Flatten Your Stomach with Upright Reverse Sit-Ups
Dr. Eric Berg
01/17/2025
How to Read Your Body
How to Read Your Body
How to Read Your Body
How to Read Your Body
How to Read Your Body
How to Read Your Body
How to Read Your Body
How to Read Your Body
How to Read Your Body
How to Read Your Body
How to Read Your Body
How to Read Your Body
Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Keto & Intermittent Fasting
Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Keto & Intermittent Fasting
Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Keto & Intermittent Fasting
Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Keto & Intermittent Fasting
Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Keto & Intermittent Fasting
Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Keto & Intermittent Fasting
Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Keto & Intermittent Fasting
Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Keto & Intermittent Fasting
Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Keto & Intermittent Fasting
Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Keto & Intermittent Fasting
Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Keto & Intermittent Fasting
Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Keto & Intermittent Fasting
Upright reverse sit-ups work the core muscles in your upper body and strengthen your rectus abdominis, the group of muscle bands also known as a six-pack.
This simple core exercise works your abs and tightens your skin simultaneously—a winning combination to achieve a flat stomach fast.
Let’s take a look at the benefits of upright reverse sit-ups and how to do this exercise safely to get rid of belly fat.
Use upright reverse sit-ups to target belly fat
Compared to performing crunches or reverse sit-ups, which target only your muscles, the upright reverse crunch strengthens your upper and lower abdominal muscles and tighten your abdominal skin. This helps to get rid of belly fat and flattens your stomach.
“Doing upright reverse sit-ups, also known as upright reverse crunch, helps to burn excess calories and targets fat depositions within your abdomen,” says Dr. Berg. “The combination of strength training and skin stretching develops muscle tone and firms your skin which is especially important to counteract flabby skin as a result of weight loss.”
Research published in Strength and Conditioning Journal suggests that reverse sit-ups in all variations flex the spine less than most other core exercises, making them excellent core stability training that protects your back.
How to do upright reverse sit-ups
To get into your starting position, stand up with your feet flat on the ground, thighs parallel, neck forward, and knees bent slightly. Place your hands on your lower abs or behind your head to support your neck.
Take a deep inhale and exhale, engage your lower and upper abs, and slowly lean backward until you feel a stretch in your abdominal region.
Hold this position briefly and use your core muscles to pull your upper body back into an upright position.
Repeat for at least 25 repetitions. Take a brief rest and continue doing a second set. As you gain core strength, increase the number of repetitions and sets.
If you experience pain or persistent discomfort in your neck, hips, or lower back, consult your healthcare provider before you try this exercise.
Watch the video below to learn how the upright reverse crunch helps you achieve a flat stomach fast!
What causes belly fat?
Most people don’t like having a flabby pouch—and for a good reason.
Belly fat can indicate hormonal and metabolic imbalances that may impact your health and increase your risk of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity.
Belly fat is typically a result of a high-carb diet and frequent snacking. This dietary pattern causes chronically elevated insulin in order to keep blood sugar levels in a healthy range.
Insulin, your main metabolic hormone, regulates energy-making processes and fat storage. Whenever insulin is high, your body cannot utilize fat as a fuel source and stores excess energy in the form of fat deposits around your liver and organs—the main culprit of belly fat.
Some body types are more susceptible to belly fat than others, and hormonal body types explain the relationship between hormone levels and fat distribution.
Hormones significantly impact your body composition and influence how and where your body stores energy, and both the adrenal body type and the liver body type tend to store fat around the middle. Taking this quiz will provide you with an opportunity to deepen your knowledge of your body type and reveal personalized approaches to boost your overall well-being and effectively manage stress.
More ways to flatten your stomach
While ab exercises are important for achieving a flat stomach, making the right dietary choices helps shed belly fat quickly.
A low-carb, high-fat diet like Healthy Keto® supports balanced insulin levels and shifts your body into fat-burning mode. This causes your metabolism to utilize body fat as a fuel source and helps to get rid of love handles and abdominal fat.
To take your fat-burning to the next level, combine Healthy Keto with Intermittent Fasting, a mealtime schedule that cycles between periods of fasting and periods of eating.
According to Ruth Patterson and Dorothy Sears, obesity research experts, ”Intermittent fasting regimens may be a promising approach to losing weight and improving metabolic health for people who can safely tolerate intervals of not eating, or eating very little, for certain hours of the day, night, or days of the week.”
This study published in the Annual Review of Nutrition suggests that intermittent fasting forces your metabolism to utilize stored body fat in your middle section, rather than dietary carbs or fat, for energy and helps with rapid weight loss.
While net carb intake on keto is typically restricted to between 20 to 50 grams daily, limiting your carbs to no more than 10 grams daily significantly increases body fat loss and helps flatten your stomach quickly.
Key takeaways
Upright reverse sit-ups are the perfect core exercise that helps you eliminate belly fat, strengthen your core, tone your abdominal skin, and flatten your stomach.
Combining daily upright reverse sit-up exercises with Healthy Keto and Intermittent fasting is a winning strategy to burn body fat, improve balance and stability and get rid of love handles and belly fat fast.
FAQ
1. What is an upright reverse sit-up?
Compared to traditional crunches or sit-ups that only work your core muscles but don’t condition your skin, upright reverse sit-ups target core strength and tone your abdominal skin.
Performing reverse crunches in a standing position is a moderately challenging core exercise that helps flatten your stomach quickly.
2. What muscles do upright reverse sit-ups exercise?
Upright reverse crunch targets your rectus abdominis—the muscles responsible for a six-pack—oblique muscles, glutes, and several deep muscle groups in your lower back.
3. Are upright reverse sit-ups safe?
Yes, upright reverse sit-ups are safe if performed in proper form. If you experience any pain or discomfort at the top of the movement bending back, ease your backbend and keep your glutes engaged to protect your hips and lower back.
4. Do upright reverse sit-ups work glutes?
Yes, upright reverse sit-ups target the glutes, which tones your buttocks and increases core stability.
5. What do upright reverse crunches do for you?
Performing upright reverse crunches targets your core muscles and tightens your abdominal skin, which helps to burn belly fat and achieve a flat stomach fast.
This simple core exercise also supports flexibility and balance and strengthens your lower back muscles.
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