Scissor Kicks

Scissor kicks are a core-strengthening exercise that involves lying on your back with your legs extended. The movement consists of lifting your legs off the ground and alternating them in a scissor-like motion, crossing one leg over the other while keeping your core engaged. It can be performed at various speeds and intensities to increase difficulty and effectiveness.

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How to perform a scissor kick

Being able to perform the scissor kick work out viably depends on how you can keep your frame. That’s why you need your abs, not your lower back, to do the work.

By centering on the leg muscles through the “scissoring” move you clearly enroll your center muscles. Furthermore, legitimate spine arrangement by means of a strong center is what makes a difference in your lower body performing the “scissoring” movement.

Since the center of this move is on locks in your center, you don’t need to be in a surge to total the reps. Moderate down and make beyond any doubt to take after the steps and keep up your frame all through all of the sets and reps.

Find a workout tangle that feels comfortable. You’ll need a tangle that has a few thicknesses but is moreover firm.
Lie on your back on the tangle with your legs amplified out in front of you. You can too put your hands beneath your glutes underneath the little of your back, palms squeezing into the floor.
Engage your center by squeezing your lower back into the tangle and tucking your pelvis. Keep up this position amid the whole movement.
Lift both legs off the ground almost 6 to 12 inches from the beginning position (in this case, the floor) or around a 45-degree angle.
With your center tight and neck loose, lower one leg toward the floor as you lift the other leg up.
Continue the scissoring movement by gradually exchanging your legs up and down for the prescribed sum of repetitions.
Perform 2 sets of 12 to 20 redundancies. Each leg scissoring tallies as one rep. As you get more grounded, include a third set.

Scissor kick variations

If the essential scissor kick workout is as well troublesome, there are easier moves you can do that utilize a comparable development pattern.

Keep your legs lower to the tangle. This can offer assistance take the weight off your lower back. If you’re feeling your lower back curving up absent from the tangle while performing this workout, begin with your feet fair drifting over the floor. As you get more grounded, increment the remove between the floor and your legs. Make beyond any doubt your back is not arching.
Substitute a bike crunch for the scissor kick. The bike crunch takes after a comparative development design as the scissor kick.
To construct quality and perseverance sometime recently attempting the scissor kick workout, consider acing a recumbent bike crunch exercise.

Raise your legs higher and make the scissoring improvement larger.
Slow down the kicking development and hold the beat leg for 2 to 3 seconds time recently exchanging legs.
Add light lower-leg weights.

Tips to do a better scissor kick

Observing the scissor kick on a video is one thing, but executing the move with an adjusted frame is a totally diverse handle. Sometime recently you get a workout tangle and kick through a few reps, examined through these tips on how to perform the scissor kick exercise.

Keep your arms stationary throughout the whole move. Your arms serve as steadiness. They ought not to be utilized as momentum.
Keep your center tight and locked in all through the whole move. Think stomach button to spine.
Keep the movement cadenced and controlled, not quick and furious.

The scissor kick is a confinement workout, which implies, it’s regularly more successful when included in a by and large wellness schedule.
You can find the scissor kick in a lineup of Pilates works, ab and center workouts, and cardio boot camp mold classes.
Since you’re inquiring about the center muscles to kick it into tall adapt, make beyond any doubt to appropriately warm up some time recently performing scissor kicks.

Precautions and safety issues

The scissor kick is an intermediate-level workout that requires quality in your center and lower body. If you have moo back issues, tight hip flexors, or neck issues, consider adjusting the movement.

Additionally, if you are modern to work out and not beyond any doubt the legitimate way to lock in your stomach muscles, consider working with an individual coach or physical therapist.

If you’re pregnant, consider a distinctive workout to target your center muscles. Lying level on the floor amid work out may not be perfect after your to begin with trimester, recommends the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Benefits of a scissor kick

The scissor kick workout works your center muscles, glutes, quads, and adductors.

Any time you go from a recumbent position to an upright position, your center muscles help you move.

Weight Loss in Obesity: Scissor kicks are a high-energy, calorie-burning exercise. When combined with a balanced diet and regular physical activity, they can aid in reducing fat and managing weight effectively, especially in individuals with obesity.

For illustration, getting out of bed. If your center muscles are powerless, performing day-by-day assignments can get troublesome, particularly without back torment. That’s because solid center muscles offer assistance to diminish back torment, move forward adjust, and keep up appropriate flexion, expansion, and turn.

FAQ’s

What is the distinction between a bike kick and a scissor kick?

What is a soccer scissor kick? A scissor kick is different from a bicycle kick in that the player still tries to perform an acrobatic shot, but his body is oriented horizontally rather than backward, and the ball still lands above the player’s waist.

What do scissor kicks do for your body?

Lying on your back and moving your legs in a scissoring motion, alternating each up and down, is a great way to work your abdomen and core. They will train your quadriceps, lower body, and core in addition to your lower abs. They also aid in hip flexor strengthening.

What is a scissor kick in football?

A bicycle kick, often referred to as an overhead kick or scissors kick in association football, is an acrobatic move in which a player kicks a ball backward in midair.

Can you do scissor kicks in bed?

With a little cushion beneath your lower back for support, lie on your back. As you lift your legs a few inches off the mattress, contract your abdominal muscles. Raise your left leg toward your chest while maintaining a straight right leg, while keeping your back firmly pressed into the mattress.

Reference

Cnc, A. R. (2022b, January 5). Scissor kicks are an advanced ABS move you require to know. Byrdie. https://www.byrdie.com/scissor-kicks-5205436#:~:text=Scissor%20kicks%20are%20an%20effective,help%20strengthen%20your%20hip%20flexors.
Lindberg, S. (2019b, May 1). How to do scissor kicks. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/scissor-kicks
scissor kick. (2025). https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/scissor-kick
Vlce, K. a. M. C. (2024, June 15).
How to do scissor kicks for a Super-Strong Center. Real Simple. https://www.realsimple.com/scissor-kicks-7486335