Core · Bodyweight
Decline Sit-up
How to do the decline sit-up, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Flexion
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Lie on a decline bench with your feet secured under the pads and knees bent. Curl your whole torso up toward your knees against the decline, then lower under control back to the start. The decline increases the range and the load on the abs.
- 1Feel your abs and hip flexors curl your torso up the incline
- 2Round up one vertebra at a time rather than yanking
- 3Control the descent so the abs stay loaded the whole way
Common mistakes
- Do not pull on your head or neck to sit up
- Avoid using a violent swing to clear the bottom
- Do not arch your lower back as you lower down
Muscles worked
The decline sit-up mainly works the upper abs and lower abs, with the hip flexors and obliques assisting.
- Upper AbsPrimary
- Lower AbsPrimary
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- QuadsMinor
Decline Sit-up strength standards
See how your decline sit-up ranks, from Bronze to Champion. These are the same standards the Kovo app uses to rank your lifts.
Bronze7 reps
Silver15 reps
Gold43 reps
Platinum74 reps
Diamond91 reps
Champion107 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 decline 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.