My back is telling me that the conventional wisdom I read somewhere about full sit-ups being not so good is probably true. (yes, I have a similar goal, although less ambitious) So maybe crunches? Or perhaps I just wasn't doing them right. You could always do the killer stomach thingy they made us do in Track -- lie flat on your back, keep legs straight, lift feet between 6-8 inches off floor, hold. Your stomach will hurt in no time. :)

Also, I should probably steal (borrow) your job resolution, except for replacing the taking care of Anami and the dogs bit with something like saving a certain amount for retirement or being full-time.

Yeah, I'm thinking crunches too, probably. Or maybe just starting slower on the sit-ups. The leg lift thing works great, but I get so bored. In martial arts, they do the evil thing, where you lift your legs up, and someone standing over you throws them to the floor, and you have to lift them up again, over and over. That hurts. And there's this pressure to not disappoint your oppressor, so you push harder and it hurts more. But I don't have someone here who wants to see me in pain. And a good thing, too.

One of the problems is that the opposing muscles are just as important, and harder to figure out how to train. We should probably both be giving thought to that.

you could do backups, but there again you have something where you need to be quite careful how you do them.

you lie on a bench face down, with your torso hanging off the end with enough room so you can bend at the waist. Legs hooked under something. Bend down to near 90 degrees (or the floor, whichever comes first). Bend up to flat. Do not arch. Repeat. Add weight as needed.

If you go see Josh at the climbing gym he has a killer collection of ab things that he does. Might be able to give you some pointers.

Oh, that's a good idea. I wonder if I can figure out a way to do them safely around the house.