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Exercise library · Chest

Spiderman push-up

Horizontal press for the chest with your bodyweight.

How to do it

1 of 4

Straight plank, hands a bit wide

  1. Starting position

    Start in a plank with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders, straight legs, and your body in one line.

  2. The movement

    Lower your chest and bring one knee toward the same-side elbow, press up and return the leg, then switch sides.

Most common mistake

Don't rotate your hips as your knee comes forward, keep your hips facing the floor and your body steady.

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Muscle group
Chest
Equipment
Bodyweight
Where
Home or gym
Logged as
Reps

Muscles worked

Your chest and triceps press as in a standard push-up, helped by your shoulders, but your trunk gets an extra job. When one foot leaves the floor you are balancing on three points, and your obliques work to keep your hips still. Your hip flexors and the side of your abs on that side pull the knee forward towards the elbow. The result mixes pressing and trunk stability in one movement, useful both in a home session and at the end of a warm-up.

Common mistakes

  • The push-up gets shorter. When your attention goes to the leg, it is easy to stop higher than usual. Lower your chest as deep as in a standard push-up and let the knee come forward on the way.
  • Your knee comes in under your stomach. It then turns into more of a mountain climber and the side of your trunk gets off lightly. Bring the knee out along your side in an arc towards the outside of your elbow, with your foot clear of the floor.
  • You turn your head to watch the knee. It is tempting to look for the leg, but your upper body tends to twist with your head. Keep your neck in line with your back and guide the knee by feel, not with your eyes.

Variations and alternatives

  • Push-ups without the leg movement to put everything into the press and compare reps directly.
  • Mountain climbers drive the knee forward at speed without the press and work well as a conditioning element.
  • Plank shoulder taps also train staying still on three points, but with a hand in the air instead of a foot.

Sets and reps

Count reps per side. Three sets of 5 to 8 reps per side, so 10 to 16 push-ups in total, suit most people who want to build both chest and trunk control. As part of a warm-up, one set of a few easy reps each way is plenty. The sets and reps guide shows how rep counts and goals fit together.

Once every set feels easy, hold the knee by your elbow for one to two seconds before pressing up, or lower yourself more slowly. Small steps like these still count as progressive overload, even though the weight stays the same.

Also called

  • spiderman push up

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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