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You*ve heard of sit ups, you*ve heard of push ups, and you*ve heard of crunches, but what on earth are weighted sit ups? This is a good question and one that many people don't know about, despite the fact that they have heard all about sit ups.

So what are weighted sit ups and how do they help you? Well, to put it very simply, weighted sit ups are merely sit ups done using weights to give you more resistance when you are doing the sit ups. And in many cases you are doing the full sit ups instead of merely the crunch version of the sit ups.

To do weighted sit ups, you have a few options available to you. You can either perform these weighted sit ups using the old fashioned method of the floor, or you can perform them using a piece of exercise equipment known as a sit up bench. And if you are using a sit up bench, you now also have the option of using it to do normal weighted sit ups, or to do weighted sit ups with more resistance in them.

The weighted sit ups with more resistance can be accomplished by lifting and securing the sit up bench to about a 30 degree angle off the horizontal. You get on the bench as normal, holding a weighted pole or some such thing which you can grip tightly, behind your head, and then you lower yourself towards the seat of the bench, going close to, but not touching, the actual bench itself. Then you lever yourself upwards using your ab muscles so that you are parallel with the floor, before repeating the process all over again.

This is one way if doing weighted sit ups. The other more traditional method simply utilises you, the floor, a mat preferably, and a weight which you can comfortably grip in your hands. When you have all of these the next thing that you need to do is to get into the sit up position. You know the one, lie flat on the floor (on your mat), and bend your knees in towards you keeping your feet flat on the floor.

The difference you will be facing this time however, will come from your having the weight in your hands. So, comfortably grip the weight in your hands at about chest level, making sure that neither your hands, nor the weight are resting on your chest. Lift your upper body up in a sit up curl, bringing yourself towards your knees.

The trick to doing these particular type of weighted sit ups is not in the rising however, the trick lies in the going-down part of the sit up. Instead of just falling back down as fast as you can, control your descent so that you are contracting your ab muscles in order to exert that control. It is when you*re doing this, that the true benefit of doing weighted sit ups comes to pass.