Calories Burned Sit-ups
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About sit-ups
The Compendium gives sit-ups two ratings and no code of their own. Steady sets with a breather between them are code 02022 at 3.8 METs, about 4.5 calories a minute for a 155 lb person. Keep going without stopping and you move up to 7.5. Most people arriving here are counting reps rather than minutes, so here is the conversion this page uses throughout: a controlled sit-up takes roughly three seconds, which makes 20 reps a minute and 100 reps five minutes. A hundred sit-ups comes to 22 calories.
Calories Burned by Body Weight
Calories burned per 30 minutes of sit-ups at moderate intensity (MET 3.8)
| Body Weight | Calories Burned |
|---|---|
| 120 lbs (54 kg) | 103 cal |
| 140 lbs (64 kg) | 121 cal |
| 155 lbs (70 kg)Reference | 134 cal |
| 170 lbs (77 kg) | 147 cal |
| 185 lbs (84 kg) | 159 cal |
| 200 lbs (91 kg) | 172 cal |
| 220 lbs (100 kg) | 190 cal |
Calories Burned by Duration
Calories burned at 155 lbs body weight, moderate intensity
| Duration | Calories Burned |
|---|---|
| 15 minutes | 67 cal |
| 30 minutesReference | 134 cal |
| 45 minutes | 200 cal |
| 60 minutes | 267 cal |
| 90 minutes | 401 cal |
Calories by Intensity
Different intensities burn different calories. MET (Metabolic Equivalent) measures exercise intensity.
Food Equivalent
30 minutes of sit-ups burns enough calories to offset:
Based on 134 calories burned (30 min at 155 lbs)
Tips for Sit-ups
- Leave your feet unanchored if you can, hooking them under a bar hands most of the work to the hip flexors
- Cross your arms on your chest instead of lacing your fingers behind your head, which is where the neck ache starts
- Take about three seconds to lower, the descent is where most of the abdominal work sits
- Breathe out on the way up and in on the way down, holding your breath makes the set harder without training anything extra
- Once a set of 30 feels easy, hold a plate on your chest rather than chasing 60 reps