Flutter Kicks

Muscles worked by the Flutter Kicks

Primary

Hip FlexorsHip Flexor MusclesAbsRectus Abdominis

Secondary

Deep CoreTransversus Abdominis

Also called: hip flexor, iliopsoas, psoas, iliacus, hip flexors, abs.

Equipment

No equipment — this is a bodyweight exercise.

How to do the Flutter Kicks

1. Lie flat on your back with your legs extended.
2. Place your hands under your glutes for support.
3. Lift both legs a few inches off the floor.
4. Alternate kicking your legs up and down in a small range.
5. Keep your core braced and lower back pressed down.
6. Continue for the desired duration or reps.

Form tips

• Press your lower back into the floor for the whole set.
• Keep the kicks small and steady rather than big and wild.
• Raise your legs higher if you feel your lower back arching.

At a glance

Flutter Kicks in German & Spanish

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

Related exercises

• Hanging Leg Raise
• Mountain Climbers
• Ab Wheel Rollout
• Bicycle Crunch
• Bird Dog Hold
• Cable Crunch
• Captain's Chair Knee Raise
• Captain's Chair Leg Raise

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": "flutter-kicks",
  "name_en": "Flutter Kicks",
  "name_de": "Flutter Kicks",
  "name_es": "Flutter Kicks",
  "description_en": "A supine core drill alternating small up-and-down leg kicks while the lower back stays pressed to the floor.",
  "description_de": "Eine Rumpfübung in Rückenlage mit kleinen, wechselnden Beinbewegungen auf und ab, während der untere Rücken auf den Boden gedrückt bleibt.",
  "description_es": "Un ejercicio de core tumbado boca arriba alternando pequeñas patadas arriba y abajo mientras la zona lumbar permanece pegada al suelo.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "push",
  "mechanic": "compound",
  "difficulty": "intermediate",
  "body_part": "core",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "hip_flexors",
    "rectus_abdominis"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "transverse_abdominis"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy",
    "strength"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "knee_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "no_axial_load",
    "lower_back_safe"
  ],
  "variation_group": "leg-raise",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": true,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Lie flat on your back with your legs extended.",
    "Place your hands under your glutes for support.",
    "Lift both legs a few inches off the floor.",
    "Alternate kicking your legs up and down in a small range.",
    "Keep your core braced and lower back pressed down.",
    "Continue for the desired duration or reps."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Lege dich flach auf den Rücken, Beine ausgestreckt.",
    "Lege die Hände unter den Gesäßmuskeln zur Unterstützung.",
    "Hebe beide Beine einige Zentimeter vom Boden.",
    "Wechselnd die Beine in kleiner Amplitude auf und ab bewegen.",
    "Halte den Rumpf angespannt und den unteren Rücken gedrückt.",
    "Für die gewünschte Dauer oder Wiederholungszahl fortfahren."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Túmbate boca arriba con las piernas extendidas.",
    "Coloca las manos bajo los glúteos como apoyo.",
    "Levanta ambas piernas unos centímetros del suelo.",
    "Alterna las piernas arriba y abajo en un rango pequeño.",
    "Mantén el core contraído y la zona lumbar presionada contra el suelo.",
    "Continúa durante el tiempo o las repeticiones deseadas."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Press your lower back into the floor for the whole set.",
    "Keep the kicks small and steady rather than big and wild.",
    "Raise your legs higher if you feel your lower back arching."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Drücke den unteren Rücken während des ganzen Satzes in den Boden.",
    "Halte die Kicks klein und gleichmäßig statt groß und unkontrolliert.",
    "Hebe die Beine höher, wenn dein unterer Rücken ins Hohlkreuz geht."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Presiona la zona lumbar contra el suelo durante toda la serie.",
    "Mantén las patadas pequeñas y constantes en lugar de grandes y descontroladas.",
    "Eleva más las piernas si notas que la zona lumbar se arquea."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/flutter-kicks-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/flutter-kicks-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 === "flutter-kicks");

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.