How Many Situps To Burn A Pound

Situps strengthen muscles in your core and legs.

Image Credit: Mike Watson Images/moodboard/Getty Images Situps can strengthen your abdominal muscles and even play a role in your goal of losing weight. However, burning a pound of fat requires more than just dedication to this exercise. The low calorie burn – and the fact that you’re unlikely to be able to perform more than a few sets of situps – means that burning a pound of fat through this exercise alone is virtually impossible.

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Burning a pound of fat requires you to create a caloric deficit of 3,500 calories; in other words, you must burn this many calories more than you consume. The American Council on Exercise recommends combining diet and exercise as you work toward a caloric deficit. Burning 3,500 calories through situps alone requires you to perform an impossible number of reps. If a 145-pound person performs situps at a moderate pace of 20 per minute, she burns about 4 calories per minute. To burn 3,500 calories, this person would need to perform situps for 875 minutes – and perform an unattainable total of 17,500 situps.

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  references & resources
  
      ExRx.net: Sit-Up
    
      ExRx.net: Rectus Abdominis
    
      Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Losing Weight
    
      American Council on Exercise: Weight Loss: Diet vs. Exercise
    
      McKinley Health Center: Breaking Down Your Metabolism
    
      HealthStatus: Calories Burned Calculator
    
      Harvard Health Publications: The Real-World Benefits of Strengthening Your Core
       




  references & resources
  
      ExRx.net: Sit-Up
    
      ExRx.net: Rectus Abdominis
    
      Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Losing Weight
    
      American Council on Exercise: Weight Loss: Diet vs. Exercise
    
      McKinley Health Center: Breaking Down Your Metabolism
    
      HealthStatus: Calories Burned Calculator
    
      Harvard Health Publications: The Real-World Benefits of Strengthening Your Core
    




Situps strengthen muscles in your core and legs.

Image Credit: Mike Watson Images/moodboard/Getty Images

      ExRx.net: Sit-Up
    
      ExRx.net: Rectus Abdominis
    
      Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Losing Weight
    
      American Council on Exercise: Weight Loss: Diet vs. Exercise
    
      McKinley Health Center: Breaking Down Your Metabolism
    
      HealthStatus: Calories Burned Calculator
    
      Harvard Health Publications: The Real-World Benefits of Strengthening Your Core