What Are Flutter Kicks? Tips, Technique, Correct Form, Benefits and Common Mistakes

Flutter kicks are considered cardio exercises that help tone the legs and abs. They're also an energetic warm-up exercise that push your body towards greater endurance.

This exercise engages your abdominal muscles, quads, hips and neck muscles. The movements of this exercise are similar to that of a swimming stroke. Flutter kicks help you build strength in your back muscles as well as toning various body parts.

There are different variations of this exercise you can also incorporate into your workout routine, such as criss-cross flutter kicks, prone flutter kicks, adding weight to your ankles, and so on.

Read more to learn the methods, techniques and benefits of this exercise, and also the common mistakes to avoid while doing it.

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How to Do Flutter Kicks?

• Initial position – Lie back on the floor with straight legs. Keep your hands beside your side, or tuck them under your hips.
• Push your left leg in the air past your hip height, and let your right leg hover somewhat above the ground.
• Stay for a couple of seconds in this position, and alternate your legs. That will make the flutter kick movement.
• Repeat.

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Tips and Techniques for Flutter Kicks

Here are some tips and techniques you should follow for this exercise:

• Maintaining the position – You must adopt a proper stance while doing this exercise to attaining all the advantages of the exercise and avoid any injuries to your lower body muscles. While exercising, make sure your chin is slightly tucked out.
• Engage your core – While doing the kicking position, make sure to engage your core rather than straining your back or leg muscles. Doing so might lead to muscle cramps.
• Controlled movement – When you start doing the fluttering movement of this exercise, move your legs in a controlled manner rather than leaving them too lose.

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Health Benefits of Flutter Kicks

This exercise tends to target the thighs, hips and lower abdominal muscles. Therefore, this exercise helps in building core stability, strengthening the muscles, and shedding the flab from the lower body.

It's especially helpful for swimmers, as the movement of flutter kicking helps in pushing the body forward. Let’s have a better look at the health benefits of this exercise:

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Define your Abs

As this exercise engages your abdominal muscles, it helps reduce your belly fat and give a more defined shape to your abs. Additionally, flutter kicks can help in enhancing core stability.

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Improved Posture

Flutter kicking, like many exercises, helps in improving posture. The correct form of the exercise can help with issues like bending and slouching. However, you must remember to do this exercise with the correct stance to avoid injuries and develop a bad posture.

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Toughens the Legs

Flutter kick engages the muscles of your thighs, which not only helps you in losing the excess flabby parts but also activate and strengthen the muscles of your thighs.

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Better Flexibility

As this exercise works on the major muscle groups of the lower body, in retrospect, it enhances flexibility. That helps in your day-to-day activities, such as working and sitting for long hours. It also helps you do more advanced yoga poses and exercises.

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Lower Back Pain

We often suffer from back pain due to reasons ranging from no physical activity to following the wrong movements of exercises. Flutter kicks enable stretching of the back muscles and contracting the abdominal muscles, helping them relax.

Incorporating this exercise into your workout routine can help in lower back pain by building the strength of muscles.

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Common Mistakes While Doing Flutter Kicks

Avoid these common mistakes while doing flutter kicks to keep a better stance and to avoid any injury.

• Don't stop breathing – Do not forget to breathe while doing this exercise, as that can give rise to several complications.
• Avoid arching your lower back – Position your lower back on the ground all the time while doing the flutter kick movement to avoid any back injury or strain.
• Don't engage your leg muscles – While doing this exercise, make sure that you feel strain in your core and not leg muscles.

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Bottom Line

Flutter kicks can be considered an efficient exercise for training and strengthening your lower body. It provides many health benefits, including making everyday activities easier and building stamina.

However, if you want to tone your body or lose weight, flutter kicks alone will not be sufficient. Incorporate this exercise into a proper workout regime. Also, ensure to have a balanced diet, and give your body proper recovery time to reap all the advantages.

If you feel pain during the movement of this exercise, discontinue immediately, and consult a fitness or medical professional.