Written by Travis Halena | ACSM CPT
Fact checked by Kirsten Yovino, CPT Brookbush Institute
FACT CHECKED
When it comes to feeling like the man of steel himself, there is unfortunately no one exercise that will give you Superman's powers. What will have you feeling like Superman, though, is a balanced core, strong lower back, and muscular posterior chain.
Alternatively, if your posterior chain is weaker than the muscles on the front of your body, you're going to run into issues. Whether it’s a strong chest and weak back, strong quads and weak hamstrings, or in this case, strong abs and a weak posterior chain, it's essential that you rectify this issue.
The superman exercise is perfect for strengthening your posterior chain and will have you feeling like you can leap tall buildings in a single bound instead of slowly standing up from a chair, wondering why your back hurts.
We're going to go over all things related to the superman exercise, including:
- What is the superman exercise?
- Muscles worked in the superman exercise
- Superman exercise benefits
- How to do supermans
- Common superman exercise mistakes to avoid
- Superman exercise variations, progressions, and modifications
- Superman programming
- Sample superman workout routine
This move won't make you fly, but it will leave you feeling pretty invincible.
What is A Superman Exercise?
Low back pain and sitting too much are two prevalent issues all too common for many people. Whether you are at work, commuting in the car, or lounging at home watching TV, sitting seriously damages your body.
Crunches on crunches on crunches will not strengthen all of your core muscles. A strong core and weak backside can be a serious problem even for people who train consistently in the gym.
Remember, strong abs that look good in the mirror are great, but not if you neglect the muscles on the backside.
Think of your body as a series of cables that pull on your skeleton. If the muscles in front are strong and pulling with a lot of force and tension, the cables on the back side had better be strong enough to handle it, or an injury may be right around the corner.
Enter Superman to save you! Okay, okay, not Superman himself, but the superman exercise, a move done lying on the floor that will strengthen the muscles of your posterior chain, including your upper back, lower back, glutes, and hamstrings, just to name a few.
It won’t be as glamorous or taxing as a deadlift, but this exercise can work wonders for strengthening the postural muscles that help keep your body moving like Superman. No matter who you are or your training level, the superman exercise should have a place in your program.
Muscles Worked During the Superman Exercise
The superman back exercise strengthens the posterior oblique sling, which is a chain, system, or loop of musculature that spans from your shoulder to the opposite pelvis. In this case, the posterior oblique sling consists of the latissimus dorsi, glute maximus, and the thoracolumbar fascia that connects it across the body like an X.
This may sound a bit complicated, but ultimately, it's relatively simple. All you need to remember is that an oblique sling is a system your body uses for dynamic movements. It assists with core stability, balance, rotational movements, and spine protection and works as a system of muscles that connects your upper body to your lower body.
If you remember one thing regarding the oblique sling, let it be that it works as a system of muscles that connects your upper body to your lower body.
The superman does a great job of training this system and is a fantastic starter movement for working your core as one unit and not just one muscle at a time.
Here's a closer look at the superman exercise muscles worked.
- Upper Back: As you lift your arms up, this exercise involves and strengthens the muscles of your rear delts and trapezius. When weak, these posture muscles create rounded, hunched forward shoulders. Sitting wreaks havoc on these muscles, so rear delt exercises and trapezius exercises are essential for pulling everything back.
- Erector Spinae: The superman strengthens your lower back muscles, known as the erector spinae muscles. They are three long muscles responsible for extending your back and supporting your spine. Anytime you bend down to pick something off your floor, these muscles help your back return to standing upright. It’s also the most common place people tend to feel lower back pain.
- Abdominal Muscles: The superman is a great transverse abdominis exercise. This is the deep corset muscle of your abs that pulls them back into your spine. Focus on driving your belly button into your spine during the movement to help strengthen this area.
- Gluteus Maximus: The biggest muscle of your butt, the gluteus maximus helps mobilize the hip joint. In this isometric hold, the glutes work as a synergist along with the erector spinae to hold the position.
- Hamstrings: Along with the glutes, the four muscles of the hamstring work to extend and rotate the knee, which also extends the hip. They are a part of the system that helps hold your body off the ground during this exercise.
6 Superman Exercise Benefits
With an impressive name like "Superman" you have to imagine this move packs some pretty powerful perks.
Here's a look at the benefits of the superman exercise.
1. Reduces low back pain:
Pain is often the way the body sends a signal that something is weak or tight. As we mentioned, a result of sitting too much is lower back pain.
Strengthening the muscles in this area and focusing on better posture throughout the day can significantly relieve low back pain1. In fact, we'd say one of the best benefits of superman exercise is its ability to build strength in your postural muscles and alleviate back pain.
