GHD Sit-Up

Also known as: Glute-Ham Developer Sit-Up

CoreStrengthFunctional

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Body Part: Abs

Description

The GHD sit-up trains the abdominals and hip flexors with the feet fixed and the hips supported on a raised pad. Lower your torso backward as your arms reach past your head toward the floor, then sit up and reach toward your feet, using only a depth you can control.

How to Perform

Sit on the GHD pad with your hips near its front edge.
Secure your feet against the plate and your ankles between the rollers.
Start upright with your hands reaching toward your feet.
Lower your torso backward and reach your arms past your head toward the floor.
Use a depth you can control, then raise your torso with your abs and hip flexors.
Bring your hands toward your feet and finish upright before repeating.

What Muscles Work

Primary Muscle:

Secondary Muscles:

Tips

Exhale through the hardest part of the upward movement.
Practise a shorter descent before trying the depth shown.
Use your feet as a visual target for your hands on the return.
Use short sets that let you repeat the same movement pattern.
Reach forward symmetrically with both hands as you sit up.

Common Mistakes

Setting the hips too far back or too far forward on the pad, which disrupts the movement path.
Losing contact with the footplate or failing to secure the feet firmly under the pads.
Dropping into the bottom position with uncontrolled lumbar hyperextension.
Using momentum from the arms and shoulders instead of controlling the trunk.
Stopping short of a full sit-up and not bringing the torso back to an upright position.
Relaxing the glutes and hamstrings, allowing the hips to shift or slide on the pad.