Training guide
The superman is a back exercise you do lying face down: with your arms reaching overhead, you lift your arms, chest and legs a few centimetres off the floor together, hold, and lower. It works the muscles that run beside your spine, your glutes and the muscles between your shoulder blades, and it needs nothing but a mat.
In lab studies it's one of the hardest floor exercises for the lower back muscles, which is why it comes after the bird dog and the locust. Exercise, back-strengthening included, eases chronic back pain a little, but no trial has tested supermans on their own, and nothing shows they fix your posture.
This guide covers the move step by step with a 3D demo, how high to lift and how long to hold, the steps from the bird dog up to the back extension bench, back pain, osteoporosis, posture and pregnancy, and the warning signs.
Lie face down with your arms reaching overhead and your legs long. Breathe out and lift your arms, chest and legs a few centimetres off the floor together, neck long and eyes on the floor; hold, then lower slowly. The American Council on Exercise (ACE) rates it a beginner exercise and says to lift a few inches without arching your back or raising your head.
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In one study the superman worked the lower back muscles at 77 to 82% of a maximal contraction, against under 50% for bridges, side bridges and bird dogs, and a review of 67 studies found floor back extensions worked the long back muscles hardest of the traditional and stability core exercises. That's effort in one session, not proof of what it builds.
Lifting the trunk face down loaded the lower spine most of four back exercises in a lab study, and lifting both arms and both legs worked the deep back muscle hardest. So start with bird dogs, then the locust and the prone back raise, as our back extension guide does.
Our editorial starting point: 2 sets of 8 to 10 lifts, each held 2 to 5 seconds, drawing on our strength and balance workout (2 seconds) and the UK osteoporosis consensus (3 to 5 seconds). For endurance, build to longer holds: in one lab session, two 25-second holds felt hardest and changed the deep back muscle most.
Exercise eases chronic low back pain a little, and back exercise builds back strength and endurance in people with back pain, but no trial has tested supermans on their own. Skip them if arching sends pain down a leg.
UK guidance recommends back-strengthening at least twice a week with osteoporosis, and a simple face-down trunk lift raised back strength in women with osteoporosis. In pregnancy, once lying face down is uncomfortable, use the bird dog instead, as our move pages say.
A back extension done lying face down, with the longest lever of the floor versions: your arms reach overhead, and your arms, chest and legs lift together a few centimetres, hold, and lower.
Face down, the lift gets harder as your arms move from your sides (the locust) to out to the sides (the prone back raise) to overhead (the superman). Lifting opposite arm and leg in turn is the alternating or swimming superman. The back extension bench is the loaded step beyond, as our back extension guide explains.
An NHS Lothian children's physiotherapy leaflet calls the bird dog "Superman or woman": on all fours, lifting one arm and the opposite leg. That's the move people mean by a kneeling superman, and our bird dog guide teaches it.
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The long back muscles beside your spine (the erector spinae) and the deep multifidus, your glutes and hamstrings, and the muscles between your shoulder blades that hold your arms up. The studies used EMG (electromyography: electrodes measuring how hard a muscle works) or ultrasound, which show effort over a few reps, not what a muscle will build.
Some sites call it the superman stretch, but it trains the back muscles rather than stretching them.
Comfort lying face down, and the locust done steadily, as our superman move page says. The swimming version asks for a steady bird dog first.
Some people find lying face down uncomfortable, for example with a large bust, a sore neck or a growing bump: a folded towel under your forehead and a small cushion under your hips help (our suggestion), and the bird dog is the all-fours alternative. With a stiff upper back or tight shoulders your arms won't reach far overhead, so put them out to the sides (the prone back raise) or bend them into a W: they work the same back muscles with a shorter lever.
From our superman move page, ACE's supermans page (lift a few inches, don't arch your back or raise your head, hold briefly) and a study of graded supermans (the gentle tummy draw-in). The glute squeeze, the hold time and the cue to end the set are our editorial suggestions.
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The movement on the figure: Superman
From our locust move page. 3 to 5 lifts held 3 to 5 seconds (our yoga for posture workout, the UK osteoporosis consensus's back-strengthening dose), then 3 holds of 10 to 15 seconds (our posterior pelvic tilt routine), before you move your arms overhead.
