Sit-Ups With Arms Straight and Legs Straight and Stabilized

Once clients are strong enough to perform the bench sit up, I start trying sit ups on the floor. I always stabilize the legs at this level. Later when a child is ready for a much greater challenge, I don't stabilize the legs. Sometimes I put a 10 inch (25 cm) bench down over the legs so she can still interact with a toy like a puzzle. But usually I just try to get the client to perform 10 repetitions to be able to get a reward afterward. I usually don’t have clients do crunches. I have the child sit totally up. In pediatrics, I think a full sit up is just simpler for understanding and performance. I may need to coach clients in how to use their arms to help get the momentum to sit up.