2. Improves posture and spinal support:
The superman back exercise does a tremendous job of strengthening the muscles that directly assist with your everyday posture. Rounded shoulders, weak glutes, a painful lower back, and weak hamstrings often contribute to having a poor foundation for your body.
When the foundation is lacking, the structure begins to crumble over time. This movement will help fight this and poor posture by building a better foundation for your body.
3. Reduces the chance of injury:
The oblique sling is a system of muscles that help support your body during many athletic movements. A strong core is a foundation for your body, so you can move the way you want.
If the core muscles are strong, the body has a better chance of not getting injured. If it’s weak, it will not be able to handle the force of everyday movements, let alone an athletic activity.
4. Superman's Are Convenient and Accessible:
For an exercise that has such a long list of benefits, you would think it’s super complicated or needs fancy equipment, right?
That is not the case! This bodyweight exercise can be done anywhere, making it great for any workout program.
5. Builds body awareness:
The superman exercise is not only working your lower back or glutes.
It’s forcing a system of muscles to work together as a unit. The better your brain can connect to these areas and understand the movement, the better you will move and the healthier you will be.
6. Supermans Create Athletic Carryover:
Strengthening your erector spinae will increase your ability to squat and deadlift. It will also make you a better athlete as the glutes are directly responsible for walking, running, and jumping.
If your core muscles are strong and you can make sure your spine is stable, you will be able to lift more weight and build more muscle.
How to do the Traditional Superman Exercise
There are several great variations of this exercise that we'll get into below, but step one should always be mastering the traditional exercise first. Here's a detailed step-by-step for performing the superman exercise.
After you're comfortable with it, you can figure out where to put it in your routine, whether you include it in your back workout, core workout, or full-body routine.
How to do the Superman Exercise:
- To get into the starting position, lie flat on the floor in a face-down position with your arms straight out in front of you and inline with your shoulders. Keep your legs straight.
- Your face should be off the floor, but keep your head in a neutral position, so you avoid looking up and straining your neck.
- Think of the force of someone pressing down on your hands, and you are driving up into it. Slowly raise your arms and legs off the floor until you feel your lower back muscles contracting. The same goes for your legs as you drive your heels into the ceiling to activate your glutes.
- Drive your belly button into your spine as you lift until it is slightly off the floor. At the top of this exercise, you should now look like superman flying through the air with your arms and legs off the ground.
- Pause at the top to feel everything contracting as a unit. Make sure you are not holding your breath.
- Slowly lower your arms, legs, and belly button back to the floor. The lowering portion is just as important as the lifting portion.
- Repeat for the indicated amount of reps.
Common Superman Exercise Mistakes to Avoid
Ensure you're using perfect superman form by avoiding these common mistakes.
- Moving too fast: The point of the exercise is to move slowly and under control while feeling all of the corresponding muscles engaging as a team. Think of it as a superman hold exercise, going up for 3 seconds, holding for 3 seconds, and lowering for 3 seconds.
- Looking up: Remember to tuck your chin slightly and look at the floor. This way, you do not strain your neck and upper back unnecessarily.
- Holding your breath: Remember that strong upper back muscles that work correctly allow your diaphragm to function properly. It also ensures your core muscles are working. Try to inhale slowly during the lift and exhale during the lower portion.
- Overextending your arms or legs: If you go too far into your superman holds, you will put too much stress on your lower back, and not in a good way. Try keeping a slight bend in your arms and legs so you don’t overextend. You don't want to push upward to the point you feel shoulder pain. Also, remember, it’s ok to feel your lower back working. Feeling pain is entirely different.
- Pointing your toes: Keep your feet flexed, and think of driving your heels into the ceiling, so you don’t point your toes. This ensures the work is in your lower back, not just your legs.
- Doing the exercise on a hard surface: Remember to do this on a yoga mat as you must press your hips into the ground, and it can be pretty uncomfortable to do this on the hard floor. Add some cushion!
5 Best Superman Exercise Variations
Once you've mastered the superman, you can keep your fitness routine fresh by incorporating a variation or two. Here are 5 great versions to include in your workout split.
1. Bird dogs:
Bird dogs are a great back extension alternative. They are in the same family as the superman, working the same muscles, but this move is done on all fours in the quadruped position.
It can be less stressful on the lower back and will help you focus on feeling the glute to the opposite lat connection that works the posterior oblique sling.
2. Alternating superman:
Another excellent progression for beginners, the alternate superman exercise allows you to work one side at a time. Start to slowly lift your right arm and your left leg and alternate sides.
Like the bird dog, this will help you build the mind-muscle connection required to connect opposite sides of your body. Think of when you sprint. It’s opposite sides of the body moving at the same time.
3. Superman with Stability Ball:
Adding a stability ball between your legs will increase the difficulty of the movement as you will have to squeeze the stability ball to keep it there.
