maratoolWeighted Sit-Ups - With Bands
How to do the weighted sit-ups - with bands
- Start out by strapping the bands around the base of the decline bench. Place the handles towards the inside of the decline bench so that when lying down, you can reach for both of them.
- Position your legs through the decline machine until they are secured. Now reach for the exercise bands with both hands. Use a pronated (palms forward) grip to grasp the handles. Position them near your collar bone and rotate your wrist to a neutral grip (palms facing the torso). Note: Your arms should remain stationary throughout the exercise. This is the starting position.
- Move your torso upward until your upper body is perpendicular to the floor while exhaling. Hold the contraction for a second and lower your upper body back down to the starting position while inhaling.
- Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.
Muscles worked
The prime movers are the rectus abdominis and the obliques, which flex the trunk forward and resist it being pulled into extension or twisted out of line.
Every exercise for:Abdominals
How this movement works
One joint changes angle and the resistance travels toward you along a single arc. Nothing is positioned to help, so tension stays where you aimed it and the usable load drops sharply against a multi-joint pull for the same muscle. Protect the range of motion; buying weight by shortening the arc defeats the point.
It is filed under strength: produce force against resistance for a countable number of repetitions, and progress the resistance over time.
What you need
These train the abdominals too, using equipment this one does not:
- Wind Sprintsbody only
- Ab Crunch Machinemachine
- Ab Rollout on Knees with Barbellbarbell
- Advanced Kettlebell Windmillkettlebell
- Bosu Ball Cable Crunch With Side Bendscable
Difficulty
Listed at intermediate level. It assumes you already own the underlying pattern and can hold position under load — if the position breaks before the target muscle tires, drop back to a beginner variation until it does not.
Of the 97 abdominals exercises in this database, 17 are listed at intermediate level.
Photos: free-exercise-db — public domain (Unlicense) Full attribution →
ⓘ Informational only — not a substitute for professional fitness or medical advice.