# Situp Problems



## pardus (May 11, 2013)

I'm having some significant problems doing Army situps.

I have Army situps, we must be the only organization in the modern world that still does situps with hands behind the head.

My problem is that my back gets sore and I can't friggen breathe, I get to 40 and I'm done. 
I can do a lot more incline situps with my hands on my shoulders.

Is it just my back being stretched? Do I just need to concentrate on keeping my back straight? Do I just need to do extra back exercises?

Ideas?

Danke.


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## Ranger Psych (May 11, 2013)

Build strength by not focusing on straight Army style situps, but half downs, half ups, full range, and other abdominal exercises. I harp them but I never found an exercise that was more demonic than the buddy leg throws for abs. Couple that with extended depression by being over a ledge with your legs, ass right on the edge (basically gripping the edge with your hands, under your ass) so you get an extended range of motion.

Then, for Army situps, your back's gonna get sore if you crunch too much. Keep your elbows apart and use your upper arms as propulsion. Throw your elbows wide on the return from vertical, and use them to help you get momentum from flat on your back. Exhale for more "space" to crunch on the way up, inhale on the way down. That'll help you do more. 

Don't start the heavy crunches and basically going to "shitty form" so to speak, until you NEED to "cheat" to get that last 10 or 5 reps.. then you spool up the meter. Just like you do the first 10 perfect, then after you do 10 you start milking to what the "minimum acceptable" is for your grader, since the fact is regardless of what the manual says, graders have different eyeballs and see things differently.

Don't yank on your nugget either, try to keep as little tension on your head as possible. Yanking on your melon isn't going to help you do any more and if you are going chin to chest... well, you're a medic, I was a medic of sorts, there's a ton of medics, EMT's, Paragods, PJ's and even a couple sorta-cool-guy Doctors here... what's chin to chest? What do we rectify doing ABC's and what do we do for positioning of the head on a casualty? Don't occlude your own airway willingly, even if you are a maladjusted Kiwi who likes the wrong side of the street in Thailand.

The other thing is for prep/training/whatever, try to rock out with a good closed cell pad and/or on terrain that isn't shittastic. OSUT at benning we were doing our PT tests on an asphalt parade field with a 1/4 mile track around the outside of it. Wonderful, eh?


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## pardus (May 11, 2013)

Thanks Ranger Psych I appreciate it.


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## RackMaster (May 12, 2013)

Put down the cake. :-"


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## racing_kitty (May 12, 2013)

Set up a "beer station."  A nice, cold, frothy pint with a straw, situated just so that the only way you can get a swig is through proper form on the way up.  A little positive reinforcement of muscle memory never hurt.


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## SkrewzLoose (May 13, 2013)

Make sure you're "falling" on the way down.  Don't use your abs to lower your upper body when you're returning to the down position, it's wasted muscle use.  
I know that's elementary advice, but I see people doing it all the time.


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## Marauder06 (May 13, 2013)

The situp portion of the PT test is the only part that I consistently max.  For me, I think it's more hip flexors than abs.  Increasing the strength of your hip flexor muscles might help you see gains in situps.  Worked for me.


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## Ranger Psych (May 13, 2013)

It's honestly 1/4-2/3 hip flexors. You have to think about it. How far up do you actually go in a full ab crunch? Not very far. Something else has to pick you up the rest of the way, and it's power sent through your pelvis to your rigid upper body from your hip flexors.

The big reason I harp on the leg tosses is because it at least feels like it develops more "explosive" strength, which is what you need. You're doing something for repetitions. Being able to basically go through the situp 9 count cycle of function like you're a hate operated firing mechanism lets you get more total proper repetitions out.

Elbows forward
Crunch
Hip flexors
Exhale
Counted
Elbows Back
Inhale
Throwback
Flat

The other thing about leg tosses is it makes doing the exercise more of a fun exercise. As the one on their back, your whole purpose in life is to try to kick through your bud's chest. Obviously you don't want a mismatch of Mungo and Midget since that can add up to bad things (Mungo bowling over Midget and Midget incorporating the family jewels into the exercise) but the entire exercise is a reaction. You don't know which way your bud's gonna toss your legs so you're reacting to that, they're reacting to your off the ground punt attempt. You can go for reps or you can go for time, but either way it's more exciting and involved than just going herp derp 123*1*123*2*123*3*123*4*123*5* ad nauseam.


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## reed11b (May 14, 2013)

Marauder06 said:


> The situp portion of the PT test is the only part that I consistently max. For me, I think it's more hip flexors than abs. Increasing the strength of your hip flexor muscles might help you see gains in situps. Worked for me.


 Don't you rob from your 2 mile time if you intentionaly over-use your hip flexors?
Reed


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## Ranger Psych (May 14, 2013)

my 12:30-11:48 2 miles with maxed situps basically post RIP beg to differ.


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## DA SWO (May 14, 2013)

Practice the Atomic Situp, it'll help your core strength.


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## reed11b (May 14, 2013)

Ranger Psych said:


> my 12:30-11:48 2 miles with maxed situps basically post RIP beg to differ.


Yeah, but you are a beast. I'm talking about us mere mortals.
Reed


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