Sit-up Reps

AFMaj.son

5-Year Member
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Apr 11, 2012
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i need tips for increasing the reps i can do for situps. for afrtoc i need to b able to do 55 in 1 min. i can easily do 55...just not within a min. right now im about 35-37 reps a minute. any tips for increasing reps quickly would be gratefully appreciated
 
i need tips for increasing the reps i can do for situps. for afrtoc i need to b able to do 55 in 1 min. i can easily do 55...just not within a min. right now im about 35-37 reps a minute. any tips for increasing reps quickly would be gratefully appreciated

A minute of situps before and after each time you check SAF will help. :wink:

The only way you get better is doing more. Finding the time to do 300 or so a day will do wonders for you capacity. Speed will come with capacity.
 
I second what goliedad said. I can do 71 situps in a minute. For years I would do two sets of 50 reps of situps almost every day and occasionally sets of 100 reps. Didn't time myself, just closed my eyes, crossed my arms, and blasted it. Try using your energy both on the way up and on the way down, don't let gravity do all the work, thats how you get it down to less than a second per sit up. But don't hunch your back. I see alot of ppl do that and they seem to think it'll make things easier, but it doesn't help, they just look pained and can barely pump out 40 situps if that. It's like running or pushups. There's no quick fix. The only way to get better at it is to do it. Don't get complacent, push yourself harder in intervals and you will get stronger.
 
Split them up. The key to making the number for situps is to pace yourself (vice pushing them out too quickly and burning out later).

For example:

Do 20 situps in 20 seconds.

Then try doing 20 in 20 in three sets.

Then try doing 40 in 40.

Then try doing 60 in 60. And now you're good to go.
 
One thing I would strongly suggest is you make sure it is the proper form at all times. You need to get the numbers up, but once in ROTC if that form is wrong they will not count it and by doing it wrong, you are wasting your physical energy.
 
I had to look twice at the 71 SU's in one minute, that's less then 1 per second.

I then saw the phrase, "crossed my arms", I am assuming the AF SU's are different then the Army APFT, more crunches then sit ups? 71 SU's in one minute would be close to impossible for the Army APFT under the current form.

I agree with PIMA, make sure your form is 100% correct, can't tell you how many stories I've heard of cadets that show up the first day saying they can do X number of sit ups and push ups in one minute only to see themselves fail the test that is taken over two minutes, it's all in the form. A correct sit up take twice the effort of an incorrect one.
 
I had to look twice at the 71 SU's in one minute, that's less then 1 per second.

I then saw the phrase, "crossed my arms", I am assuming the AF SU's are different then the Army APFT, more crunches then sit ups? 71 SU's in one minute would be close to impossible for the Army APFT under the current form.

I agree with PIMA, make sure your form is 100% correct, can't tell you how many stories I've heard of cadets that show up the first day saying they can do X number of sit ups and push ups in one minute only to see themselves fail the test that is taken over two minutes, it's all in the form. A correct sit up take twice the effort of an incorrect one.

On the PFA instruction form it described the proper form to be with your arms crossed instead of behind the head, hands never leaving your shoulders, 1 rep is when back touch floor and elbows touch must touch the leg for it to count. I have done 65 situps in a minute before as my previous record so I was surprised too when I hit 60 with quite a bit of time to spare when I took the PFA the second time. I think the adrenaline from wanting it so badly gave me that extra burst. So it is not impossible to do one in less than a second, it's just takes alot of practice:shake:

Edit:My bad guys! On different papers I saw it as situps, but I just looked back at the forms and it says crunches. Though in PE, work out videos, and the marine PTs and workout's I've gone through they always called those situps and described someone doing crunches as one with their hands behind their heads, lifting up high enough where there is light between the shoulder blades, the movement begins by curling the shoulders towards the pelvis. You never get high enough to touch your chest or elbows to your legs. IMO, those crunches are way harder and more tiring than AF regulation. I'm confused now, what then is supposed to be considered a situp??? You can't have a wider range of motion than how I was taught so is the range then shorter or do you just switch your hands from on your chest to behind your head????
 
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The OP is going AFROTC, I would suggest that every AFROTC candidate/cadet download the file that illustrates the proper form.

Jcleppe, I also agree 71 is most likely not the proper form and will hurt them for the PFT. Max for the CFA in a 2 minute marker is @95, way less than 1 per second.

DS has no body fat, is taped because he is underweight, and is all ab muscles, but there is no way as an AFROTC cadet following the AFROTC form he can do 71 in 60 seconds. Just no way.

Additionally, as a cadet, look at the maxes for each section. Surpassing the max is also wasting energy. Aim for the max, if you hit it, STOP! use that time to rest your body. You don't get extra points if you do more than the max. All you get is wear and tear on your body regarding energy level.

Smart cadets will do this.

I would also suggest butterfly kicks because it will strengthen your abdominal muscles. Plus it is a favorite torture in the military workout :wink: Side push ups too!
 
No, they were situps, that is what they were refereed to as in the instructions. On the PFA instruction form it described the proper form to be with your arms crossed instead of behind the head, hands never leaving your shoulders, 1 rep is when back touch floor and elbows touch must touch the leg for it to count. I have done 65 situps in a minute before as my previous record so I was surprised too when I hit 60 with quite a bit of time to spare when I took the PFA the second time. I think the adrenaline from wanting it so badly gave me that extra burst. So it is not impossible to do one in less than a second, it's just takes alot of practice:shake:

Thanks for the clarification, it was as I expected, the AF is different. Army APFT is hands clasp behind the head, fingers can't come apart, entire shoulders need to touch the ground for each sit up and elbows have to touch the knees. 71 in one minute with that form, not a chance.
 
