Superman
A no-equipment back exercise: lying face down, you lift your arms, chest and legs off the floor together and hold briefly, working your lower back with help from your glutes and hamstrings.
- Primary muscles
- Lower back
- Secondary
- Glutes, Hamstrings
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
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Why do it
Supermans suit beginners and home workouts because all you need is a patch of floor. They train the lower back muscles to hold a position, which makes them a reasonable warm-up or a light finisher after heavier work. Compared with a back extension, the range is small and you can't add much load, so it's more of an endurance move than a strength builder. Once it gets easy, longer holds or a slower lowering add difficulty without any equipment.
How to do it
Lie face down with your arms extended in front of you and your legs straight behind you.
Squeeze your glutes and raise your arms, chest and legs off the floor at the same time.
Hold the top for a second or two, keeping your neck neutral and your gaze down.
Lower everything slowly. Go for a moderate lift height rather than the highest one you can manage; this is about holding tension, not cranking your lower back.
Common mistakes
Cranking up as high as you can
Arching for maximum height squeezes the lower back hard and shortens your holds. Lift to a moderate height and keep the tension there.
Looking up at the wall
Lifting your head pulls your neck back into an arch. Keep your gaze on the floor a little in front of you so your neck stays in line with your spine.
Leaving the glutes out
If only your lower back is working, your legs barely leave the floor. Squeeze your glutes first, then lift, so your legs rise along with your chest.
Flapping up and down
Quick reps turn it into momentum and skip the hold. Pause at the top for a second or two and lower slowly, so the muscles work the whole time.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
