Superman Push Up: How To Do, Muscles Worked and Benefits

The Superman Push-Up is an advanced, plyometric variation of the push-up where both your hands and feet leave the ground simultaneously at the top of the movement, mimicking Superman’s “flying” position.

This move requires rapid force production, core stability, and precise upper and lower body coordination.

There are two ways to do Superman push-ups.

• The first version requires both your hands and feet to be on the floor.
• The second variation, also called flying push-ups, is more explosive and requires you to push your hands and feet into the ground to lift your whole body off the ground.

When we get stronger after doing push-ups or want to try new, more challenging push-ups, we can try flying Superman push-ups.

Superman Push Up Muscles Worked

• Primary Muscles: Pectoralis Major (chest), Triceps Brachii, Anterior Deltoids (shoulder)
• Secondary Muscles: Serratus Anterior, Rectus Abdominis, Gluteus Maximus and Erector Spinae
• Stabilizing Muscles: Transverse Abdominis, Rotator Cuff Muscles (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, subscapularis), Rhomboids, Hip Flexors and Latissimus Dorsi

know how muscle worked during it:

• You work your chest, shoulders, and triceps during push-ups.
• Core muscles maintain stability and balance, including the rectus abdominis, obliques, and transverse abdominis.
• Lifting your arms and legs off the ground works the upper back muscles, including the trapezius and latissimus dorsi.
• Lifting arms and legs off the ground works the upper back muscles, including the trapezius and lats.
• The muscles of the glutes and hamstrings are used during explosive movement.

How To Do Superman Push-ups

1. Lie prone (face down) on the ground.
2. Extend your arms straight out in front of you, well past your head. Your hands should be roughly shoulder-width apart (or slightly wider based on comfort and leverage). Palms flat on the floor.
3. Extend your legs fully behind you, feet together or hip-width apart, with your toes tucked under (like a standard push-up).
4. Squeeze your glutes, brace your abs as if about to be punched, and actively “grip” the floor with your hands. Your body should form a long, rigid line from hands to feet.
5. Exhale and press your hands down into the floor while simultaneously pressing your feet into the ground, as if you are trying to lift your chest and thighs off the floor, but keep your hands and feet grounded.
6. The primary goal is to lift your torso and hips off the floor as one solid unit.
7. Continue pressing/lifting until you cannot go any higher while maintaining perfect form (straight arms, straight legs, rigid core, hands, and feet on the ground). The range of motion will be small. Even an inch or two of lift is progress.
8. Briefly hold the top position, maintaining maximal tension. Inhale and slowly, with absolute control, lower your body back to the starting position.

Tips and Form

• Start with hands slightly further than a normal push-up and progressively walk them out as you get stronger.
• Actively draw your navel towards your spine AND brace your entire abdominal wall. Imagine trying to resist someone pushing down on your lower back.
• Maintain a neutral neck position. Your gaze should be slightly forward and down, keeping your head aligned with your spine. Don’t crane your neck up or let your head droop.
• This is a high-intensity exercise. Please don’t overdo it. Start with low reps (1-3) for multiple sets (3-5), focusing purely on quality.
• Always start with wrist circles and dynamic upper body stretches to prepare your joints and muscles for the explosive demands of the Superman Push-Up.

How To Do a Flying Superman Push-Up

1. Begin in a standard push-up position: hands slightly wider than shoulder-width, directly beneath your shoulders.
2. Engage your core before you start. Your body should form a straight, rigid line from head to heels. Squeeze your glutes.
3. Lower your body towards the floor in a controlled manner, ensuring your elbows are at approximately a 45-degree angle to your torso, rather than flaring out wide.
4. When your chest is a few inches from the ground, explosively push through your hands and feet.
5. Quickly extend both arms straight out in front of you (shoulder flexion). Simultaneously, extend your legs straight behind you, lifting them off the floor (hip extension).
6. Lift your chest and try to get your arms, torso, and legs to be roughly parallel to the floor for a moment. You can also make your back slightly arched, like Superman flying.
7. Simultaneously, bring your feet back towards their starting position.
8. Land on your hands first, immediately followed by your feet (or aim for a near-simultaneous, soft landing).
9. Bend your elbows and allow your body to descend smoothly to absorb the impact. Think of your arms as shock absorbers.

