Superman Push-up

How to do the Superman Push-up

1. 1Start in a high plank position with your hands shoulder-width apart, arms fully extended, and your body forming a straight line from head to heels.
2. 2Brace your core, squeeze your glutes, and engage your quads to lock your body into a rigid plank before each rep.
3. 3Lower your chest toward the floor under control, keeping your elbows at roughly a 45° angle to your torso.
4. 4As your chest approaches the floor, simultaneously extend both arms straight out in front of you and lift your hands and feet off the floor, stretching into a full superman position.
5. 5Hold the superman position for one second, keeping your glutes, core, and back muscles actively engaged to hold your chest and thighs off the floor.
6. 6Plant your hands back on the floor directly under your shoulders, press powerfully through your palms, and drive your chest off the ground.
7. 7Extend your arms fully at the top to return to the starting plank position.
8. 8Complete all reps, then lower your knees to the floor to rest.

Form tips

• Maintain a tight, braced core throughout the entire movement — any sag in your hips will rob the exercise of its core demand and strain your lower back.
• Think of the superman phase as an active hold, not a passive collapse: actively reach your arms long and extend your legs behind you rather than just letting gravity pull you down.
• Keep your elbows tracking at 45° during the descent, just as in a standard push-up, to protect your shoulder joints.
• Control the transition between the push-up lowering phase and the superman extension — momentum defeats the purpose of the exercise.
• If you cannot maintain a straight body line on the way up, scale to elevated push-ups on a bench until your pressing strength catches up.

Common mistakes

• Letting your hips sag during the push-up descent, which takes tension off the chest and rectus abdominis and compresses the lumbar spine.
• Rushing through the superman hold without fully extending the arms and legs, reducing the core challenge and turning the move into a sloppy partial rep.
• Flaring the elbows out to 90° on the way down, which shifts stress onto the shoulder joint and increases injury risk.
• Placing the hands too far forward when returning from the superman position, throwing off shoulder alignment and weakening the press.
• Arching the lower back excessively during the superman phase instead of keeping a long, neutral spine, which strains the lumbar vertebrae.

Frequently asked questions