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The movement on the figure: Locust pose (Salabhasana)
In groups of about 30 adults aged 21 to 35, the superman worked the lower back muscles at 77 to 82% of a maximal contraction, like a face-down trunk lift to straight or a resisted seated back extension; face-down extension against resistance to the end of the range went higher (over 92%), while bridges, side bridges and arm and leg raises on all fours or face down stayed under 50%. In a review of 67 studies, floor back extensions gave the highest activity in the long back muscles of the traditional and stability core exercises, about 63%, though heavy free-weight lifts such as the deadlift went higher. In 30 graduate students, the multifidus was the most active muscle in all four held core exercises, the superman included.
In 13 young men, exercises that lifted the trunk produced the highest loads on the lower spine and the most back muscle activity of four back exercises; lifting one leg on all fours with the spine held still loaded it least, and adding the opposite arm raised the challenge. That's the reason to start with the bird dog, not a reason to avoid the superman.
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In 21 recreational athletes, the superman lifting both arms and both legs thickened the multifidus most of the bird dog and superman versions tested, and arm lifts less than leg lifts. In 12 young adults, lifting both thickened it about 16 to 23% more than arms only or legs only, and the authors suggest building up in that order: arms, then legs, then both.
In 10 healthy men, holding the superman longer raised the total activity of the back and tummy muscles. In 20 young men doing floor back extension holds, two holds of 25 seconds felt hardest (6.2 out of 10) and changed the multifidus most, while ten holds of 5 seconds gave the highest peak activity. Both are single sessions in small groups of healthy young men.
In 12 young adults, a gentle tummy draw-in made the full superman feel easier without reducing multifidus work. In 40 young adults with low back pain, drawing in changed which parts of the back muscles worked, most of all in a superman on an unstable surface, and in 22 adults the unstable superman drew the most back muscle activity of three exercises.
A face-down back endurance test, lifting the trunk and holding it, was reliable, and 90 healthy adults held it much longer than 100 with chronic low back pain. Across 8 trials of 508 people with low back pain, exercise improved the strength, endurance and activity of the lower back muscles against control groups.
Across 249 trials, exercise eased chronic low back pain by about 15 points on a 100-point scale against no treatment, usual care or placebo, with moderate certainty; its effect on everyday function was small. No trial has tested supermans on their own.
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In 80 women with osteoporosis, lifting the upper trunk face down to straight and holding it at home for 4 months raised back muscle strength by 26%, against 11% without the exercise, and quality of life by 7%, against no change.
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In 50 young adults with Scheuermann's disease, a year of five face-down exercises including the superman, 3 sets of 10 once a day, improved the curve of the upper back less than Schroth therapy, a specialist physiotherapy method.
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We found no trial of supermans on their own for back pain, posture, a rounded back or bone, and no study comparing hold times over weeks.
Our editorial starting point: 2 sets of 8 to 10 lifts, each held 2 to 5 seconds, resting about a minute between sets. It draws on our strength and balance workout (2 sets of 8 to 10 with a 2-second hold and 60 seconds' rest) and the UK osteoporosis consensus's back-strengthening dose (3 to 5 lifts held 3 to 5 seconds, at least twice a week).
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Once 2 sets of 10 feel easy, hold longer: 5 holds of 10 seconds, building to 2 or 3 holds of 20 to 25 seconds (our editorial starting point). It draws on one session in 20 young men, where the longest holds felt hardest and changed the deep multifidus most, while short repeated holds gave the highest peak activity.
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Stop each set with 2 or 3 reps to spare, or 3 or 4 in your first two weeks, as our plans advise. End a hold when your neck starts to crane or your back pinches.
2 or 3 times a week. UK guidance for osteoporosis asks for back-strengthening at least twice a week, and the NHS recommends strengthening activities on at least 2 days a week for all adults.
No study has compared hold times over weeks, so these are starting points, not a prescription.
