Butterfly Sit Up

How to do it

1. Sit on a mat with the soles of your feet together and the knees dropped out to the sides.
2. Place an ab mat or folded towel behind the lower back if you have one.
3. Lie back with the arms reaching overhead until the hands touch the floor behind you.
4. Swing the arms forward and sit up, curling the torso until the hands touch the feet.
5. Roll back down under control, one part of the spine at a time.

Tips

• Keep the soles pressed together so the legs stay out of the movement.
• Use the arm swing for rhythm, not to throw the body up.

Common mistakes

• Letting the feet slide apart.
• Falling back quickly and hitting the head on the floor.
• Yanking on the neck to get up.

Muscles worked by the Butterfly Sit Up

• Upper abs Primary35%
• Lower abs Primary30%
• Obliques Secondary18%
• Hip flexors Secondary14%
• Quads (rectus femoris) Minor3%

Share per muscle in the Zulta muscle model. The model spreads the load of one rep over 40 muscles, based on EMG and biomechanics research.

Sitting all the way up adds hip flexion (Escamilla 2006). Legs and trunk meet: lower abs and hip flexors join. Curling the ribcage toward the pelvis is spinal flexion by rectus abdominis, with the obliques assisting; a full sit up adds the hip flexors.

Butterfly Sit Up alternatives

Same equipment

• Jackknife Sit UpBodyweight
• Tuck UpBodyweight
• V-UpBodyweight
• Decline Sit UpBodyweight

Different equipment

• Weighted Sit UpOther equipment
• Decline Bench CrunchOther equipment

Make it harder

• Jackknife Sit UpBodyweight
• Tuck UpBodyweight
• Decline Sit UpBodyweight
• Weighted Sit UpOther equipment

Similar exercises

• Sit UpBodyweight

Frequently asked questions

What muscles does the Butterfly Sit Up work?

Mainly the upper abs and lower abs. The obliques and hip flexors assist.

Is the Butterfly Sit Up good for beginners?

Yes. The Butterfly Sit Up is rated beginner in the Zulta library: the technique is easy to learn with a light weight.

What is a good alternative to the Butterfly Sit Up?

For example the Jackknife Sit Up, Tuck Up and V-Up. They train mostly the same muscles.

How do you make the Butterfly Sit Up harder?

Add weight or reps, or move on to the Jackknife Sit Up and Tuck Up.

Sources

• Escamilla et al. 2006, Phys Ther 86(5):656-671 (traditional and nontraditional abdominal exercises)

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