You’re bored. I know it because I’ve been there, staring at the floor, grinding out that 40th rep of a standard push-up while my mind wanders to what I’m having for dinner. Standard push-ups are fine, honestly. They build the basics. But if you want to actually look like you’ve spent time in a gym without actually paying for a membership, you have to start moving like a wall-crawler. Enter the spider man push up.
It’s a goofy name for a move that is deceptively brutal.
Think about the mechanics for a second. In a normal push-up, your weight is distributed evenly across four points of contact. You're a table. Stable. Balanced. Boring. But when you hike your knee toward your elbow as you descend, you’re essentially removing a leg from that table and forcing your core to stop your torso from hitting the floor like a sack of flour. It’s a total body mutiny. Your obliques scream, your chest works overtime to stabilize the shifting weight, and your hip mobility gets tested in a way that most desk-bound adults haven't experienced since middle school gym class.
What makes the spider man push up different from the rest?
Most people think this is just a "fancy" version of a chest press. They're wrong. When you perform a spider man push up, you are engaging in what kinesiologists call dynamic stabilization. Because your center of gravity shifts every time a leg leaves the ground, your serratus anterior—those finger-like muscles on your ribs—has to fire like crazy to keep your shoulder blades from winging.
It’s basically a unilateral movement disguised as a bilateral one.
Since one side of your body is carrying more of the load during the "knee-to-elbow" phase, you’re getting a strength stimulus that’s closer to a one-arm push-up than a standard one. You’ll feel it in your triceps, sure. But the real "aha" moment comes when you realize your abs are doing more work than they do during a set of crunches. It’s functional. It’s messy. It works.
📖 Related: How Much Protein Does a Person Need Per Day: Why the Standard Advice is Usually Wrong
The technical breakdown: Don't mess this up
Let's talk about form because most people in the park look like they're having a seizure when they try this. Start in a high plank. Your hands should be slightly wider than shoulder-width, but not so wide that you're stressing the rotator cuff. As you lower your chest toward the floor, you’re going to simultaneously bring one knee out to the side and up toward your elbow.
Wait.
Don't just kick your leg. It’s a controlled crunch. You want your knee to almost touch your tricep at the bottom of the rep. Your foot should be hovering off the ground. If you’re dragging your toe, you’re cheating yourself out of the core gains. Then, as you explode back up, you return the leg to the starting position.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Hips sagging: This is the big one. If your lower back arches like a bridge, you’re putting all that pressure on your vertebrae instead of your abs. Keep your glutes squeezed.
- Short-changing the depth: If you aren't getting your chest at least a few inches from the floor, you're just doing a weird dance. Go deep or go home.
- Neck craning: Stop looking at your feet. Keep your gaze about six inches in front of your hands to keep your spine neutral.
- Speed over control: Doing ten of these fast and sloppy is worthless compared to five slow, grinding reps.
Why your hip mobility is probably the bottleneck
Here’s a secret: most people fail at the spider man push up not because their chest is weak, but because their hips are tight. If you spend eight hours a day sitting in a chair, your hip flexors are probably as stiff as a board. When you try to bring that knee up to the elbow, your body will try to compensate by twisting your torso or raising your butt in the air.
It’s a mobility test in disguise.
If you can't get your knee to your elbow without your form falling apart, you might need to spend some time on "World's Greatest Stretch" or active pigeon poses. It’s frustrating, I get it. You want to work out, not do yoga. But the mobility you gain from mastering this move translates directly to better squats and a more resilient lower back. It’s all connected.
Programming the spider man push up into your routine
Don't just throw these in at the end when you're exhausted. This is a high-skill movement. If you're tired, your form will suck, and you’ll probably tweak a shoulder. Put them at the beginning of your workout after a solid warm-up.
Try this: instead of counting reps, go for time. Set a timer for 40 seconds and see how many perfect reps you can get. Then rest for 20. Do that four times. By the third set, your lungs will be burning as much as your chest. It’s a cardio spike you don't get from bench pressing.
👉 See also: What is it like being high: A realistic look at the cannabis experience
Another way to do it is the "ladder" method. Do one spider man push up per side, then two, then three, all the way up to five, then back down. It’s a mental game as much as a physical one. You’ll find that your "weak" side becomes very apparent very quickly. Most of us have one hip that’s tighter or one shoulder that’s less stable. This move exposes those imbalances and forces you to fix them.
The science of the "Sling"
There’s this concept in sports science called the "Anterior Oblique Sling." It’s basically the connection between your hip on one side and your shoulder on the opposite side, linked through your abdominal muscles. When you do a spider man push up, you’re loading this sling perfectly. This is exactly how athletes move on the field—sprinters, MMA fighters, and climbers all rely on this diagonal power transfer.
By training this way, you aren't just building "show" muscles. You're building "go" muscles.
If you look at the training regimens of guys like Georges St-Pierre or professional rock climbers, they’re doing variations of these crawling movements constantly. It builds a type of "wiry" strength that is incredibly hard to get from machines or barbells. It makes you feel athletic. It makes you feel capable.
Modifying for the mere mortals
If you try one and you collapse, don't sweat it. It’s hard. Start with "Spider-Man Planks" first. Just stay in the top of the push-up position and move your legs. Get that hip mobility dialed in without the pressing movement. Once that feels easy, try doing the push-up but only move your leg after you’ve lowered yourself halfway.
Gradual progression is the name of the game.
Eventually, you can make them harder. Slow down the tempo. Try a three-second descent. Or, if you’re a total masochist, add a "hold" at the bottom where your knee is touching your elbow and you're just hovering there, inches from the dirt, wondering why you listened to me in the first place.
The reality of the results
You won't get huge like a bodybuilder just doing these. Let's be real. If you want massive pecs, you need a heavy bench press. But if you want a shredded midsection, shoulders that look like cannonballs, and the ability to move your body through space with actual grace, the spider man push up is the gold standard.
It’s the ultimate "no-equipment" chest exercise.
You can do it in a hotel room. You can do it in your backyard. You can do it at the gym to make the guy on the elliptical feel bad about his life choices. It’s versatile, it’s effective, and honestly, it just looks cool. And sometimes, looking cool is half the battle when it comes to staying motivated to train.
Step-by-Step Action Plan
- Assess your mobility: Spend two minutes in a deep squat. If it hurts, spend the next week focusing on opening your hips before you even attempt the full push-up.
- Start with the Plank version: Perform 3 sets of 10 "Spider-Man mountain climbers" (no push-up) to get the neurological pattern down.
- The 5x5 Approach: Once ready, aim for 5 sets of 5 reps per side. Focus entirely on keeping your hips level with the floor. No rotating!
- Integrate: Swap out your standard push-ups for these twice a week. Notice how your core stability improves in your other lifts, like overhead presses or lunges.
- Film yourself: You think your form is good. It probably isn't. Record a set from the side and check if your butt is spiking or your back is bowing. Fix the leaks.
Mastering this move isn't about hitting a specific number. It's about owning the movement. Start slow, get deep, and keep those hips quiet. Your body will thank you later.