Why GHD Sit Ups?

An excerpt from The Crossfit Journal, October 2005:

Our experience with athletes and static hip flexion 

work like the L sit and more dynamic exercises like the 

GHD sit-up have led us to several conclusions:

1. The hip flexors’ purchase and strength suggest their 

importance to functional movement. One expert 

calculated that they are capable of generating 

many times the force that the abs can. To think 

that muscles with that much mechanical advantage 

should not be used to that advantage is ridiculous.

2.  Most modern athletes are hip flexion weak and it 

affects most performance.

3.  Weak hip flexors assure weak abs—especially 

weak lower abs—and no amount of crunches can 

compensate. (It seems that every gym has an abs class 

instructor who has a prominent lower abdominal 

pooch. Ask her to hold one knee up while standing 

on the other leg and to resist your pushing the knee 

downward with a couple of fingers. It’s easy to push 

the knee down, and it shouldn’t be).

4.  Without static contraction/stabilization exercises, 

the abs never learn to perform their most critical, 

functional, role—midline stabilization.

Warm up with:

50 Double Unders

Then 3 Rounds:

10 GHD Sit Ups

5 Turk Get Ups (R/L)

WOD:

21-15-9

Pull Ups

Hand Stand Push Ups

KB Swings (2p/1.5p)