Our order, as our back extension guide sets it. The bird dog one limb at a time, 8 each arm and each leg (our kyphosis exercises for seniors workout); the full bird dog, 6 each side with a 3-second hold, glute bridges, 12 reps with a 2-second squeeze, and locust holds, 3 of 10 to 15 seconds (our posterior pelvic tilt routine); the prone back raise, 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 slow reps with 2 or 3 in reserve (its move page's dose); supermans, 2 sets of 8 to 10 with a 2-second hold (our strength and balance workout); the swimming superman, 2 to 3 sets of 20 to 30 seconds (its move page's dose), or 3 to 5 slow lifts each side held 3 to 5 seconds (our Pilates for osteoporosis workout); ball back extensions, 8 reps (our Pilates ball workout); then the 45-degree bench, as our back extension guide doses it.
3D demoBird dog, one limb at a timeBeginner · No equipment
3D demoBird dogBeginner · No equipment
3D demoGlute bridgeBeginner · No equipment
3D demoLocust pose (Salabhasana)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoProne back raise, arms out to the sidesBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSupermanIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoSwimming (Pilates)Intermediate · No equipment
3D demoBall back extensionBeginner · Exercise ball
3D demoBack extension on a 45-degree benchIntermediate · A bench or boxLift one arm and the opposite leg, then swap, slowly. Our swimming demo shows it done as quick small flutters; slow lifts held 3 to 5 seconds are the gentler way in, as our Pilates for osteoporosis workout uses them.
A bird dog done from a plank on your hands and toes: much harder, and with no demo of its own. Learn the bird dog and the plank first; our guide to doing a plank covers the plank.
Hovering face down, you pull your elbows down to your sides as if doing a lat pulldown, then reach forward again: more work for the upper back, with no demo of its own. The W of our prone Y-T-W raises is the nearest move.
Light dumbbells or ankle weights make it harder. Wait until 3 sets of 10 to 12 with holds are easy, or move on to the back extension bench instead (our suggestion).
Balancing on one leg, you tip forward with the other leg reaching back: the yoga warrior III or a single-leg Romanian deadlift. It works the back of the body standing up, with balance.
After a spinal fracture or with a rounded upper back, the low cobra, 5 lifts held 3 to 5 seconds (our kyphosis exercises for seniors workout); for the upper back, prone Y-T-W raises, 5 of each letter (our upper back mobility routine); and standing, warrior III, 3 to 5 breaths each side with your hands on a wall (our yoga strength workout), or the single-leg Romanian deadlift, 8 each leg with your fingertips on a wall at first (our ski fitness workout).
Start with the bird dog. Lifting your trunk face down loads the spine more, and the superman works the deep back muscle harder, so it's the next step once bird dogs are easy, as our bird dog guide says.
The same lift with your arms by your sides: a shorter lever, so it's easier. Use the locust to learn the lift, then reach your arms forward.
The superman is a back extension on the floor, with a small range and no equipment. On a 45-degree bench you bend further at the hips and can add weight; our back extension guide covers it.
Exercise eases chronic low back pain a little and builds back strength and endurance, but no trial has tested supermans alone, and back-focused strength training isn't proven better than other exercise, as our back extension guide explains. Our back pain and chronic back pain guides cover treatment.
With back pain, our back pain guides' rule applies: discomfort up to about 5 out of 10 that settles within about an hour and is no worse the next morning is acceptable. Pain that spreads down a leg is not.
Stop face-down lifts if they send pain, tingling or numbness down a leg, and skip arching moves with spinal stenosis if they bring on leg symptoms, as our spinal stenosis guide says. The bird dog, reaching long rather than high, is the usual swap.
The authors of the graded superman study suggest the full superman once pain is under control, and care in people with back pain; arms-only lifts and the bird dog are the place to start.
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Low back pain that is worse arching backwards and has lasted more than a couple of weeks in a teenager or young athlete can be a stress fracture of the spine (spondylolysis): stop the arching and get it checked, as our back pain guides say.
It's unsettled: studies disagree, as our back extension guide explains. Train it because it's useful, not as a guarantee.
The UK consensus on exercise for osteoporosis recommends exercises that strengthen the back muscles, to help posture: 3 to 5 lifts held 3 to 5 seconds, at least twice a week, and daily at a low intensity after spinal fractures. It also advises against forward bending that is sustained, repeated or taken as far as it goes.
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In 80 women with osteoporosis, a face-down trunk lift to straight, done at home, raised back strength and quality of life over 4 months.
