training (and good nutrition). 90 days later I had abs. It was hard work but it was efficient, I met my goals, and didn't do one solitary sit-up. So, if you're looking to kill the hell out of your abs, crunch away. But if your focus is strength and definition, you really just need to commit to a program that provides the right kind of core exercises.

Take care,
Jason
jasonfroehlich@gmail.com

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