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The best sit ups that you can do to get toned flatter abs, are definitely not the full sit ups of yesteryear. Instead the best sit ups that you can do are in essence called 'crunches'. Crunches, you will find, are very similar to doing full sit ups, but without the unnecessary need to bring your upper body all the way up.

A crunch you will find, lifts your body only a few inches off the floor but because you are using proper form and technique, you are working your ab muscles more. To see the difference between the two, and to see which are the best sit ups to do to get those abs you've only been dreaming about, let's take a look at the two different variations.

So, to begin with, to perform a sit up and a crunch, you would need to get into the same basic position. That is, lie face up on the floor, extending your legs out away from you, making sure that you are not in an awkward position where your back is arched. You would then bend your knees and bring your legs in towards you as close as you comfortably can, all the while keeping your feet flat on the floor.

If you have a heavy object with which to anchor your feet that would be ideal, but you can make do without one as well. You would then place your hands behind your head, lightly lacing your fingers together, or you would bring them forward to rest very lightly on your chest. This is the basic position and it is at this point that the sit up and the crunch vary.

For the sit up you would then lift your upper body off the floor and bend in towards your bent knees. This is a struggle for most people to accomplish, and recent findings have shown that after the first initial contractions of your abdominal muscles you aren't really working them any harder by going all the way up.

These are also not the best sit ups you can do because you will undoubtedly lose your form and end up working all the wrong muscles; which is really where crunches come in as the best sit ups that you can do.

You get into the same position as for the sit up, but this time, instead of raising your entire upper body off the floor until your touch your knees, you will only raise your torso about six to eight inches off the floor, making sure that you use only your ab muscles to lift you up.

These are indeed the best sit ups that you can do because they not only help you to keep your form and your technique whilst performing them, but also because they don't place any strain on any of your other muscles either. And the best thing about these type of sit ups? You don't have to struggle as much to accomplish your goals.