Sit-up bench.... any good?

Stiffler05

Stiffler05

Stiffler05

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13 Jul 2005
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132
I've started working out at home quite regularly. Sit ups are part of the routine, but there's nowhere in my room where i can slot my feet under to ensure i'm doing the sit up properly.

So i was thinking about getting a sit-up bench. Have any of your guys used/got one? Are they any good?

Steve.
 
100 sit ups
100 press ups
100 tricep dips
Various exercises with dumbbells - chest work, triceps, shoulders and biceps. i normally work out for about 1.5 hours about 4 times a week.
 
What about your legs ? :p

In all honesty your money would be better spent on a gym membership, but thats not what you want hear.

If you want to make doing situps easier then a bench will help as it holds your feet better. However doing 100 situps of any kind 4x a week is not going to do that much for you.
 
Sit-up benches would be a better idea for you,yes.As has already been said they will support you better.

Can I ask what your goals are? Size,strength,general fitness etc?
 
I go running 3 times a week too... not all that far but around 5 miles.

I'm generally just trying to increase my base level of fitness and get my upper body a bit bigger.

I'm a healthy guy (other than the odd booze binge). I don't eat fast food, I eat more than my 5 fruit or veg a day and i'm pretty slim.

I'd like to get my 6 pac back ideally. I used to have one years ago when i was about 17 - i'm 26 now btw. 5'10" and 10.5 stone.

100 sit ups 4 times a week may not do a huge amount, but its having a visible effect already. Also as i get more used to the exercise i'll ramp it up to 150, 200 etc...

The problem is just trying to find a stable/safe position to do sit ups in. Without something supporting my feet, i find my legs end up taking the strain and my back hurts.
 
Stiffler05 said:
100 sit ups 4 times a week may not do a huge amount, but its having a visible effect already....
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400 situps a weeks is huge amount. If i posted on here and said i did 400 bicep curls a week people would post back with words like "overtraining", "injury" and "waste of time" ;) Your arms are made of the same stuff as your abs that are made of the same stuff as your legs etc. Train your abs no differently than you would your chest or your any other muscle group.

I do 3 or 4 sets of 8-16 reps twice a week, so total reps for the week is somewhere between 50 and 100 reps. The difference is i do them heavy, using machines, plates and dumbells, i make my abs work hard....just as i would any other muscle.

Adding lean muscle to your abs will make them appear deeper and more chiseled but without loosing any excess flab you won't see a thing :)
 
MTA99 said:
400 situps a weeks is huge amount. If i posted on here and said i did 400 bicep curls a week people would post back with words like "overtraining", "injury" and "waste of time" ;) Your arms are made of the same stuff as your abs that are made of the same stuff as your legs etc. Train your abs no differently than you would your chest or your any other muscle group.

I do 3 or 4 sets of 8-16 reps twice a week, so total reps for the week is somewhere between 50 and 100 reps. The difference is i do them heavy, using machines, plates and dumbells, i make my abs work hard....just as i would any other muscle.

Adding lean muscle to your abs will make them appear deeper and more chiseled but without loosing any excess flab you won't see a thing :)
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It doesn't feel too much and i don't ache afterwards. Its strange, but even on this small thread i've had two completely contrasting responses in respect to what exercises i'm doing! :)

Maybe people will tell me i'm doing too much or not doing enough... but i've seen improvement in my upper body in the last few weeks, so i'm pretty happy with my routine. The main area of concern is my sit-ups, as i said. I just want a comfortable situation to do them in, where i can reduce the use of my legs and stop my back hurting.
 
Stiffler05 said:
It doesn't feel too much and i don't ache afterwards.
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Do you need any more convincing that volume alone isn't enough? Fewer reps with more resistance and you *should* ache, that's how you know you're training!!

Stiffler05 said:
Its strange, but even on this small thread i've had two completely contrasting responses in respect to what exercises i'm doing! :)
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I've just re-read this thread and can't see where anyone has said do 400 situps a week :confused:

Stiffler05 said:
Maybe people will tell me i'm doing too much or not doing enough... but i've seen improvement in my upper body in the last few weeks, so i'm pretty happy with my routine. The main area of concern is my sit-ups, as i said. I just want a comfortable situation to do them in, where i can reduce the use of my legs and stop my back hurting.
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If you're happy with your routine, you're seeing results and you're motivated then keep going. A bench will be a great help whatever you decide to do ;)
 
Reverse crunches for the lower abs and do them first as they tire easily and quickly. Then crunches for the upper abs, these are work horses and are very strong and can take a lot more punishment.

Don't forget to wrok the obliques and lower back just as hard for good balance and overall core strength.
 
get a situp bench, and put a 20 on your chest, then do 20 or something, if you can do the 20 easily, put some more on :)

Not gonna bother trying to get you to change your training scheme, so to answer the question, yeah get a bench
 
Don't bother with the situp bench, waste of money. get yourself one of these balls*. I use them got my sit-ups plus there are very versitile and you can do a lot more than just sit ups. Mine is a Reebok and cost me £15, money well spent

*
pilates-ball.jpg
 
i've been reading about abdominal exercises today actually. in light of what a few of you were saying.

Those balls seem to be highly recommended. Perhaps i'll get one of those instead!

thanks for everyones responses. It is appreciated. i'm quite new to working out, so i've still got lots to learn. :)
 
I think the swiss balls can be very usefull. They get a lot of negative comments because of all the stupid workouts that suddenly appeared when they first came out telling people to bench press on them, etc.

They're good for core workouts though, imho :)
 
Stiffler05 said:
and get my upper body a bit bigger.

.
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So you want a bigger upper body eh? that means a bigger back right? bigger shoulders?
no it cant mean that, you dont even mention your back, but you do mention your chest. Ok so really you want a bigger chest, so you are doing lots of pressups.

to get a bigger upper body you want to do good compound movements: chest press / bent over rows / dead lifts / squats / chins / shoulder press (to start with) - notice i have not mentioned a single isolation move for your arms..

if you are going to train your upper body, then you need to train your lower body, otherwise you will look stupid. running does not cut it for building leg mass.

Now, onto your routine, you are more interested in situps, pressups and dips than the rest of your routine, which is weird.
You mention no back exercises (infact you mention NO exercises with the weights that you have), training your abs so much but doing no lower back exercises is bad for you.

6 packs are gained in the kitchen. eating plenty of fruit and not eating junk is not the only things when considering a diet.

you mention that you have been doing this for a few weeks and are happy with your gains, well tbh, most people who start any exercises will see some visual changes in the first few months. its after this starter period that you realise that bigger changes are needed.

do you have an adjustable bench for pressing on? If not, get one of these instead of a situp bench tbh.
 
You shouldn't need a sit up bench or bar... you'd be better off just doing them properly... you should be working to keep your legs and feet static... if something is doing it for you then that's most of the resistance gone.

You're barely stabilizing yourself.
 
Chong Warrior said:
Sit-ups are crap, sit-ups with your feet anchored are even worse as that brings the adductors into play even more. The abdominals won't be doing much work.
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Yep, exactly what he said.
 
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