Why can't I improve my situps?

[swordfish11]

I'm 43. I run, bike, lift weights and am in overall great shape (e.g., ~70 pushups and ~20 pullups). But my situps have been stuck around 40, which is way below par for my overall fitness, and the number won't budge no matter how I train. (I know situps suck as an exercise, but I'm training for a specific fitness test.) It feels like my hip flexors, not abs, are the failure point. Suggestions? I'm looking more for guidance and insight than specific workout routines.

 

[prestonmcghee]

@swordfish11 Abs are muscles just like anything else, and just like any other muscle, you need to push them harder to get more growth. If you are pumping out 40 and can't get further, try mixing it up so you are only able to do 20 or 30. This could be going slow on the way down for 2-4 seconds, using a weight on your chest or behind the head to make it even harder, doing them in a declined position so you have to fight gravity more, or do hanging leg raises.

I got back to working out roughly 2 months ago and started with 5 sets of 30 situps every other day. I'm now doing 5 sets of decline situps along with hanging leg raises because 30 regular situps became too easy. I definitely feel them a LOT more in my lower abs and hip region doing declines because their is a much greater stretch their which will also make it stronger.

 

[aranyi_zsolt]

@swordfish11 Sit ups have fallen out of favor because they're inefficient and have a higher injury risk compared to leg raises. Dragon flag progressions are also great, or you could try an ab wheel.

Basically anything but sit ups.