The internal compression of squeezing the ball is a pilates-like movement that strengthens your core muscles and helps bulletproof your body. It can help activate your abdominal muscles, as well as the glutes and hamstrings.
You can make this move even harder by simultaneously holding a stability ball in your hands.
Superman With Stability Ball Demo on YouTube
4. Superman with lat pull:
Lifting both arms and legs up and pausing at the top, you will pull your elbows back close to your body like you are performing a lat pull down. With elbows bent, hold briefly before straightening your arms and then lowering down.
This will add a difficult challenge for the back muscles while maintaining the superman position at the top of the rep.
5. Swimmer superman:
For this variation, you will hold at the top of the rep and flutter your arms and legs like you are swimming.
Make sure you can handle a more extended isometric hold before you move on to this progression.
Superman Progression Tips
Progressive overload is crucial for continuing to make gains. If you get to the point where the Superman exercise feels easy, follow these great pointers to continue building strength and muscle.
- Slow down your reps and increase the time under tension. Try 3 seconds up, hold for 3, down for 3. Each week try to add 2-3 more seconds.
- Hold the top of the rep for as long as possible, like a plank.
- Add weights to your hands or ankles. Light dumbbells will add some extra resistance, as will ankle weights if you have access to them. With arms extended, holding weights, we guarantee you'll feel the burn!
- Spread your body into an X to work outside your normal range of motion.
Superman Modifications
Especially if you are new to this exercise, we recommend starting on the ground floor. Remember that feeling your lower back working and feeling pain are two very different things.
Do not overdo it. Make sure you master one progression before moving to the next. Muscular hypertrophy will still occur as long as you're safely pushing yourself.
The lengthened position your body is in with a superman's exercise can put the lower back under a lot of tension if it’s already tight so proceed with caution.
A few modified superman exercise tips include:
- Start with just lifting your upper body (only your arms) or lower body (only your legs). You can even begin with just one arm or leg at a time if it’s all you can handle.
- Try bird dogs first, as they do not put your body in such an extreme lengthened position like superman.
- Add a slight bend to your arms and leg, especially for your arms if you have tight shoulders.
- Try them on a Bosu or stability ball. This puts your body in a different position and isn’t as lengthened as on the floor. It will take trial and error to see what works best for you.
Superman Programming
The superman can be included in several workout routines. It is not a significant compound movement like a squat or a deadlift, but it still packs some serious benefits.
You can use the superman's exercise as a warmup before any workout to activate your core muscles and strengthen your posture. It can also be used as a core finisher, since most traditional core training is placed at the end of your workout.
The superman exercise can function as a cool-down exercise after a heavy leg workout as your low back muscles will likely be under a lot of stress and tension, which can help unwind and cool things down.
They can even be used in superset bodyweight exercises, paired with squats or lunges, to help fire up the glutes and low back. Avoid supersetting it with compound weighted movements like squats as you do not want to weaken your back before placing it under a heavy load.
Lastly, the superman exercise can be a part of a full body pilates workout that you can complete at home without any weights or equipment.
As with every exercise, start the superman's exercise with what you can do and try to improve each week. Try to do 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps at the beginning or end of every workout.
If you are starting to get to 15+ reps with ease and excellent control and you're using it as a core finisher at the end of your workout, add one of the more difficult progressions. Stick to bodyweight for a warmup supermans exercise.
Sample Superman Workout Routine
Part of the fun of learning a new exercise is figuring out how to include it in your existing routine. If you're a fan of full-body workouts, you'll love the sample superman workout routine we've put together, which includes a few supermans to show you how to best program this exercise.
For the supersets, you'll move from one exercise directly to the next, repeating the supersets a total of 2 times, with a 1-minute rest in between sets.
Full Body Workout Plan:
- Dead Bugs/Alternating Superman Superset
- Dead Bugs: 10 per side
- Alternating Supermans: 10 per side - Back Squat: 5x5
- Romanian Deadlift: 3x8
- Single Arm DB Row: 3x8
- Bench Press: 3x12
- DB Walking Lunges: 2x10 each leg
- Plank Superset/Supermans
- Hold: 2x30 seconds of each
You may not be able to fly or shoot laser beams out of your eyes like the man of steel, but the superman is guaranteed to make your body feel limitless. And your posture will be so great, we guarantee at the very minimum you can strike a proud Superman pose.
No, it's not a great stand-alone muscle-building or strength-building exercise. But, its benefits to your posture, as well as its ability to strengthen your core as a unit, will help you get stronger.
Remember that the house is only as strong as its foundation, and in this case, the superman will build that foundation so you can be strong enough to handle heavy loads and movements.
Related: 18 Back Extension Exercises For A Super Strong Lower Back
References:
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Dreisinger TE. Exercise in the management of chronic back pain. The Ochsner journal. 2014;14(1):101-107. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3963038/
Travis Halena
Author