situp test

someone close to me is taking a fitness test where he needs to get 40 strict situps in 60 seconds, (upper back hitting the ground and elbows hitting the knees with feet close together). He is currently getting 35-37 a minute. He has been at this level for a few months dispite the fact that he has lost weight and abdominal fat, and has been training abs and lower back consistantly. He has 3 weeks to do it so can someone recommend some sort of specific routine for him to improve. laters pk