Superman

Muscles worked by the Superman

Primary

Lower BackErector SpinaeGlutesGluteus Maximus

Secondary

HamstringsHamstring Muscles

Also called: erector spinae, spinal erectors, lower back muscles, back extensors, glute, glutes.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Superman

1. Lie face down with arms extended overhead.
2. Simultaneously lift your arms, chest, and legs off the floor.
3. Hold briefly at the top.
4. Lower under control.
5. Repeat.

Form tips

• Squeeze glutes as you lift.
• Avoid jerking movements.

At a glance

Superman in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Back Extension
• Bird Dog Hold
• Machine Back Extension
• Barbell Deadlift
• Bench Child's Pose
• Bodyweight Good Morning
• Deficit Deadlift
• Dumbbell Deadlift

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "superman",
  "name_en": "Superman",
  "name_de": "Superman",
  "name_es": "Superman",
  "description_en": "A bodyweight lower-back exercise performed prone, lifting arms and legs simultaneously.",
  "description_de": "Eine Körpergewichtsübung für den unteren Rücken in Bauchlage, bei der Arme und Beine gleichzeitig gehoben werden.",
  "description_es": "Un ejercicio de peso corporal para la zona lumbar realizado en prono, levantando brazos y piernas simultáneamente.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "pull",
  "mechanic": "isolation",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "body_part": "back",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae",
    "gluteus_maximus"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "hamstrings"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "rehabilitation"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "core",
    "knee_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "shoulder_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "back-extension",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Lie face down with arms extended overhead.",
    "Simultaneously lift your arms, chest, and legs off the floor.",
    "Hold briefly at the top.",
    "Lower under control.",
    "Repeat."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Lege dich mit ausgestreckten Armen über dem Kopf auf den Bauch.",
    "Hebe gleichzeitig Arme, Brust und Beine vom Boden.",
    "Kurz oben halten.",
    "Kontrolliert absenken.",
    "Wiederhole."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Túmbate boca abajo con los brazos extendidos por encima de la cabeza.",
    "Levanta simultáneamente los brazos, el pecho y las piernas del suelo.",
    "Mantén brevemente la posición superior.",
    "Baja de forma controlada.",
    "Repite."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Squeeze glutes as you lift.",
    "Avoid jerking movements."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Spanne die Gesäßmuskeln beim Heben an.",
    "Ruckartige Bewegungen vermeiden."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Aprieta los glúteos al levantar.",
    "Evita los movimientos bruscos."
  ],
  "met": 3.5,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/superman-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/superman-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "superman");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.