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The sit-up exercise is most probably the most well-know exercise, most people will know what it is and could even show you how to do it. It is well used as a fitness test and is a staple for many entry requirements to military organisations. Not because it is the best exercise but because it forms a good benchmark, regardless of how effective the exercise is it’s still not an easy exercise and helps establish a good understanding of one’s physical capabilities and potential.
Often when you see someone doing a sit-up you might see them with their feet restricted, that is under a bar, bed or sofa. Or you might even see a personal trainer or coach holding someone’s feet while they are doing a sit-up.
Does restricting your feet during a sit-up exercise make a difference?
The short answer is YES! But it will depend on what you are trying to achieve. It’s certainly a mistake to restrict your feet when you are training your abdominals. The reason is that when you restrict your feet you ENABLE your Hip Flexors which is not the target muscle to be trained.
When your feet are NOT restricted you INHIBIT the ability of your Hip Flexors to assist in the sit-up movement and thus focuses the effort onto your abdominal muscles. This is specific in what we are trying to achieve, in creating fatigue in the abdominals.
The Crunch Exercise is more effective
If the training of the abdominal muscles is your goal, then the Crunch Exercise would be a better choice, This exercise stimulates the core for almost the entire duration even though it is a relatively small movement range. In comparison, the sit-up exercise only engages your abdominals during the initial phase of the exercise at which point predominantly your hip flexors will take over (especially if the feet are restricted)
Is it wrong to restrict the feet in a sit-up?
No, it is, however, important to be aware of your goal and the correct training exercise to achieve that goal, applying specificity to your training programme will ensure you achieve your desired results.
If you are required to do a certain number of sit-ups to gain entry to the forces for example then performing and training for sit-ups is very specific to your requirements and is a good choice.
NOTE
There are instances when a sit-up exercise with restricted feet might apply to an individuals training plan, and indeed, more advanced exercise might require fixation of the feet.
I’d love to hear you thoughts and insights, please do comment.
