Press Sit-Up
A floor sit-up holding a barbell at the chest, then pressing it overhead as the torso comes upright.
How to do it
- Lie on your back with knees bent and both feet anchored under a plate or similar stop.
- Hold a light barbell at the chest with an overhand grip.
- Brace the trunk and keep the bar stacked over the chest.
- Sit up by curling the ribs toward the thighs.
- As you reach the top, press the bar overhead to locked elbows.
- Lower the bar to the chest, then roll the torso back to the floor.
Key technique cue
Bar over the chest; curl up, don't jerk; press once seated.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Yanking with the neck instead of curling the trunk.
- ✕ Using a heavy bar that turns the sit-up into a hip-flexor heave.
- ✕ Letting the feet fly so the hips slide and the press drifts.
- ✕ Arching the lower back to finish the press instead of sitting tall.
Benefits
- ✓ Loads a sit-up so the abs can progress past bodyweight.
- ✓ Adds an overhead press at the top without a second exercise.
- ✓ The floor setup needs only a bar and a foot anchor.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 -
Step 2 -
Step 3 You are here - Press Sit-Up
About the exercise
The press sit-up pairs a sit-up with an overhead press. You lie with knees bent, feet anchored, and a barbell on the chest, then curl the torso up and press the bar to lockout before lowering both. That barbell sequence is a sit-up-to-press. The Otis-up is the same sit-up-to-press idea with a plate or dumbbell and notes a loaded barbell as the advanced implement.
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