Posted: 12/30/2007 9:16:30 AM EDT
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Alright, today I find myself really pissed off. For the past 3 months, I have worked hard in improving my abdominal muscles and thus increasing the number of sit-ups I can do. I have a PT test somewhere in the future (maybe January 28th) and in it I need to do 38 sit-ups in a minute's time. Back in September when I started I could do about 10  . After working on a decline sit-up board with a weight on my chest I am now up to 28.Here's why I am pissed off. 2 weeks ago I simulated as if I was doing the test. I did 27 in one minute. Today I did another simulated test and got 28. The past 2 weeks I have been working on my decline board with weights, and all I've improved is 1 sit-up. At this rate it'll take me 20 weeks to get to where I want to be. WTF am I doing wrong? I don't even know if its possible for me to do 38 sit-ups in a minute the way they want me to. When I just did the 28 I really cranked them out as fast as I could. I mean spring right up to my knees then slam down to the ground and crank right back up again. I only slowed down around 25-26 sit-ups with 10 seconds left, because at that point I was getting fatigued. Today's test seemed to go a lot faster in that my reps seems very quick, but the time seemed very short  I'm not going to lie, if it gets to January 28th and I still haven't come anywhere close and bomb this test, I am going to be outright dejected. Here is a description of the sit-up I need to be able to do: 
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Have you dropped any weight? Seriously, if you diet and loose 10-15lbs in the next 4 weeks those situps will become easy. Another thought is that you may want to try to vary your situps and work on your obliques as well. Don't over train! Focus on working on your WHOLE body, not just doing sit-ups. |
My two biggest focuses have been chest and abs. The reason for this is that the test consists of push-ups, sit-ups and running. Running I am not worried about. Push-ups I was first only able to do 15 but now can do 32. Still low, but I am progressing on them slowly.I have been maintaining my current weight. I am around 227 and if I diet hard I can get to about 224 or so. Anything below that I can't seem to maintain. Tonight I increased the weight to 22.5lbs on my chest as I do sit-ups. I have been working on them 3x a week but will now be doing 4x a week in order to try to make faster progress. |
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Dude the weight training has nothing to do with endurance... Don't eat anything big before hand.... drink a protien shake made with just water... and start cranking those bad boys out as much as u can until U think your going to die.... do this as often as possible... Morning noon night... Your number of reps will go up and You'll be able to do them faster... |
My understanding was that the weights will build muscle, which will in turn make the starting sit-ups easier to rip out. Endurance comes from doing them more and more. I believe that on some level what I'm doing is working. The 28 I did today were ripped out much easier than the previous 27. The biggest problem here appears to be time. |
Don't just do sit ups, do leg raises, crunches and get those obliques nice and toasted. IMHO (I am not a fitness trainer by any stretch) but I don't see how you would benifit doing situps 4X a week. Like any muscle, you need to give it plenty of recovery. BTW What is your body fat %? Seriously, work on your weight as well. Think positively and tell yourself that you can maintain below 224. I am not talking about a crash diet and starving yourself but change the way you eat. Cut down on on the processed crap and simple carbs. It all comes back to a comprehensive fitness regiment. |
I don't know my exact body fat %. I know I am a hell of a lot better than I used to be. In March '06 I was 267. Today I'm 227ish. I have been to a trainer and he is what got me started in the last 3 months with workouts. According to the trainer, abdominal muscles are large enough that they can usually be worked out every other day without over-training. The main problem now is that I am in an area where there is crap for weights and other fitness equipment. I will start crunches and the leg lifts and what not ASAP. Thanks 
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Keep in mind, the more muscle you develop, the easier it will become to burn fat. Consider getting some dumbbells and use them to help with some squats and lunges. Check out this site and take a look at some of the workouts you can do (particularly for ab work) www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm Also, congrats on the success that you have had so far! |
Thanks! Out of the lower back exercises that I see there, the only one I have the equipment for is the hyperextension on the swiss ball. I have a swiss ball tucked away somewhere and some weights that I could use. I never knew the back was so important to helping sit-ups. 
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Exercising in a slightly-gay manner is better than not exercising at all 
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You can use just about anything that is heavy. A sack of feed works good too. This is my farm boy face. 
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Also keep in mind that Sit-ups have been proven to be very bad for the back...In the Military we still use them for Physical Fitness Test's but I do a tremendous amount of other abdominal exercises to prepare... Just a word of caution about sit-ups and the low back...from experience  Here is link, if you look down to the pdf article Maximizing the Sit-up Event , it has great alternative to situps...I avoid them like the plague except for the PT Test Maximizing the Sit-up Event ETA: Here is small article about the spine and sit-ups, most physical therapists I have spoken with along with my Chiropractor share the same view on the situp Spine |
Thanks for the link. I downloaded the Push-Up and Sit-Up guides. I will try to start the sit-up program tomorrow. The one exercise where you raise and hold your legs up while reaching past your thighs looks like it'll fry my abs in no time
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Alright, I have been working on the drills in that file, but when I do the box and reach exercise (as described above) my neck muscles on the sides begin to tense up really badly after about 20 reps. I am trying my best to keep them relax, but they keep tightening and it becomes goddamn annoying/painful before I can finish the reps. Is this just my neck trying to do its best to help on the ab part? |
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I just finished up my third day of doing these ab exercises and I have 2 questions: 1. These exercises seem to mostly be building muscle higher up on my abs, closer to the bottom of my rib cage, is this normal and what I should be aiming for? 2. When I'm doing the crunches I am feeling a really nice sharp pain in my abs as the reps go on and on. It almost feels like a cramp. I'm assuming this just means I'm frying my abs real good on the exercises, but I just want to make sure here. |
| If you're doing three sets to failure every day, you're probably overtraining. If it were me, I'd take 4 - 5 days off to recover and then just train for the situp test twice/week. You made big progress early and now you've stalled because your body has adapted to your training - time to change the routine IMO. |
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Heres my two cents, take it for what it is worth. The most situps I ever did was 104 in 2 minutes; that was ten years ago. Last PT test I took was two weeks ago. I did 67. I do situps until I can't do anymore and then I do a few more by bouncing off my back. One of the other posts was right. You can over train. Do SU with no wieght until muscle failure three times a week. Chnage up the exersices that you are doing. Throw in some flutter kicks, lunges, crunches, burpees, leg raises, squats, you get the idea. If you wanna max Situps do situps. Your abs and calves are the only ones you can work everyday but situps are really testing your hip flexors, not your abs. Sounds to me like you really need to drop some weight tho. Not sure how tall you are but 224 is a big boy. Start off your workout with a 25 minute walk. Increase it by 5 mins every other day until you are at 45 mins. Then add in 5 mins of jogging on the same rotation. You need to do some cardio. If you drink beer STOP. Don't drink Sodas but maybe once a day tops, they are horrible for you. Don't eat fast food, be conscious of your diet and do cardio. You will be amazed at the results. What is the PT test for anyways? ETA: Just read the post you made about how much you did drop. GREAT JOB!! You are doing something right. Keep it up. |