Spiderman Push-Up
The Spiderman push-up is a push-up in which you bring one knee out to the side and up towards the same-side elbow as your chest goes down, alternating legs each rep. The press works the chest, front shoulders and triceps as a normal push-up does, and the leg drive adds work for the obliques, hip flexors and trunk.
Also called: Spider-Man Push-Up, Knee-to-Elbow Push-Up · Equipment: bodyweight · Pattern: push
Step by step
- Start in a high plank with your hands just wider than your shoulders, fingers spread and pointing forward. Your body forms a straight line from head to heels, with your feet about hip-width apart.
- Brace your stomach and squeeze your glutes so your hips stay level with your shoulders.
- Bend your elbows to bring your chest towards the floor, keeping them angled back at about 45° from your sides.
- As your chest goes down, lift your right foot, turn the knee out and draw it up along the outside of your body towards your right elbow.
- Reach the bottom with your chest just above the floor and your knee as close to your elbow as your hips allow, keeping your pelvis level.
- Press the floor away to straighten your arms, returning the right foot to the start position as you rise.
- Repeat with the left leg on the next rep and keep alternating for the set.
- Hips level with your shoulders, no twist
- Knee reaches the elbow as the chest reaches the floor
- Elbows back at about 45° from your sides
- Brace your stomach before the knee moves
- Press the floor away as the foot goes back
- Knee travels only as far as the hips stay level
In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.
What it trains
| Muscle | Role | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Pectoralis major: sternocostal (mid) | Prime mover | C |
| Triceps brachii: lateral head | Prime mover | C |
| Anterior deltoid: anterior | Secondary | C |
| Hip flexors | Secondary | C |
| Serratus anterior | Secondary | C |
| Obliques (internal/external) | Stabiliser | C |
| Rectus abdominis | Stabiliser | C |
Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.
What goes wrong, and the fix
Hips twisting or dropping as the leg lifts
Fix: Brace first and bring the knee only as far as your hips stay level.
Knee drive out of time with the press
Fix: Start the knee as the elbows bend so both arrive at the bottom together.
Elbows flaring out wide
Fix: Angle the elbows about 45° from your sides with hands under the shoulders.
Shortened press
Fix: Bring your chest to just above the floor on every rep before pressing up.
Hips piking up
Fix: Squeeze your glutes and keep a straight line from head to heels.
Dragging the foot along the floor
Fix: Lift the foot clear of the floor before drawing the knee towards the elbow.
What the research says
General fitnessSport performanceEnduranceFat loss & conditioning
- Load and effort — Research finds muscle growth is similar across a wide range of loads when sets are taken close to failure, while lighter loads favour muscular endurance. Bodyweight push-ups sit at the lighter, higher-rep end.
- Push-ups and the bench press — A training study found push-ups matched for load built chest and triceps size and bench strength similar to the bench press. The Spiderman leg drive adds no load to the press.
- Trunk work — There is no direct research on the Spiderman push-up. An EMG study found that changing push-up body position raised trunk muscle activity. Activity is not growth.
- Volume — Studies link more weekly sets for a muscle to more growth, with diminishing returns. Many programmes use this variation in circuits or warm-ups rather than as the main press.
- Pairing — Research on paired sets finds alternating a push with a pull, such as an inverted row, fits more total work into less time.
Swap it mid-workout
With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.
Log the spiderman push-up in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.
General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.