The Spiderman Climb: A Great Cardio Exercise

Is Spider­-Man one of your favorite superheroes? If so, this exercise is for you! This equipment-­free cardio exercise requires movement that resembles Spider­Man climbing up a wall… but rest assured that you’ll only be doing it on the ground. Let your FizzUp trainer be your guide as you learn about how to effectively build your cardiovascular endurance, mobility and resistance thanks to this effective full-­body exercise using your body weight.

How to do an effective spiderman climb the right way

To get the most out of the spiderman climb, there are a few basic rules you need to follow. They’ll help you do the exercise correctly as you avoid making common mistakes and poor posture, which can keep you from reaching your goals. Here’s how to do a spiderman climb correctly.

Starting position: Get into a push-­up position. Be sure to keep your body and arms straight.

The movement: Bring your foot next to your hand as you bend your leg and gradually return to the starting position. Then repeat on the other side. That makes one repetition. Now you just need to repeat while gradually increasing the speed of your repetitions.

Tips from the FizzUp trainer

“Keep your stomach in”: Keeping this tip in mind allows you to engage your abs and keep strengthening your core throughout the exercise. As a result, you’ll keep your back straight and prevent injury.

​”Only move your legs”: Use this tip to guide you while doing the exercise. Only your legs should be moving. Your back and arms should hold the same position throughout your repetitions.

Muscles targeted while doing the spiderman climb

The spiderman climb is a full-­body strength training exercise. It engages every part of your body because it uses your leg, back, stomach, chest and arm muscles. Here are the muscles that the spiderman climb works the most:

• Abs: This bodyweight exercise works the lower part of your abs in particular, notably the transverse abdominis and the obliques. Contracting these muscles keeps your back straight throughout the exercise.
• Delts and triceps: T​hey work as stabilizer muscles during this exercise, which works them in an isometric contraction. They keep your arms straight and resist your body weight.
• Hip flexors: You work these muscles every time your hips bend and straighten. These include the psoas, among others, which is a large core muscle and plays an important role in maintaining good posture.
• Leg muscles: With the spiderman climb, you strengthen your quads, glutes, calves and hamstrings.

Full-body workouts with spiderman climb variations

Like most muscular movements using your body weight, you can do many different variations of the spiderman climb. The movements are varied, which breaks up the routine, keeps it interesting and above all, offers full-­body strength training much like the burpee. Here are two variations that are included in the FizzUp fitness training program:

Traditional mountain climber: ​The starting position is the same. Next, bring your knees to your chest instead of bringing your feet next to your hands. Once you’ve mastered this movement, you can step up the pace to make it more challenging. This variation focuses more on the rectus abdominis and less on the obliques.

Cross-­body mountain climber: ​In a push-­up position, keep your arms straight and bend your knee so that it touches the opposite elbow. Next, repeat on the other side and alternate.

What are the positive effects on your body

When doing a full-­body strength training program and by following the trainer’s tips for the perfect spiderman climb, you’ll quickly notice and feel its many benefits.

As a cardio exercise that uses your body weight, it not only makes your body more resistant but also builds muscular endurance.​ You’ll also build your cardiovascular endurance by strengthening your heart and lungs as you work several muscle groups by doing fast sets of repetitions.

Working your entire body triggers an increased metabolic response, making the spiderman climb a true fat-­burning exercise​ to help you slim down your figure. By specifically targeting your deeper abdominal muscles, it’s also great for getting a flat stomach​ and improving your posture.

So… ready to save Mary Jane?