Dumbbell Situp
A classic situp with a dumbbell held on your chest — an easy way to add resistance to bodyweight ab work.
How to do it
- Lie on your back with your knees bent to 90 degrees and your feet flat on the floor or anchored under a pad.
- Hold the dumbbell at your chest with both hands, pressed close to your sternum.
- Brace your core and tuck your chin slightly toward your chest before starting the rep.
- Sit all the way up, curling your torso forward until your elbows pass over your knees.
- Pause briefly at the top, keeping the dumbbell pinned tight to your chest the whole time.
- Lower yourself back down slowly and under control until your shoulder blades touch the floor.
Key technique cue
Hold the dumbbell at the chest, not out front; lower slowly.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Yanking the head and neck forward to start the rep, which loads the neck instead of the abs.
- ✕ Dropping down fast and bouncing off the floor instead of controlling the lowering phase.
- ✕ Holding the dumbbell out in front of the chest, which loads the shoulders instead of the abs.
- ✕ Hooking the feet under the pad too aggressively, which lets the hip flexors do most of the work.
Benefits
- ✓ Adds a real strength stimulus to the situp pattern.
- ✓ Builds trunk flexion strength under external load.
- ✓ Bridges bodyweight ab work and loaded core training.
Progression: from easier to harder
-
Step 1 -
Step 2 You are here - Dumbbell Situp
- Decline Sit-Up
-
Step 3
About the exercise
The Dumbbell Situp adds external load to the bodyweight situp by holding a dumbbell at your chest. The extra weight makes every rep harder for the abs and gives the trunk a real strength stimulus instead of just endurance — useful for anyone who can already do high-rep bodyweight situps. It fits intermediate ab blocks and hypertrophy programs that include a loaded core finisher. It is also a natural progression from bodyweight situps to loaded core work, without jumping straight to cable crunches or weighted decline situps.
Updated
Similar exercises
A week of training and meals built for you
Workoutify plans workouts around your days, time and equipment — and a menu for your goal and macros.