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I'm trying to keep a tally of total weight lifted during a workout—to motivate me.

I googled "how much weight do I lift in a push up?" and most sites said "64% of your body weight".

I couldn't get an answer for sit ups though. I know it's not a straightforward lifting movement, but any rough estimate would help.

Mirror318
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  • 60% of you body weight... but actually it's less cause the lift is not straight up but angled, so it's probably less than half of that. – Ekaen Apr 09 '18 at 07:40
  • @Ekaen - An angle would actually increase the weight. Hold a sledge hammer in front of yourself, keeping your arm straight out and horizontal. Try holding the sledge hammer horizontal, diagonal, and vertical. You’ll find that any non-vertical angle increases the tension (perceived weight). – JustSnilloc Apr 09 '18 at 13:30
  • I know, I use this exercise for my forearms but with bands attached to the hammer. But still, as the hammer comes back up the weight decreases. That's why I use bands. Same in a sit-up when you are up there's little to no resistance. – Ekaen Apr 09 '18 at 17:19

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Well, one thing you should note is that 64% is the standard percentage of the upper-body compared to the entire body.

On the other hand, a sit-up is pretty hard to measure. A body-builder who has huge upper-body muscles compared to a long-distance runner who is fairly skinny and has an even distribution of muscles (maybe more in the lower-body portion) are going to lift different percentages of their body weight.

So, sit-ups are kind of hard to determine exactly how much weight you are lifting. But, you could lay down on a bathroom scale, with only your upper-body resting on the scale. This way, you could approximately measure how heavy your upper body is, and how much weight you are lifting.

Hope this helps! :D

NL628
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  • If 64% is the "standard percentage of the upper-body" and you suggest measuring the weight of my upper body as a way to measure weight lifted—couldn't I just use 64% again, to measure sit-ups? – Mirror318 Apr 09 '18 at 04:51
  • @Mirror318 - As an estimate, sure. – JustSnilloc Apr 09 '18 at 13:32