Spider Push-Up

The Spiderman push-up variation of a key bodyweight exercise - the classic push-up - helps strengthen your obliques and other core muscles in addition to your chest, arms, shoulders and legs. Because this is a compound exercise, you’re getting benefits to multiple muscle groups at once.

With a motion resembling the way a spandex-clad Peter Parker climbs walls, this exercise looks complicated, but is not too hard to pick up once you’ve got the movement.

Benefits

Spiderman push-ups carry a wide range of benefits, including the following.

• Targets more muscles than a traditional push-up.

• Spiderman push-ups are a functional movement. They can improve your ability to move through a full range of motion for some common, everyday movements.

• You improve your anti-rotational core strength. This is because your core muscles need to work harder to keep your body from rotating towards your moving leg, and has the advantage of reducing your chances of a lower back injury.

• You get a core and upper body workout from the one exercise.

• You recruit your hip flexor muscles to lift your knee, which help defines your abs.

• Makes your workout more challenging without needing any equipment.

• Fits well into a HIIT circuit or any full-body at-home workout.

• Spiderman push-ups will help prepare you to be able to perform single-arm push-ups, if that’s a goal of yours.

Spiderman push-up alternatives

Try any of these exercises as alternatives to spiderman push-ups.

• Incline spiderman push-up: if you find this exercise challenging at first, performing it with your hands on a low bench or step may make it easier.

• Spiderman crawls: this exercise is almost identical to the spiderman push-up but with one key difference: you crawl forwards as you perform it. Some people may find spiderman crawls easier, though they do require more space!

• One-arm push-up: the single-arm push-up is definitely not for the faint of heart, but similar to exercises like pistol squats or pull-ups, it can make a challenging-yet-achievable fitness goal.

• Dipping push-ups: the positions in this push-up variation may be familiar to anyone who has done some yoga, and unsurprisingly it has benefits for flexibility and mobility.