Tips And Techniques

• Ensure you can do at least 20–30 perfect push-ups and progress through explosive and clap push-ups before attempting the flying Superman variation.
• Keep your abs and glutes tight to maintain a straight body line and protect your lower back
• Keep your neck in a neutral position and avoid looking up or down.
• Breathe in as you lower your body, and breathe out as you lift.
• If you’re new to the Superman push-up, start with fewer reps and work your way up as you build strength and confidence.

Benefits of the Superman Push-Up

1. This push-up works your chest, shoulders, and triceps, core, and even your glutes and legs. It’s a total-body exercise that helps you get stronger all over.
2. Lifting the legs and arms simultaneously during the exercise requires using the core muscles. It helps to improve overall core stability.
3. A study has found that plyometric push-ups provide an effective way of developing maximum force and muscular power. 
4. It helps to strengthen the back, which can help to improve posture and reduce the risk of back pain.
5. It requires multiple muscle groups, which helps increase muscle activation and improve overall muscle tone.
6. As an advanced push-up level, it can also increase the heart rate and improve cardiovascular health.

Superman Push-Up Progressions

The Superman Push-Up is a challenging calisthenics movement that demands explosive strength, coordination, and core stability. But don’t worry—you don’t need to leap into it right away.

By following a smart progression path, you can build the necessary strength and technique safely and effectively.

1. Master the Traditional Push Up

This is your absolute starting point. It builds fundamental pressing strength in the chest, shoulders, and triceps, as well as crucial core stability needed to maintain a rigid bodyline.

Without push-up mastery, more advanced variations are unsafe and ineffective.

Aim for 3 sets of 20+ perfect repetitions (chest nearly touching the floor, full elbow extension at the top, straight bodyline, no sagging hips).

2. Superman Exercise

The Superman exercise is not a “push-up,” but rather a way to directly strengthen the muscles in your lower back (erector spinae), glutes, and hamstrings that are necessary for the “flying” pose.

It also improves your ability to consciously extend and lift your limbs and chest.

Aim for 2-3 sets of 12-15 controlled repetitions, holding each for 2-3 seconds.

3. Extended Plank

The extended plank is a variation of the traditional plank exercise that can be used to progress toward the Superman push-up.

The extended plank is holding a plank position with your hands and feet on the ground and your arms out in front of you. It’s like when Superman does the Superman Push-Up.

Work towards holding a perfect Extended Plank for 3 sets of 30-60 seconds.

4. Clapping Push Up

The clapping push-up is a more advanced version of the traditional push-up. It can be used as a progression to the Superman push-up. It builds explosively and propels your entire body off the ground.

This is your first step into plyometric push-ups. It teaches you to generate enough force to propel your upper body off the ground, a prerequisite for any “flying” variation.

Aim for 3 sets of 3-8 controlled clapping push-ups.

5. Beginner Superman Push-Up: The Floor Variation

This ground-based version helps you master the movement pattern before taking flight, doing a flying Superman push-up.

It increases the movement’s dynamic and explosiveness, requiring more strength, balance, and stability.

When you’ve mastered the previous progressions, you’re ready for the full aerial version.

FAQs

Is Superman’s push-up challenging?

The Superman push-up is an advanced exercise and can be difficult for some people, especially if they are new to it or have limited upper body and core strength.

It’s important to progress slowly, start with fewer reps, and work your way up as you build strength and confidence.

Are Spider-Man push-ups effective?

Yes, Superman push-ups are an effective but challenging exercise that targets multiple muscle groups, including the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core muscles.

They can help to build overall upper body and core strength and stability.

Manish Kumar

Manish is a NASM-certified fitness and nutrition coach with over 10 years of experience in weight lifting and fat loss fitness coaching. He specializes in gym-based training and has a lot of knowledge about exercise, lifting technique, biomechanics, and more.

Through “Fit Life Regime,” he generously shares the insights he’s gained over a decade in the field. His goal is to equip others with the knowledge to start their own fitness journey.