The Spiderman Push Up: How To, Muscles Worked, Benefits

The Classic Pushup with a Twist

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.

What’s So Special About the Spiderman Push Up?

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.

The Benefits of the Spiderman Push Up

The Spiderman Push Up offers numerous benefits, including improved core stability, upper body strength, enhanced mobility, and increased coordination. With this exercise, you’ll be targeting multiple muscle groups simultaneously, making it an effective addition to any workout routine.

- Advertisement -

How to Do the Spiderman Push Up

1. Begin in the pushup plank position, with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your body straight from head to heels.
2. As you lower your body, bring your right knee toward your right elbow, ensuring your hips stay level and spine neutral.
3. Press back up, returning your right leg to the starting position.
4. 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

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 won’t 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.

Conclusion

The Spiderman Push Up is an exercise that offers numerous benefits and is easy to incorporate into your workout routine. By focusing on proper form, engaging your core, and keeping your hips level, you’ll be able to experience the full range of benefits this exercise has to offer.

FAQs

Q: Is the Spiderman Push Up suitable for beginners?

A:** Yes, the Spiderman Push Up is suitable for beginners. Start with slower reps and focus on proper form to build up strength and endurance.