Supported Shoulderstand

Muscles worked by the Supported Shoulderstand

Primary

Lower BackErector SpinaeAbsRectus Abdominis

Secondary

GlutesGluteus MaximusTrapsTrapezius

Also called: erector spinae, spinal erectors, lower back muscles, back extensors, abs, six-pack.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Supported Shoulderstand

1. Lie on your back, ideally with a folded blanket under the shoulders and the head off it.
2. Lift the legs overhead and support the lower back with both hands, elbows shoulder-width apart.
3. Walk the hands up the back and stack the hips over the shoulders until the body is vertical.
4. Hold the position for the prescribed time, keeping the head and neck completely still.
5. Lower the legs overhead and roll down slowly with the hands supporting the back.

Form tips

• Keep the weight on the shoulders and upper arms, never on the neck.
• Do not turn the head while inverted.
• Build up with legs-up-the-wall and plow pose before holding this one for long.

At a glance

Supported Shoulderstand in German & Spanish

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

Related exercises

• Ab Wheel Rollout
• Ball Pike
• Barbell Ab Rollout
• Bench Leg Pull-In
• Bicycle Crunch
• Bird Dog Hold
• Bird-Dog
• Boat Pose

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": "supported-shoulderstand",
  "name_en": "Supported Shoulderstand",
  "name_de": "Gestützter Schulterstand",
  "name_es": "Vela con Apoyo",
  "description_en": "An inversion resting on the shoulders and upper arms with the hands supporting the back, the body stacked vertically over the shoulders.",
  "description_de": "Eine Umkehrhaltung auf Schultern und Oberarmen, die Hände stützen den Rücken, der Körper steht senkrecht über den Schultern.",
  "description_es": "Una inversión apoyada en los hombros y los brazos, con las manos sosteniendo la espalda y el cuerpo alineado en vertical sobre los hombros.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "static",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "body_part": "core",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "erector_spinae",
    "rectus_abdominis"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "gluteus_maximus",
    "trapezius"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "endurance",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "core",
    "calisthenics"
  ],
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Lie on your back, ideally with a folded blanket under the shoulders and the head off it.",
    "Lift the legs overhead and support the lower back with both hands, elbows shoulder-width apart.",
    "Walk the hands up the back and stack the hips over the shoulders until the body is vertical.",
    "Hold the position for the prescribed time, keeping the head and neck completely still.",
    "Lower the legs overhead and roll down slowly with the hands supporting the back."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Leg dich auf den Rücken, idealerweise mit einer gefalteten Decke unter den Schultern und dem Kopf daneben.",
    "Heb die Beine über den Kopf und stütz den unteren Rücken mit beiden Händen, die Ellbogen schulterbreit.",
    "Wander mit den Händen den Rücken hinauf und stapel die Hüften über den Schultern, bis der Körper senkrecht steht.",
    "Halte die Position für die vorgegebene Zeit, Kopf und Nacken bleiben vollkommen still.",
    "Senk die Beine über den Kopf und roll langsam ab, die Hände stützen den Rücken."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Túmbate boca arriba, idealmente con una manta doblada bajo los hombros y la cabeza fuera de ella.",
    "Eleva las piernas por encima de la cabeza y sostén la zona lumbar con ambas manos, los codos a la anchura de los hombros.",
    "Camina las manos por la espalda y alinea las caderas sobre los hombros hasta que el cuerpo quede vertical.",
    "Mantén la posición durante el tiempo indicado, con la cabeza y el cuello completamente quietos.",
    "Baja las piernas por encima de la cabeza y desciende despacio con las manos sosteniendo la espalda."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Keep the weight on the shoulders and upper arms, never on the neck.",
    "Do not turn the head while inverted.",
    "Build up with legs-up-the-wall and plow pose before holding this one for long."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Das Gewicht liegt auf Schultern und Oberarmen, niemals im Nacken.",
    "Dreh den Kopf in der Umkehrhaltung nicht.",
    "Bau die Haltung über Beine-an-der-Wand und Pflug auf, bevor du sie lange hältst."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "El peso va en los hombros y los brazos, nunca en el cuello.",
    "No gires la cabeza mientras estás invertido.",
    "Construye la postura con piernas en la pared y el arado antes de sostenerla mucho tiempo."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "main": "images/flat/supported-shoulderstand-main.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 === "supported-shoulderstand");

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.