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Lift only a little, or use the locust with your arms by your sides, 3 to 5 holds of 3 to 5 seconds, as our superman move page says, and ask a physiotherapist before anything harder.
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Back-strengthening is recommended to help posture with osteoporosis, but in young adults with Scheuermann's disease, a year of daily supermans and other face-down exercises improved the rounded upper back less than a specialist programme. No trial shows supermans on their own change posture; our kyphosis guide covers the evidence for a rounded upper back.
One study suggests a "modified superman" puts little pressure on the pelvic floor: in a study of 57 women, it raised the pressure inside the tummy about as much as a curl-up, less than walking and far less than jumping on the spot. The study doesn't describe how the superman was modified.
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Lying face down gets uncomfortable as your bump grows, so switch to the bird dog on all fours, as our move pages advise. The NHS says strength training is fine if you already do it, not to start a new vigorous activity, and to stop if you feel uncomfortable, too hot or unwell.
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Our postnatal strength workout, from about 6 weeks, uses the bird dog; add face-down lifts once that's comfortable (our suggestion).
ACE says to lift a few inches and avoid arching your back. Lift low and long, as our move page cues: height adds strain without a proven gain.
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ACE says not to raise your head. Keep your neck long and look at the floor.
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Breathe out as you lift and keep breathing through the hold (our suggestion).
Lift and lower slowly, so your back muscles do the work rather than momentum.
Keep your legs long and lift from your glutes; the lift only needs to be a few centimetres.
If your shoulders creep up to your ears, take your arms wider or out to the sides.
Dead bugs, 6 each side (our beginner core workout), for the front of your trunk; knee side planks, 2 holds of 15 to 20 seconds each side (our spine mobility routine), then side planks; cat-cow, 8 waves, slower than feels natural (its move page's dose), to warm up; and child's pose, held 1 to 3 minutes (its move page's dose), to ease off afterwards.
Our lower back strengthening workout takes you up the floor ladder in 20 minutes. The strength and balance workout uses supermans with dumbbell moves; the posterior pelvic tilt routine, yoga for posture and the kyphosis routine use the earlier steps; and the McGill big 3 routine trains the bird dog with side planks and curl-ups.
A 20-minute floor workout for your back muscles: bird dogs and bridges, then a face-down ladder from the locust to the superman, with side planks and dead bugs.
20 minBeginner13 movesNo equipmentStrength and balance in one session: squats, Romanian deadlifts, push-ups, rows, step-ups, back extensions, carries and single-leg balance.
45 minBeginner14 movesA wall, A dumbbellA 20-minute routine for a tucked pelvis or a flat lower back: pelvic tilts, hip hinges, back extensions, bridges and bird dogs, for control and strength.
20 minBeginner10 movesNo equipmentTwenty-five minutes of back-strengthening yoga for posture: arm and leg reaches, face-down back lifts and standing poses with the arms raised.
25 minBeginner15 movesNo equipmentA 30-minute routine for a rounded upper back in later life, built from the SHEAF trial: floor back-strengthening, posture practice and gentle mobility.
30 minBeginner13 movesA bench or box, A wallThe McGill big three for the core: curl-ups, side planks and bird dogs, each held for 10 seconds at a time in falling sets of 5, 3 and 1 reps.
12 minBeginner3 movesNo equipmentThe workout plan for women over 50 includes the strength and balance workout, with its supermans.
Skip the face-down lifts if arching brings on leg symptoms, and use the bird dog, as our spinal stenosis guide says.
Lift low, use the locust or low cobra first, and ask a physiotherapist before the full superman.
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Use the bird dog once lying face down is uncomfortable.
Breathe out as you lift and keep breathing all the way through each hold, as our breathing guide says. With controlled blood pressure, the American Heart Association considers low- to moderate-intensity strength training with proper breathing safe.
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Our strength and balance workout swaps the superman for a band row; standing, warrior III with your hands on a wall works the back of the body too.
If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise. The American Heart Association says these need immediate medical evaluation.
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For chest pain that doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, or spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; severe difficulty breathing; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs; loss of feeling around your genitals or bottom; new trouble peeing, or peeing or pooing yourself; changes in how your genitals feel during sex, or problems with erections or orgasm; back pain with chest pain; or back pain after a serious accident. These can be signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs treating in hospital urgently. Don't drive yourself.
