Core · Bodyweight
3-4 Sit-up
How to do the 3-4 sit-up, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Flexion
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Cross your arms over your chest or place your hands by your head, then curl your torso all the way up toward your knees and lower back down with control.
- 1Your abs contracting as you curl your shoulders off the floor
- 2A smooth roll up through your spine, one vertebra at a time
- 3Control on the way down rather than dropping flat
Common mistakes
- Yanking on your head or neck with your hands
- Using momentum to throw yourself up
- Letting your feet pop off the floor as you rise
Muscles worked
The 3-4 sit-up mainly works the upper abs and lower abs, with the hip flexors and obliques assisting.
- Upper AbsPrimary
- Lower AbsPrimary
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
3-4 Sit-up strength standards
See how your 3-4 sit-up ranks, from Bronze to Champion. These are the same standards the Kovo app uses to rank your lifts.
Bronze14 reps
Silver29 reps
Gold69 reps
Platinum112 reps
Diamond137 reps
Champion159 reps
Find your rank
Enter your best set of reps.
Kovo tracks this rank automatically as you train, across every lift, and levels you up as you get stronger.
Kovo programs the 3-4 sit-up for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More abs & core exercises
- How to do the ab wheel rollout
- How to do the ankle tap plank
- How to do the ankle taps
- How to do the resistance band dead bugs
- How to do the resistance band pallof press
- How to do the rollout
Last reviewed June 2026.