Are Inverted Sit-Ups the Best for Abs?

Possibly the most intense sit up variation, you are going to freak out…

Why would you want to turn your world upside down?

Every day I am asked what is the best advice I could give someone who is struggling to get in shape?

Keep reading this eye-opening article, because it’s good to understand how to do this one exercise right…

Dear Friend,

Is this the one abs exercise you wish you would have known years ago?

Does hanging sit-ups use a hip-hinge type movement?

If done properly can this body weight abs workout result in huge improvements in strong functional fitness and reduced back pain?

How can you get better results via strengthening all of the muscles in your posterior chain?

Want to take your ab routine to the next level? 

What if you want to get stronger, leaner abs the most direct, effective and natural way?

What if you take a chin-up bar and hang upside down to crunches or sit-ups upside down is that effective?

Hanging sit-ups provide or inverted sit-ups provide an intense abdominal workout routine.

You could use a pair of gravity boots to hang from a pull up bar or strap yourself to an inversion table.

If you consider your body position, hanging sit-ups are a very difficult exercise, right?

Inverted sit-ups help quickly define abs without placing harmful loads on the spine.

Hanging sit-ups should not be confused with hanging leg raises or hanging knee raises.

These are performed by hanging from a pull-up bar by your arms.

Cross your ankles and bend your knees…

Raise your hips and pull your knees up toward your chin.

Hanging knee raises emphasize lower and middle abdominal.

Whether hanging sit-ups are best for abs depends on your level of fitness and how effective you find the exercise.

Hanging sit-ups may also be referred to as upside down sit-ups or inverted crunches…

Due to the intense nature of this type of body weight exercise, it is recommended you do hanging sit-ups only if you are an advanced trainer. Why?

Because your quadriceps, hamstrings and calf muscles act as stabilizing muscles to hold you in place as you perform the movement…

Keep your movements slow and controlled to reduce the risk of injury…

Performance wise hanging sit-ups emphasize your upper and lower abdominal.

Place your hands on your temples, across your chest or held in front of you and curl your trunk up.

Exhale forcibly as you curl up and do not let your body sway.

Suggest you crank out as many repetitions as you can.

You may only manage a few repetitions initially, so aim to do two to eight sets of 10 to 20 repetitions.

Hold a weight or dumbbell to increase the intensity of the exercise.

How effective are hanging sit-ups?

A study commissioned by American Council on Exercise conducted by Biomechanics Lab at San Diego State University reviewed 13 abdominal exercises to decide the effectiveness.

EMG or electromyography equipment was used to monitor muscle activity in the abdominal, obliques and hip flexor while different ab exercises were performed.

High muscle activity in the hip flexor indicate less activity in the abdominal.

Hanging sit-ups were not reviewed by the study.

The three exercises which showed the most muscle activity were bicycling maneuver, captains chair and exercise ball crunches.

The study concluded the effectiveness of ab exercises vary from person to person depending on factors such as athleticism, familiarity of exercises and past injuries.

And recommends you do a variety of ab exercises to get the best results from your abdominal workout…

Before you do an upside down hanging crunch, make sure you can support your own body weight from hanging bars.

And you have a good base of core strength.

TIP: It’s always safer and best to perform this exercise with a spotter…

• If you feel dizzy during the exercise, crunch up, grab bar and dismount out of the upside down hanging exercise (get your spotter to help you down)
• Don’t do too many reps at once, hanging upside down forces lots of blood to your head and you should not perform this exercise if you have blood pressure issues
• Work some other inversion exercises into your routine to get used to the sensation of being upside down

How to perform an upside down hanging sit-up:

Lift yourself up onto some hanging bars either in a playground or in the gym.

Hook your legs onto bar, you’ll be supporting your weight by hanging from your knees so you’ll need to have strong legs to perform this exercise safely

Once you feel secure and confident your legs will support your body weight, lower your body down so you are hanging upside down…

Make sure the movement is slow and controlled, this is where the crunch starts.

Let your arms go straight down towards floor, hang for 5 second to feel a full stretch.

And bring your hands up to your ears and crunch up.

Exhale as you crunch up, start be doing partial crunches.

As your strength increases you can go up high enough to touch your elbows to your thighs…

Lower yourself down slowly so you resume the ‘dead hang’ with arms straight.

Repeat this so you have one full set of upside down hanging crunches

If you want to challenge yourself go for one set x 10 reps.

When you’re done with your set, crunch up once more this time grabbing bar at top of your crunch.

Lift your legs off bar and lower yourself back to ground…

Do you know a way to perform hanging sit-ups without anchoring your feet?

What are the benefits of inversion boots?

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Body Weight Abs Workout