How Many Calories You Really Burn Doing Sit-Ups
Working on strengthening your abdominal core and burning calories? Then you are probably adding in sit-ups to your exercise routine. Sit-ups are a common exercise for increasing your abdominal strength, as they can be done without equipment and at home.
But will ab exercises like sit-ups really help you get to your daily calorie burn goal?
There is no perfect answer to a widespread calorie count for sit-ups, as it depends on numerous individual factors. Your intensity level, exercise time, body weight and height, gender, age, and your overall metabolism are some factors that contribute to the amount of calories burned during this exercise (via Healthline).
But don't get too discouraged — there are exercise calculators that you can use to get an idea of calories burned based on inputting your specific information. This exercise calculator (via MyFitness Pal) estimates that someone who weighs 150 pounds and does sit-ups at a vigorous pace for 15 minutes would burn roughly 134 calories. The MyFitness Pal calculator also estimates that sit-ups done at a non-vigorous pace would burn 51 calories.
Why you should add sit-ups to your workout routine
If you are looking to burn more calories during your core workouts, the American Council on Exercise recommends switching up your routine with exercises like mountain climbers and side planks (via Livestrong). You can also increase the level of intensity by doing more repetitions in a certain timeframe or adding weights, according to Healthline.
While sit-ups alone may not burn calories at a particularly high rate, there are some added perks. Although sit-ups are known as ab-focused exercises, you may improve your posture and reduce your back pain as a result of a stronger core (via Healthline).
So as you can see, there are a variety of considerations to determine how many calories sit-ups burn — especially when it comes to your body type and workout regiment. But what's most important is ensuring you feel your best while working out and you are safe while working towards your own personal health goals.