How To: Do speed full sit ups

Learn how to do speed full sit ups. Presented by Real Jock Gay Fitness Health & Life.

Benefits
Have you dropped full situps from your workout routine due to concerns about lower-back injury? If you have, you may want to reconsider. The full situp is actually a great workout for the upper abdominals, and the risks of lower back injury due to full situps have been greatly exaggerated. For this variation on the standard, you'll focus on controlled power and speed throughout the entire set.

Starting Position
Lie flat on a floor mat with your legs straight out in front of you, flat on the floor with your knees straight. Place your arms over your head flat on the floor behind you, palms facing up.

Exercise
1. From the starting position, lift your arms quickly over your head in an arc and then follow with power and speed with your upper body. Be sure to tuck your chin hard to your chest throughout the movement to prevent neck injury. Your arms will help propel your body through this movement. As you get stronger, try the hands-behind-the-head variation below.
2. Touch your fingers to your toes, or as close to your toes as you can get, then reverse the movement and, again keeping your chin tucked, quickly drop back down to starting position.
3. As soon as your back and arms are touching the ground, reverse the motion and start your second repetition. Throughout the entire set, focus on controlled power and speed.

Hands-Behind-the-Head Variation
As your upper abs get stronger, try the full situp you probably remember from grade school gym class with your fingers interlaced behind your head and your elbows starting out flat against the mat. Keep your legs straight out in front of you, flat on the floor with your knees straight. As you lift up, be careful to keep your elbows out and your chin tucked without pulling up on your neck.

This variation will put more pressure on the upper abs to do the heavy lifting, as the arms will not be able to help.