Skip to content
ascend.
Exercise guide

Press Sit-Up

How to do the Press Sit-Up with correct form, the muscles it works, and where it fits a training plan you actually stick to.

CompoundBarbellExpertPush
Primary muscles

Abs

Secondary

Chest, Shoulders, Triceps

Equipment

Barbell

Step by step

How to do the Press Sit-Up

  1. 1

    To begin, lie down on a bench with a barbell resting on your chest. Position your legs so they are secure on the extension of the abdominal bench. This is the starting position.

  2. 2

    While inhaling, tighten your abdominals and glutes. Simultaneously curl your torso as you do when performing a sit-up and press the barbell to an overhead position while exhaling. Tip: Use your arms to push the barbell out as you perform this exercise while still focusing on the abdominal muscles.

  3. 3

    Lower your upper body back down to the starting position while bringing the barbell back down to your torso. Remember to breathe in while lowering the body.

  4. 4

    Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

In Ascend

Log it, see it on your body.

Every Press Sit-Up set you log feeds Ascend's anatomy heatmap — so your abs volume is visible at a glance — and counts toward your bodyweight-strength tier.

Related

More abs exercises

Ascend Club

The app is free. Club adds the coach, leagues and analytics.

Core tracking stays free forever — the climb, streaks, logging and your league tiers. Club is for when you want the full coach, worldwide competition and the depth, at about the price of one coffee a month.

See Club plans

14-day free trial · no card to start

 FreeClub
Tracking, the climb and streaks
Per-set logging, PR detection, wearables
Muscle-league tiers
The AI coachnudgesFull conversation
Worldwide leagues and challenges
PR projections and deep analytics
Unlimited crews
Themes, export and higher AI limits