Barbell Sit-Up Press

Secondary muscles
Delts, Pectorals
Body part
Core
Position
Standing
Laterality
Bilateral (both sides together)
Category
Strength

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Combining a sit-up with a barbell press means your abs flex the torso upward while your shoulders push the load away from it, and the bar drifts the moment either one slacks off. Start with an empty bar or a light fixed barbell; the coordination demand climbs far faster than the weight does.

How to do the Barbell Sit-Up Press

  1. Lie flat on your back on a mat with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
  2. Hold the barbell with an overhand grip, resting it on your chest.
  3. Engaging your abs, slowly lift your upper body off the ground, curling forward until your torso is at a 45-degree angle.
  4. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your upper body back down to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tip: Squeeze the bar hard and keep the wrists straight over the elbows through the whole rep.

Muscles worked

Primary

Abs · Core

The abs brace the trunk on standing and single arm presses so the torso does not twist under the load.

Secondary

  • Delts — The front delts assist every press and take over on Bradford and behind the neck variations.
  • Pectorals — The chest presses the arms together and forward, and decline and wide grip variations put more emphasis on the lower and outer pecs.

Common mistakes

  • Elbows flaring wide — on horizontal presses keep the elbows at roughly 45 degrees from the torso; pressing overhead, keep them under the weight instead.
  • Losing the shoulder blade position — on bench-style presses set the shoulder blades back and down and keep them there; overhead, let the shoulder blades rotate up naturally with the arms.
  • Bouncing or rushing the bottom — control the bar down and pause for a beat before driving up, especially on decline and close grip variations.
  • Not committing to a variation — Bradford presses, skull presses and the like are hybrids; pick a fixed range and stick with it for the whole set.

Where it fits in a workout

Presses are the main movement in a push session and should go first or second. Superset them with a row or pulldown for a push and pull pair.

How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.

Variations and alternatives

Similar exercises

Without barbell

Easier and harder

When to talk to someone

  • Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
  • Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
  • Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.

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More exercises

Sources

  1. ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
  2. ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
  3. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
  4. CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)

Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.

Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.