The standard pushup is a body-weight classic exercise that never goes out of style. But like most classics, the occasional update doesn’t go astray. The Spiderman Push Up is the answer if you want to spice up the pushup. This exercise is more than just a cool name—it’s for anyone looking to enhance their upper body, core strength, and hip mobility.
Combining elements of a standard pushup with a knee-to-elbow move, the Spiderman Push Up challenges your stability, trains multiple muscle groups, and adds an extra layer of intensity to your pushups.
Plus, you’ll look cool doing it.
Let’s examine why the Spiderman Push Up should be part of your workout, its benefits, and how to maximize it for your chest and core-building pleasure.
What is the Spiderman Push Up
Well, let’s get the obvious out of the way.
You will not be spitting spider webs out of your wrist. But you will look out worldly performing this challenging move. While lowering your body like a standard pushup, you’re bringing one knee toward your elbow, mimicking spiderman climbing up a wall, ready to sneak up on the bad guys.
The Spiderman Pushup cranks the intensity by turning it into a full-body challenge. You hit your chest, shoulders, and triceps, firing up your core and testing your hip mobility. And that’s where the magic happens—you’re simultaneously building strength and mobility and sharpening coordination.
How to Do The Spiderman Push Up
Here’s a 4-step guide to performing the Spiderman Push Up with good form.
- Begin in the pushup plank position, with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your body straight from head to heels.
- As you lower your body, bring your right knee toward your right elbow, ensuring your hips stay level and spine neutral.
- Press back up, returning your right leg to the starting position.
- Repeat the movement on the left side, bringing your left knee toward your left elbow during the next pushup. Keep alternating sides for the desired number of reps.
Common Spiderman Push Up Mistakes and Fixes
Making a classic exercise complex means more can go wrong. Here are a few things to look out for to get the most out of this superhero exercise.
Letting Your Hips Sag
It’s tempting to let your hips sag as you bring your knee toward your elbow, but that’s a big no-no. Sagging hips means losing core tension and reducing the movement’s effectiveness.
Fix it: Brace your core like you’re about to take a punch. Focus on maintaining a straight line from your head to your heels, keeping your hips level with the rest of your body. If this still causes trouble, perform it on an incline.
Going too Fast
Speeding through reps makes it easy to cheat yourself out of the muscle tension benefits. Quick, sloppy reps mean less tension because momentum is taking over.
Fix it: Slow down, control the descent, and focus on meeting your knee to your elbow for each rep. The slower you go, the more your muscles and core will thank you.
Elbows Flaring Out
If your elbows fly out to the sides, you lose the 45-degree angle from the torso, which is ideal for most pushup variations. Plus, you’re putting unnecessary stress on your shoulder joints, and you’ll not look like Spiderman climbing a wall.
Fix it: Squeeze your armpits as you lower yourself down. This cue will help keep your elbows tucked closer to your body, reducing stress on the shoulder joint and ensuring better form.
Spiderman Push Up Muscles Worked
The Spiderman Push Up will have your body firing on all cylinders because it hits multiple muscle groups simultaneously.
Chest and Anterior Delts: As with most pushup variations, your pecs and delts take the brunt of the work.
Triceps: They work as you lock out each pushup, giving you the oomph you need to finish it.
Core: This is where the Spiderman push up shines. The knee-to-elbow action means your abs, obliques, and lower back work overtime to stabilize and control the movement and keep your spine neutral.
Hip Flexors & Quads: Bringing your knee up toward your elbow trains your hip flexors and activates your quads, giving you extra mobility and lower-body action to accompany your upper-body strength.
Benefits of the Spiderman Push Up
Well, you’re not Spiderman, but at least by performing it, you’ll look like how he moves.
Improved Core Stability: The knee-to-elbow motion improves core strength. Each rep demands tension from your abs and obliques, which helps improve core strength and stability due to going from four to three points of contact.
Upper Body Strength: You’re training your chest, shoulders, and triceps as you would with a regular pushup, but with the added challenge of shifting your weight to one side. This means more muscle and strength in your upper body.
Enhanced Mobility: Bringing your knee toward your elbow in the descent opens your hips and works your hip flexors. Over time, this movement helps improve hip mobility, translating to better performance in other exercises.
Increased Coordination: The Spiderman Push Up encourages your brain and body to work together, improving coordination and movement efficiency. This will carry over to other complex exercises, helping improve performance with them.
Programming Suggestions
Here are two ways to include this superhero exercise in your routine.
Circuit Training: Add the Spiderman Push Up to your next full-body circuit for extra core and upper-body work. Aim for 3 to 4 sets of 10-12 reps (5 or 6 knees to elbow per side).
Finisher: Try 2-3 sets of max reps per side to burn out your upper body and core at the end of your workout.