ATHLETE DIARY
RUDownload
Menu
Abs

Sit-Up alternatives

If the Sit-Up isn't happening today — the equipment is taken, you don't have it, or the movement doesn't feel right — here are 8 substitutes for the same job, each with what changes.

Which one when

  • You need different equipment. For the same job — Machines and cables: Cable Crunch.
  • Same equipment, different angle or grip. If the movement feels off but the equipment is there — Crunches, Cross-Body Crunch, Jackknife Sit-Up, Lying Leg Raise, Plank, Hanging Leg Raise, Hanging Knee Raise.
  • It hurts. If it's uncomfortable, try a substitute with a different grip or a machine and go lighter. Sharp pain, or pain that doesn't go away, is a reason to see a doctor, not to search for a substitute on a list.
  1. Crunches
    1

    Crunches

    • Equipment: Bodyweight.
    • Same muscle: Abs.
    • Same entry bar: 1 of 3.

    Technique →Its alternatives →

  2. Cross-Body Crunch
    2

    Cross-Body Crunch

    • Equipment: Bodyweight.
    • Same muscle: Abs.
  3. Jackknife Sit-Up
    3

    Jackknife Sit-Up

    • Equipment: Bodyweight.
    • Same muscle: Abs.
    • Progress by adding weight.
  4. Lying Leg Raise
    4

    Lying Leg Raise

    • Equipment: Bodyweight.
    • Same muscle: Abs.
    • Same entry bar: 1 of 3.

    Technique →Its alternatives →

  5. Plank
    5

    Plank

    • Equipment: Bodyweight.
    • Same muscle: Abs.
    • Same entry bar: 1 of 3.
    • Measured in time: progress by adding seconds.

    Technique →Its alternatives →

  6. Hanging Leg Raise
    6

    Hanging Leg Raise

    • Equipment: Bodyweight.
    • Same muscle: Abs.
    • A higher entry bar: 2 of 3 versus 1 — start light.

    Technique →Its alternatives →

  7. Hanging Knee Raise
    7

    Hanging Knee Raise

    • Equipment: Bodyweight.
    • Same muscle: Abs.
    • Same entry bar: 1 of 3.

    Technique →Its alternatives →

  8. Cable Crunch
    8

    Cable Crunch

    • Different equipment: Machines and cables instead of Bodyweight.
    • Same muscle: Abs.
    • Same entry bar: 1 of 3.
    • Progress by adding weight.

    Technique →Its alternatives →

These are the same substitutes I show in the bot under "Alternatives", plus catalog exercises for the same muscle and movement. Difficulty is shown where I've broken the exercise down on its own page.

Swapping in the diary

In the bot, substitutes live on the exercise card: Exercises → the exercise → Alternatives. If one isn't in your list yet, I'll add it with one tap. A substitute keeps its own history and records — I don't mix them with the main exercise, so progress on each stays honest.

Log the substitute as its own exercise — I'll remember the weight and reps and give you a target next time.

Download on the App Store

Prefer Telegram? Open the bot — same diary.

Read next

Position photos from the open free-exercise-db.