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Pain in your bottom and down the back of one leg: see a GP if it isn't better after a few weeks of home treatment, is getting worse or stops your normal activities. Sciatica on both sides, weakness or numbness in both legs that's severe or getting worse, or numbness around or under your genitals or around your bottom, is a 999 call or a trip to A&E.
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For back pain with feeling hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell, or pain that is severe and came on suddenly, or is getting worse quickly. In the US, use urgent care.
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If back pain isn't improving after a few weeks of home treatment, stops your day-to-day activities, worries you, comes with weight loss you can't explain or a lump or change in the shape of your back, or is worse at night. With osteoporosis, a new back pain after a minor strain can be a spinal fracture, as our spinal compression fracture guide explains.
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If you haven't exercised for some time or have a medical condition, speak to your GP first, as the NHS advises. Get advice before hard exercise if your blood pressure is uncontrolled, or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists.
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See a GP after any faint, and for dizziness that won't go away or keeps coming back.
Lifting the trunk face down loads the spine more than a bird dog, and some backs object to arching, especially with stenosis or pain down a leg. But exercise eases chronic back pain a little, builds back strength and endurance, and UK guidance recommends back-strengthening for osteoporosis. Build up from the bird dog, lift low, and skip it if arching sends pain down a leg.
No trial has tested them alone. Exercise in general helps chronic back pain a little, and back-focused strength training isn't proven better than other exercise, as our back extension guide explains.
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Nothing shows they do on their own. In young adults with a rounded upper back, a year of daily supermans and similar exercises improved the curve less than a specialist programme.
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ACE says to lift a few inches without arching, and a gentle tummy draw-in made the superman feel easier without less deep back muscle work. No study shows a higher arch builds more.
It's a strength and endurance move: the back muscles work at about 77 to 82% of a maximal contraction.
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Lie face down with your arms overhead and your legs long. Breathe out and lift your arms, chest and legs a few centimetres off the floor together, neck long and eyes on the floor, hold for 2 to 5 seconds, then lower slowly.
The long back muscles beside your spine and the deep multifidus, plus your glutes, hamstrings and the muscles between your shoulder blades. In lab studies it's one of the hardest floor exercises for the lower back muscles.
While you learn, 2 to 5 seconds a lift: our workouts use 2 seconds, and UK guidance for osteoporosis uses 3 to 5. For endurance, build up to holds of 10 seconds, then 20 to 25. No study has found a best hold time, so these are starting points.
Start with 2 sets of 8 to 10 with a 2-second hold, resting a minute between sets, 2 or 3 times a week. If 8 is too many with good form, use the locust or the prone back raise first.
They can be part of it: exercise eases chronic back pain a little and builds back strength and endurance, but no trial has tested supermans alone. Keep discomfort to about 5 out of 10, settling within an hour and no worse the next morning, and skip them if arching sends pain down a leg.
Start with the bird dog: lifting your trunk face down loads the spine more, and the superman works the deep back muscle harder. Move on to supermans once bird dogs are easy. A "kneeling superman" is the bird dog: an NHS physiotherapy leaflet calls it that.
The superman is a back extension on the floor, with a small range and no equipment. On a 45-degree bench you bend further at the hips and can add weight; our back extension guide covers it.
Lying face down gets uncomfortable as your bump grows, so switch to the bird dog on all fours. The NHS says strength training is fine if you already do it, and to stop if you feel uncomfortable, too hot or unwell.
Back-strengthening is recommended with osteoporosis, at least twice a week, and a simple face-down trunk lift improved back strength and quality of life in one trial. After a spinal fracture, or with a rounded upper back, lift only a little or use the locust, and ask a physiotherapist.
Back-strengthening is recommended to help posture with osteoporosis, but no trial shows supermans alone change posture, and in one trial in young adults with a rounded upper back they did less than a specialist programme. Our kyphosis guide covers what helps a rounded upper back.
Lying face down, you lift one arm and the opposite leg, then swap, slowly; done as quick small flutters it's the Pilates swimming exercise. It sits between the locust and the full superman.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
