CalisthenicsIn review

Alternating Superman

A face-down back exercise that lifts one arm and the opposite leg, then switches sides.

This page is a working draft. A coach has not reviewed it, so read it as a starting point, not as checked instruction.

Pattern: Trunk extension
Modality: Calisthenics
Difficulty: Beginner
Mechanic: Unknown
Force: Unknown
Laterality: Alternating
Impact: Low
Trains where: Gym, Home
At home: Yes

How to do it

Set up

Lie face down with the arms straight overhead and the legs straight.
Rest the forehead on the floor or the mat, and look down.

Do the rep

Lift one arm and the opposite leg a little off the floor.
Hold for one second, then lower them under control.
Lift the other arm and the other leg.

What counts as a rep

A rep counts when the arm and the opposite leg lift off the floor together, hold for a moment, and return to the floor under control.

One rep lifts one arm and the opposite leg off the floor together, holds for a moment, and lowers them; count each side.

Breathing

Exhale as you lift; inhale as you lower.

Cues

Lift long, not high.
Keep the head in line with the spine.
Hold each lift longer when the reps get easy.

Common mistakes

Lifting too high
What you seeThe lower back arches hard and the chest lifts far off the floor.
FixLift the arm and the leg only a little.
A small lift trains the back without pinching the lower back.
Lifting the head
What you seeThe chin lifts and the neck bends back.
FixKeep the eyes on the floor.
A neutral neck protects the neck.

Stop the set if

Stop if you feel sharp pain.
Stop if you feel pain in the lower back.
End the set when you cannot lift and lower under control.

General educational content, not individual coaching or medical advice.

Muscles worked

Prime movers

Upper back · moderate confidence
Rear deltoids · moderate confidence
Spinal erectors · moderate confidence

Assisting

Glutes · moderate confidence
Rotator cuff · moderate confidence

Equipment

Bodyweight

Optional: Floor mat

In the app

You log this by hand. The camera coach does not watch this movement yet.

Tracking: Manual

How this page was checked

Draft. A editorial reviewer has not signed this off yet.

Draft text is original copy for Wave 2 batch 2, written from the blueprint CSV row and the Wave 2 rules page of 2026-10-12. No human review is complete.
Technique, cues, rep standard, breathing, stop cues, and error corrections need independent sources and the assigned review tier (blueprint two-source rule).
Programming roles, skill tier, failure cost, timed use, goal fit, and equipment follow the rules page; the switch-on PR must confirm them.
Anatomy uses the CSV planning hints; the assigned review tier must confirm it.
Legacy relations and engine edges stay empty until the progression ladder lane and S2-CAT-005.
Timed use and goal fit copy ex_bird_dog, the closest Wave 1 record.
The CSV says bilateral. The sides alternate, so the record counts both sides together, as the Wave 1 walking lunge (rule 1).
Rule 2 gives the superman the trunk role. The prone Y, T and W raises in batch 3 take the back roles.

All instruction and editorial text in this record is original draft copy written for Allena. Planning metadata comes from the internal Wave-2 blueprint CSV.

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