Why Do Sit-Ups Hurt My Stomach? 4 Reasons and Solutions
Nutrition & FitnessFitness

Why Your Stomach Hurts During or After Sit-Ups, and What to Do About It

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Updated on August 12, 2025
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Person wearing a gray T-shirt and black shorts doing a sit-up in the gym

Sit-ups can be an effective exercise to strengthen your abdominal muscles.

You may feel a burning sensation during your abdominal workout, or soreness a day or two following exercise, known as delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS).

However, you may also experience pain that doesn’t feel like typical workout “burn” or soreness. This could indicate issues including cramps, a strained muscle, or gastrointestinal (GI) problems.

Here are some potential causes of stomach pain when doing sit-ups, potential ways to relieve that pain, and when it might be time to call your doctor.

Muscle Strain

A muscle strain is another way of saying your abdominal muscle has a small tear in its fibers.

An abdominal muscle strain is usually due to an overuse injury (working your abs too often or too intensely) or poor form during core exercises like sit-ups.

 The resulting sensation can range from slight discomfort in mild strains to intense pain if the tear is severe.
Unlike abdominal cramps, the pain of a muscle strain tends to worsen during activating movements like coughing or laughing. You may also experience more pain getting up after a period of resting. In addition to pain, other possible symptoms of an abdominal strain include swelling, bruising, and stiffness in your abdominal muscles.

Treatment and Prevention

If you suspect injury, avoid further activity, and ice the affected muscles for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, every hour, for up to four hours. If the pain doesn’t go away within a few days, seek medical attention.

To prevent muscle strains, warm up and stretch your abdominal muscles before doing your sit-ups. Avoid overexertion by building up the strength of your abdominal muscles gradually, and make sure to focus on proper form during your core exercises.

Muscle Cramps

Cramps are sudden, involuntary contractions or spasms in the muscle. In the abdominal region, they often occur in the area around or just below your rib cage, but they can happen anywhere in the abdominal region.

When stomach cramps during or after sit-ups occur, you may feel uncontrollable and painful spasms or twitches in the muscle. These cramps can last anywhere from a few seconds to 15 minutes or more, and may repeat before fully going away.

 The pain from abdominal muscle cramps can be quite severe in some cases. Severe cramps can leave your muscles feeling sore and tender after the spasms subside.
While experts aren’t exactly sure what causes muscle cramps, conditions such as dehydration, electrolyte deficiencies, eating too soon before you work out, and muscle fatigue play a part in cramping stomach muscles.

Treatment and Prevention

If your abs cramp when doing sit-ups, stop the exercise and massage the affected area until the cramp goes away. Gently stretching your abdominal muscles can also help.

While muscle cramps can be unpredictable, there are a few ways you can potentially prevent them from occurring in the first place:

  • Stay properly hydrated.
  • Avoid exercising in hot weather, especially when your muscles are already sore or fatigued.
  • Work on flexibility/mobility on a regular basis.
  • Regularly stretch muscles that you know are prone to cramping.

GI Issues

In some cases, the cramping you experience is the result of an underlying digestive issue. For example, you might have an intolerance to certain types of food that can lead to gas, bloating, and pain, and sit-ups are only exacerbating the problem.

Some substances — such as caffeine, alcohol, and aspirin — irritate your gastric lining, causing cramps. Sometimes, an underlying medical disease is the cause of your cramping. Common culprits include gastritis, ulcers, and irritable bowel syndrome.

Treatment and Prevention

If you suspect a food might be causing the problem, try removing it from your diet. Common “problem foods” include dairy products, wheat products, beans, and high-fiber vegetables.

If removing these foods doesn’t fix the problem, or if you have other symptoms including bloody stool, gas, bloating, belching, or nausea and vomiting, talk with your doctor to rule out an underlying gastrointestinal disorder.

Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness

If your stomach is sore after sit-ups, especially in the days after your workout, it may be due to delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS).

DOMS refers to the muscle soreness that typically occurs if you start a new exercise program, change it significantly, or ramp up the intensity or duration. Therefore, if you don’t exercise your abdominals very often, you’ll likely experience DOMS in the next day or two following an ab workout.

Treatment and Prevention

Massaging the sore area may help reduce DOMS by promoting blood flow, reducing muscle tension, and decreasing inflammation.

Warm temperatures also increase blood flow to sore muscles, which can relieve stomach pain after sit-ups. You can place a heating pad against your sore stomach muscles or soak in a hot bath. You could also use a peel-and-stick heating pad, which is thin enough to wear under clothes, if you have to head to work or run errands.

 Sauna may also be an effective treatment for short-term relief.

The Takeaway

  • Stomach pain during sit-ups can be a result of muscle strain, cramps, DOMS, or even underlying GI issues.
  • Incorrect technique is a huge culprit. Focus on good form to prevent injury and pain.
  • Dehydration and insufficient recovery can lead to cramps and soreness, so prioritize water intake and rest.
  • If pain is severe or persistent, stop exercising and consult a healthcare professional to rule out serious conditions.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Abdominal Muscle Strain. Cleveland Clinic. September 15, 2021.
  2. Muscle Strains. Mayo Clinic. October 2022.
  3. Muscle Cramps. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. October 2022.
  4. Muscle Spasms (Muscle Cramps). Cleveland Clinic. October 20, 2023.
  5. Coping with muscle cramps: Why you don't have to live with this common pain. American Osteopathic Association.
  6. Gastrointestinal Diseases. Cleveland Clinic. January 31, 2025.
  7. Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms Overview. American College of Gastroenterology.
  8. McKeigue M et al. Mechanisms and Treatment of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness in Athletes - A Review. Journal of Biomedical Research & Environmental Sciences. July 30, 2022.
  9. Davis H et al. Effect of sports massage on performance and recovery: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine. May 7, 2020.
  10. Ice Packs vs. Warm Compresses for Pain. Johns Hopkins Medicine.
  11. Chen J et al. Differences in the Effectiveness of Different Physical Therapy Modalities in the Treatment of Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness: A Systematic Review and Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis. Journal of Pain Research. June 15, 2025.
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Scott Haak, PT, DPT, MTC, CSCS

Medical Reviewer

Scott Haak, PT, DPT, has been a member of the Mayo Clinic staff since 2000. Dr. Haak serves as faculty for the Sports Medicine Fellowship program at Mayo Clinic Florida. He is certified by the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) as a CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist), is a Certified USA Weightlifting Coach and Certified USA Football Coach, and possesses a MTC (Manual Therapy Certification) from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences.

Haak is an exercise enthusiast and enjoys running, weightlifting, and sports performance training. He is the president and director of coaching of a youth tackle football organization, JDL Providence Football, and currently coaches high school football and weight lifting.

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Solomon Branch

Author

Solomon Branch specializes in nutrition, health, acupuncture, herbal medicine and integrative medicine. He has a B.A. in English from George Mason University, as well as a master's degree in traditional Chinese medicine.

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