Decline Twisting Sit-up (Abdominals)

The decline twisting sit-up is an abdominal and oblique exercise made to strengthen your core and build muscle. It’s a great exercise for intermediate to advanced lifters because it’s moderately challenging but very effective for its intended purpose. You’d only need your own body weight to perform this exercise but you can also increase the difficulty by holding a weight plate, dumbbell, or medicine ball.

Now, the abdominal and oblique muscles play a big role in complete body stabilization during any form of weight training, so it’s imperative to strengthen these muscles. But you don’t need to get too complex when it comes to ab training since the core does receive a lot of stimulation during lower body compound movements.

So, the decline twisting sit-up is a perfect isolation exercise when you want to develop the core muscles directly.

In this Exercise

• Target Muscle Group: (Rectus Abdominus, Obliques)
• Type: Strength
• Mechanics: Compound
• Equipment: Decline bench w/ leg support
• Difficulty: Intermediate

Exercise Instructions

1. Sit at the highest point on the decline bench and place your legs through the supportive padding/foam to hold yourself in place.
2. Then lie down flat on the bench so your head is lower than your legs.
3. Place your hands lightly behind your head or cross your arms on your chest.
4. Keep your head straight and core tight.
5. Perform the sit-up and twist your torso to one side at the same time while exhaling.
6. Hold for a couple of seconds.
7. Slowly lower your body back down while inhaling.
8. Repeat exercise but twist to the other side this time.
9. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Variations & Tips

• You can hold a plate near your chest for more resistance.
• Keep your head and neck straight at all times.
• You can place your hands anywhere as long as you can comfortably perform the exercise. But hands behind your head or crossed on your chest are the most common places for hand placement.
• The decline twisting sit-up targets the abs and obliques.
• This is a great core strengthening exercise which is important for balance and stabilization.

Watch: How to do the decline twisting sit-up