Additionally, as a cadet, look at the maxes for each section. Surpassing the max is also wasting energy. Aim for the max, if you hit it, STOP! use that time to rest your body. You don't get extra points if you do more than the max. All you get is wear and tear on your body regarding energy level.

Smart cadets will do this.

This is just for any AROTC cadets that read this, AF may not go beyond the Max score but AROTC does. If you reach the max on all 3 events you are given extra points for the amount you go over the Max. It is not uncommon at some battalions to see cadets with APFT scores 320 and above. These scores can be used to help you with your battalion OML.
 
Jcleppe, Sorry, didn't get a chance to finish editing my last post before you and Pima replied so please check it out.

Pima, It really isn't impossible to do crunches with the correct form and average less than a second per. Super fit dose NOT equal fast situps/crunches. I've seen ppl who are very fast runners and can do many pushups struggle badly when it came time to do situps/crunches(Trying to be politically correct by using both until someone corrects me. Im so confused, don't know what to call them anymore. How can it vary so much between branches? We're a marine family so this is new to me). I have also seen and heard of a few others who can do a situp/crunch in less than a minute. I'm not the fastest runner, neither am I a beast with pushups, but after doing situps/crunches almost every day since at least middle school and beyond, it is where I am the strongest.
 
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I think we have lots of issues going on here.

For me I was posting my comment regarding the PFA, because I believe they will be applying for AFROTC HSSP this fall. PFA is hit the max and you hit the max.

I just want to clarify that the max issue was more about scholarship regarding numbers.
 
Jcleppe, Sorry, didn't get a chance to finish editing my last post before you and Pima replied so please check it out.

Pima, It really isn't impossible to do crunches with the correct form and average less than a second per. Super fit dose NOT equal fast situps/crunches. I've seen ppl who are very fast runners and can do many pushups struggle badly when it came time to do situps/crunches(Trying to be politically correct by using both until someone corrects me. Im so confused, don't know what to call them anymore. How can it vary so much between branches? We're a marine family so this is new to me). I have also seen and heard of a few others who can do a situp/crunch in less than a minute. I'm not the fastest runner, neither am I a beast with pushups, but after doing situps/crunches almost every day since at least middle school and beyond, it is where I am the strongest.

I think sit ups vary the most between branches.

Even in the AROTC, when an applicant does the PFT for the scholarship they tend to do the Crunch as you described, arms crossed on the chest with hands on the shoulders. This is where most of them find it difficult when they first take the Army APFT. The fact that the hands are clasped behind the head and both shoulders have to hit the ground with each sit up it becomes a lot harder.

For a 17 to 21 year old the number needed to max the Army APFT for sit ups is 78 in 2 minutes, far less then needed to get the max in the AF due to the type of sit up. I think that's why I was surprised by the number 71 in one minute, maybe you can reach that in the AF due to the fact the reqs are different. 71 SU's in one minute in the Army will almost never happen unless the cadet is Bionic.
 
The army ROTC scholarship test uses a curl-up. http://www.cadetcommand.army.mil/files/ROTCFitScore.pdf Which is different than the sit-up you will do in army ROTC. Screwy but that is the requirement.

AFROTC scholarship and actual ROTC test both use acurl-up.

Academy CFA tests also use a curl-up.

I still don't know why they do that for AROTC, I guess they are just trying to gauge the applicants physical fitness. I think this is why so many AROTC cadets are surprised when the take their first APFT and find out they do far less sit ups then they thought they could do.

Not really an excuse since the proper form for the APFT is in all the publications and the ROO, if they're on top of things, give the new cadets all this information long before showing up to school.
 
Oh ok, sorry again for the misunderstanding. It makes sense how a simple change in the positioning of the arms changes everything. So does a situp even EXIST in the AF world? And what do you call the marine corp crunches I described(crunches are defined as one having hands behind heads, lifting up high enough where there is light between the shoulder blades, the movement begins by curling the shoulders towards the pelvis. You never get high enough to touch your chest or elbows to your legs.) as they have a shorter range of motion and different form than what the AF considers to be a crunch?
 
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I'm going to tell you something others will not. Everybodies telling you to work out more and that's absolutely correct, but here's something I've used that's an instant rep increaser (IMO). This is a technique that I learned from the upperclassmen when I was an as200 in ROTC, and I've used it successfully since. It's completely within regs - I'm active duty now and serendipitously did a pfa last week, maxed it no problem with spotters watching me like a hawk. They didnt say anything because there's absolutely nothing wrong with it:

the techniques very simple and for me I would argue it adds 10 or more reps.

IN A NUTSHELL THE TECHNIQUE IS THIS: quickly SHRUG YOUR SHOULDERS toward your mid-thigh when you come off the ground

When your shoulder blades first come off the ground as you start your situp quickly shrug your shoulders toward the middle of your quad muscle. Your shoulders along with your entire arms including your elbows will stretch forward and your elbows will contact mid-thigh. RIGHT when your elbows first touch your thigh, "unshrug" your shoulders and return to a relaxed position back to the beginning of the situp. there is absolutely no reason to spend any time in the up position. once you shrug your shoulders and your elbows contact thigh, relax and get back down! rinse and repeat.

The reason this works is because the extra few inches your shrug creates erases the need for your entire upper body to come fully upright. When I use the shrug technique my upper body is at a 45 degree angle to the ground when im in the "up" position, compared to a 90 degree angle when i do not use the shrug technique. it erases the extra work and time.

It's all about this dramatic shrug, and it works very well for myself and others ive shown.

Let me know if you want some more clarification on this i could make a quick video or something if you dont understand, hope this helps
 
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