Scissor Kick Exercise Guide: How to Master Scissor Kicks

Scissor kicks are bodyweight ab exercises designed to activate your core muscles and leg muscles. Perform scissor kicks by lying faceup on an exercise mat and lifting your legs until your upper body and lower body form a 45-degree angle. While keeping your core engaged and your lower back on the mat, cross your feet back and forth in the air with an alternating movement pattern. With proper form, scissor kicks can increase your core strength, enhance mobility in your hip flexor muscles, and add a cardio movement to your strength-training program

Although scissor kicks and flutter kicks are similar core workouts, they differ from one another in a few ways.

1. 1. Movement pattern: To perform flutter kicks, you lie on your back and raise one leg up slightly higher than the other while lowering the opposite leg. You continue to move your legs vertically in a controlled, alternating fashion. By contrast, you use a horizontal back and forth movement pattern to perform scissor kicks.
2. 2. Muscles targeted: Both exercises activate your core muscles—particularly the lower abs, transverse abdominis, and rectus abdominis. However, the horizontal movement pattern involved with scissor kicks also activates the adductor muscles along your inner thighs.
3. 3. Difficulty level: Scissor kicks are a slightly more advanced leg lift exercise than flutter kicks. Depending on your fitness level, consider using a resistance band or ankle weights during your scissor kick exercises for an additional challenge.

For scissor kicks, begin with 2–3 sets of 10–20 repetitions. Choose your sets and repetitions based on your ability to maintain good technique throughout all sets and repetitions.

1. 1. Start by lying faceup on an exercise mat. Place your arms by your sides with your palms facing down or place your hands under your glutes. Your chin should remain tucked throughout the movement, as if you were holding an egg under your chin. Your pelvis should be slightly tucked and your ribs should be down. Engage your core.
2. 2. Lift your legs 3–5 inches off the ground and point your toes away from your body. All repetitions should begin from this starting position.
3. 3. While maintaining your alignment, cross your right foot over your left, then immediately cross your left foot over your right.
4. 4. Continue to move your legs in a controlled, alternating fashion until you’ve completed the desired number of repetitions.

If you have a previous or pre-existing health condition, consult your physician before beginning an exercise program. Proper exercise technique is essential to ensure the safety and effectiveness of an exercise program, but you may need to modify each exercise to attain optimal results based on your individual needs. Always select a weight that allows you to have full control of your body throughout the movement. When performing any exercise, pay close attention to your body, and stop immediately if you note pain or discomfort.

In order to see continual progress and build body strength, incorporate proper warm-ups, rest, and nutrition into your exercise program. Your results will ultimately be based on your ability to adequately recover from your workouts. Rest for 24 to 48 hours before training the same muscle groups to allow sufficient recovery.

Throw on some athleisure, fire up a MasterClass Annual Membership, and get ready to sweat it out with exclusive instructional videos from Nike Master Trainer and GQ fitness specialist Joe Holder. Want to improve your cardiovascular endurance? Give Joe’s HIIT workout a go. Trying to get a little swole? He’s got a strength training workout for that. From fitness tips to nutrition hacks, Joe will have you feeling healthier in no time.