Sit up drills for soccer players

Sit-ups are important exercises to include in fitness drills, as they help strengthen the abdominals, the group of muscles around your middle.

The basic sit-up has the player rise up straight from the ground and then return, but not so the shoulders touch the ground. There is no need to go fully through with the sit up. Hold the pressure in the stomach on the way up and down.

Players should have their hands between their legs so they are not using them to help sit up.

Knees should be bent with a straight spine in the lower back.

Drill tips

Sit-up drill DOs

• Keep the knees bent. This allows the abdominal muscles to do more of the work rather than the hips and the strong leg muscles.
• Exhale on the way up, inhale on the way down.
• Keep the abdominal muscles tight during the drill. Don’t let the head and shoulders touch the ground once the sit up has started.
• Keep the head about a fist’s distance from the chest at all times.

Sit-up drill DON’Ts

• Don’t put the hands behind the head. It tends to make the player use the hands to lift the head and not use the abdominals.
• Don’t twist at the end of the sit up. This is not good for the back.
• Don’t let the back “curl”. This is bad for the back and often happens if the player tries to perform a “full sit up” where he gets to a position with the head touching the knees.
• Don’t bring the knees to the chest with the feet off the ground. This does not work the abdominals as effectively because the muscles are “scrunched up”.

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