Janda Sit-Up
Also known as: janda situp, janda sit ups, janda crunch
- Primary muscleAbs
- EquipmentBodyweight
- DifficultyAdvanced
- TypeCore · Core flexion
- Secondary muscles
- Hip Flexors, Spine
- Body part
- Core
- Position
- Lying
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Strength
Track this exercise in SetGrip — no account needed
The Janda method flips the usual sit-up strategy: instead of anchoring your feet, you dig your heels down and squeeze your hamstrings and glutes, which strips the hip flexors of leverage and leaves the abs to lift your torso almost alone. Expect to manage only a handful of slow reps at first, even if regular sit-ups feel easy.
How to do the Janda Sit-Up
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
- Cross your arms over your chest with your hands near your shoulders.
- Press your heels into the floor and tense your hamstrings and glutes, then curl your torso up until you are sitting upright.
- Lower your back down slowly, keeping your heels pressed into the floor.
Tip: Reach the hands forward along the thighs and think of peeling the spine off the floor from the top down.
Muscles worked
Primary
Abs · Core
The abs curl the torso off the floor and then control it back down, and they do the most work in the first 30 degrees of the movement before the hip flexors take over.
Secondary
- Hip Flexors — The hip flexors pull you the rest of the way up once the abs have curled the ribs, and they will dominate if the feet are anchored and the range is rushed.
- Spine
Common mistakes
- Yanking the neck — hands behind the head should support only; keep the elbows wide or cross the arms on the chest.
- Jerking up flat-backed — the spine should curl up one segment at a time starting from the head, not lift as a rigid board.
- Dropping back down — the lowering half is where the abs work hardest, so take two or three seconds to come down.
- Anchoring the feet — this lets the hip flexors do everything; if you must anchor, keep the knees bent and focus on curling the torso.
Where it fits in a workout
Sit-ups go at the end of a session with the other core work. Superset them with a back extension to balance the front and back of the trunk.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
Without bodyweight
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.
Track the Janda Sit-Up in SetGrip
All 1,100+ exercises with animations are in the app. No account, no sign-up — your history stays on your iPhone and in your private iCloud. Works with Apple Watch.
More exercises
Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- 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.