Written by Paulina Kairys | BSKin & EX.Sc., NASM CPT
Fact checked by Kirsten Yovino, CPT Brookbush Institute
FACT CHECKED
Ready to unlock your superhero strength with spiderman push ups? Good news! If you’ve mastered the standard push up, the spiderman variation is easy to pick up. If you’re new to push ups, this variation may take time to learn but it is accessible with a number of modifications. The spiderman push up engages the entire body, challenges stabilization and activates anti-rotation within the core, so it's definitely worth learning, which you are now about to do.
What are Spiderman Push Ups?
A spiderman push up is an advanced progression to the standard push up. The name comes from how the movement looks: Spiderman moving around his environment. The exercise itself is simple, as you lower yourself into the push up, drive one knee towards your elbow but executing it with proper form and tension is a full-body effort. Practice proper form and progressions and eventually work your way up to moving as strong and smooth as a superhero.
How to do Spiderman Push Ups:
- Start in a plank position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder distance and underneath your shoulders. Have your feet together and a neutral spine throughout your plank.
- Initiate your push up with an inhale and solid brace through the core. Bend through the elbows, and drive them at a 45 degree angle relative to your body.
- As you actively lower, drive your right knee up and out towards your right elbow and complete the bottom position of the push up.
- Exhale and reverse the movement; place your right leg to the starting position and push yourself back up into the plank stance.
- Repeat to the opposite side and continue to alternate sides.
Common mistakes with Spiderman Push Ups:
- Losing a braced core: With any variation of the push up, a loss of brace throughout the core is a common occurrence. Signs of an improper brace are: hips sagging, hips hiking up and the upper and lower body moving in an unsynchronized fashion. So instead of a push up, it looks like “the worm”. With spiderman push ups specifically, a loss of brace may show up as the whole body turning towards the same side of the leg lift. A way to improve the core brace is practicing a static plank or static Mt. Climber position. Connect to your core and breathe into the lower abdominals and lower back. Maintain tension through these areas and slowly start to add movement to challenge your brace.
- Elbows flaring out: Finding the proper upper body position for the spiderman push up is an important factor. Avoid putting additional stress on the shoulder joints and position your elbows at a 45 degree angle relative to your body. If your elbows are traveling straight to the sides, you’ll find that the knee drive at the bottom position may feel lost in space. With the elbows positioned closer to the body, the knee drives directly in line with the elbow and creates a compact, more stable bottom position.
- Hanging of the head: There’s a lot going on with the spiderman push up. You may feel uncoordinated and wobbly picking up the legs to complete each repetition. It may be enticing to hang your head and look towards your legs to see if you’re completing the movement. Instead, pick a target about a foot in front of you and focus on that. Utilize a mirror to check your alignment throughout the movement.
- Sloppy knee drive: Stabilizing a push up with just three limbs on the ground is challenging. The leg that is driving into the spiderman position can either make the movement fluid or choppy. When first executing this form, the coordination and position of the knee drive may take a few reps to figure out. Control the leg drive by bending through the knee and opening up the hip so you can hover the leg off the ground. Really squeeze the entirety of both legs to avoid a sloppy knee drive.
Spiderman Push Ups Benefits & Muscles Worked
Benefits of Spiderman Push Ups: The spiderman push up is a multi-joint, functional exercise that requires your body to move through different ranges of motion. What makes this movement functional is its similarities to moving the body naturally in everyday life (ex: crawling, getting up off of the ground). When completing this movement, you have to actively engage your muscles, stabilize throughout the entire range of the push up and coordinate each repetition. The spiderman form specifically challenges the body to stabilize and move with only three limbs in contact with the floor, making it especially challenging for the core. As one leg comes off of the floor, it is the core stabilizers and oblique’s job to prevent the entire body from rotating off-center, towards the moving leg. Incorporating anti-rotational movements like the spiderman push up can help improve lower back and core strength. Expect to feel a full-body challenge when completing the spiderman push up.
Spider Man Push Up Muscles Worked: Similar to the standard push up, the spiderman push up activates the upper body and core and incorporates additional muscles of the lower body. This movement activates the chest, triceps, shoulders, deep stabilizer muscles of the core, obliques, hips and quadriceps.
Looking for another push up that targets the full body? Try out a set of Mike Tyson push ups!
How many reps & sets is ideal for Spiderman Push Ups?
Depending on your fitness goals, spiderman push ups can be incorporated into your routine several ways. If you aim for more hypertrophy driven results then shoot for 3-4 sets for 8-12 repetitions.
Want to challenge your strength? Add additional resistance like a sandbag or plate on your back and work through 4-5 sets of 4-6 repetitions. If you’re looking for a high intensive, cardiovascular challenge, complete as many repetitions as you can within a 1-2 minute timeframe.
With any variation of the push up, form is critical. Make sure that you’re able to maintain proper alignment and core tension throughout your desired set/reps scheme and stimulus.
Spiderman Push Up Modifications & Variations
Here are some regression and progression exercises to make the spiderman push up easier or harder.
Modifications:
- Quarter Spiderman Push Up: If you’re having trouble coordinating the knee drive and push up, reduce the range of motion of your push up and practice synchronizing the elbow bend and knee drive. Once you’ve found your rhythm, try dipping lower in your push up while maintaining a solid knee drive.
- Single Leg Push Up: Having trouble opening up your hips at the bottom of your push up? Sub for a leg lift instead. Keep your leg long and lift it off of the ground as you descend into the push up. The single leg variation will still allow you to feel the anti rotation of the movement with less emphasis from the hips.
- Elevated Spiderman Push Up: Elevating your body by having your hands on a bench can allow your legs to have space for the knee drive as well as reduce the amount of weight that you’re pushing. Set up in your standard push up and make sure your hands are entirely flat on the bench. Repeat a spiderman push up and focus on form, control and coordination.
Variations:
- Weighted Spiderman Push Up: Adding resistance can go a long way. Repeat your standard spiderman push up with a weighted plate or sandbag on your back. Make sure to resist the additional weight by engaging through the core and keeping proper alignment throughout the entire push up.
- Eccentric Spiderman Push Up: An eccentric movement emphasizes the descent, or eccentric contraction of the muscles. In this case, it is the lowering phase in the push up. Slowing down for a count of 3-10 seconds provides time under tension and challenges the muscles to contract for longer periods of time. This is a great challenge for building a strong, stable push up.
- The Spiderman Crawl: This is exactly as it sounds. As you descend into the bottom of the spiderman push up, take a step forward with your opposite arm. Instead of keeping the leg off the ground the whole time, plant your foot through the ground at the bottom of the spiderman and travel forwards as you reset to the other side. Keep crawling forwards for a desired timeframe or repetition range.
Want to follow a workout that created a Spiderman physique? Check out our post The Tom Holland Workout That Spawned Spiderman.
Final Thoughts:
Incorporate a new variation of the push up into your routine that challenges your entire body. The spiderman push-up engages multiple muscle groups, targets stabilization and activates anti-rotation within the core. Your superhero strength awaits.
Paulina Kairys
Author