The Spiderman Pushup is an excellent way for you to build your pressing muscles while working on building up your abs and obliques at the same time.
So if you are getting bored of the traditional push-up and looking for a new more challenging variation, then this exercise if for you.
How to Guide
Video Demonstration
Image Example
Step by Step Description
Step 1: Put the palms of your hands flat on the floor directly under your shoulders. Have your fingers pointing directly straight ahead and extend your legs back. Your body should now form a straight line from your shoulders to your heels.
Step 2: Bend at your elbows lowering your body towards the floor. Make sure your arms have a 45-degree angle with the body or less. As you lower your body, fold in your left knee and touch your elbow with it.
Step 3: Pausing in this position for one to five seconds. Now extend at your elbows lifting your body up and place your left foot back on the floor.
Step 4: Again bend at the elbows to lower your body, and bring your right legs knee towards your right arms elbow and hold for one to five seconds(use the same amount of time you selected for the left side). Extend at your elbows returning to the high plank position.
Congratulations you have completed one repetition of the Spiderman Push-up. Repeat for the number of reps you have selected.
Difficulty Level
Spiderman push-ups get rated at an intermediate difficulty level. You will need more strength in your triceps and shoulders and core than you do with the traditional push-up.
Before attempting this exercise, you should have a solid handle on the traditional push-up and the spiderman plank.
Many people find that stabilizing their body is much more difficult since you only have 3 points of contact with the floor.
Equipment Required
Since this is another calisthenics exercise, no equipment other than your body is needed.
If you want to continue increasing the difficulty of this exercise try performing it with a weighted vest or you can load some weight into a backpack and complete the exercise.
Muscles Worked
The Primary muscles that get worked are your Chest, front of the Shoulders.
The Secondary muscles involved are your Core(Obliques, and Abs) and the Triceps.
Benefits From Spiderman Push-Ups
You will burn a higher number of calories compared to the traditional push-up since there us more movement involved in this variation.
You work on your core and pushing muscles at the same time. Making your exercises as efficient as possible is essential for people who do not have much time for working out. By incorporating activities that use multiple muscles groups at the same time, you utilize your time more efficiently when you are at the gym.
Compound exercises like push-ups will train your muscles to work together and allow them to become stronger as a unit. Compound exercises are also a great way to burn a large number of calories in a short period.
This variation not only is more challenging for balance but also places more of your body weight onto the shoulders and chest forcing them to work harder and become stronger.
Since this is a calisthenic(body weight) exercise you do not need any equipment to perform it. Being a bodyweight movement makes it useful exercise that you can do at home.
Training Tips
Make sure when you are moving your knee forwards, do not let your leg touch the floor. Your core should be engaged the entire time you are performing this exercise.
Moving your leg out and bringing the knee towards your elbow significantly increases activation of your stability muscles in the core to work header. Unlike the traditional push-up, where your hands and feet are on the floor providing four points of stability, with the spiderman push-up, you only have contact with the ground in three places.
Keep your elbows tucked into the sides of your body. At most your arms should form a 45-degree angle with your body, not 90. When your arms are at 90 degrees significantly more stress is placed on your shoulders increasing your chance of receiving an injury.
Squeeze your core and glutes(butt). Squeezing these areas is crucial since it can help prevent your hips from dipping(most common error with peoples form on push-ups).
Make sure that you use the full range of motion(ROM) when you are performing this exercise. When you lower your body, the chest should be just millimeters from the floor, and in the top position, your arms should have only a slight bend. People who fully straighten their arms tend to hyperextend at the elbow which is a recipe for injury.
Your body should form a straight line from your head to heels the entire time you are performing the movement. It is common for people to allow their upper body to move up before the lower portion especially as they get to the end of their reps and start to fatigue.
In Closing
Building a healthy body requires work and the right exercises. Spiderman Push-ups provide a pleasing balance between training your chest and core at the same time.
You can either perform this exercise for a set duration of time or a specific number of reps and sets.
Over time to continue making strength gains with spiderman push-ups you are going to have to increase the number of sets and reps you are performing or start adding additional weight to your body to continue making the exercises more difficult.
Don't forget to register on our site. Registration is free, and you get access to our exercise logger. It will help you to track your sets, reps and the weight lifted, and you will also get access to our easy to use Calorie Counter.
Similar Exercises
Grasshopper Push-Up
Shoulder Tap Push-Up
Side to Side Push-Ups
Typewriter Push-Up
Push Up and Rotation
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