How to do a Kettlebell Sit Up and Press
Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
Workouts with Kettlebell Sit Up and Press
Instructions for Proper Form
This exercise is a weighted variation of a sit up combined with an overhead press. This exercise primarily targets your core and shoulders. This is a great exercise for developing core strength with a bit of shoulders thrown in too.
- Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor while holding a kettlebell on your chest. Extend your arms over your chest before lifting your shoulders to bring your torso up to vertical. Control the movement to the starting position and repeat for the allotted repetitions.
Weight & 1 Rep Max Calculator
Average Kettlebell Sit Up and Press standards by male, female, weight, age and height
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- beginner8reps17.5lbs1 Rep Max22.5lbs
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Alternatives & Variations to Kettlebell Sit Up and Press
1. Crunches
94 mSCORESWAPPED 327 TIMESCrunches are one of the most common exercises out there. It’s an easy to perform, bodyweight exercise that targets your abdominals. Crunches are very similar to Sit Ups, however, instead of raising your upper body all the way into a near sitting position, you only raise your shoulder blades off the ground. This is a great exercise for beginners looking to build core strength.
2. Russian Twist
96.2 mSCORESWAPPED 251 TIMESRussian Twist is one of the more common core exercises. This exercise targets multiple muscles in your core, but the reason for including this exercise is usually to target your obliques. By raising your feet off the ground, engaging your core, and twisting to each side, you can better target this specific muscle in your core.
3. Sit Up
93.8 mSCORESWAPPED 208 TIMESSit Up is one of the most common exercises out there. It’s a bodyweight exercise that targets your core. Sit Ups are very similar to Crunches, however, rather than raising just your shoulder blades off the ground, you raise your entire upper body. This gives you a bit more range of motion than Crunches, however you’ll start to lose some tension in your core at the top of the movement.
4. Plank
92.8 mSCORESWAPPED 201 TIMESPlanks are one of the most common core exercises out there. This is a bodyweight exercise that is performed for time rather than reps. Planks don’t require any movement, instead they force you to place yourself in a position that requires you to engage your core, and maintain that muscle activation for the duration of the exercise. This is a great way to help build strength and stability in a way that will translate to a variety of other exercises, and your daily life.
5. Dead Bug
92.4 mSCORESWAPPED 172 TIMESDead Bugs are a bodyweight core exercise that requires you to lay on your back, and alternate extending your arms and legs out away from your body. The position you’re in on the ground keeps your core engaged, while extending your arms and legs away from you forces you to further recruit your core to continue to stabilize yourself.
6. Leg Raise
96.5 mSCORESWAPPED 167 TIMESLeg Raise is a simple bodyweight core exercise that involves laying on the ground and suspending your legs in the air. While your core does play a significant role in raising your legs, the real benefit comes from controlling their descent back to the floor.
7. Bicycle Crunch
91.8 mSCORESWAPPED 165 TIMESBicycle Crunch is a more difficult version of a standard crunch. Instead of raising your torso off the ground for each rep, you keep your torso off the ground, and your core engaged. By cycling your legs, you add more instability to the movement, which leads to better core activation.
8. Ab Crunch Machine
96.1 mSCORESWAPPED 152 TIMESAb Crunch Machine is a variation of Crunches performed with a machine. Unlike standard Crunches, the use of a machine gives you more control over your resistance. In addition, the machine will restrict your range of motion allowing you to focus more on exertion than stabilizing the movement.
- Intermediate
- Abs
- Ab Crunch Machine