# Scissor Kicks: how to do it

- Main muscles: abs, hip flexors
- Also works: adductors
- Equipment: bodyweight
- Level: beginner
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/scissor_kicks/e317ac9335/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Lie on your back with your hands under your hips and your legs straight.
2. Press your lower back down and lift your legs a hand's height off the floor.
3. Open your legs a little, then cross your right leg over your left.
4. Open again and cross your left leg over your right; keep alternating.

## Cues

- Lower back stays down.
- Cross at the shins, legs straight.
- Slow, controlled crossings.

## Common mistakes

- Lower back lifting: raise your legs slightly higher.
- Bending your knees: keep your legs long through the toes.
- Speeding up: keep the same steady pace to the end.

## The version in our demo

Lying cross scissors: straight legs held low, opening and crossing over each other side to side, swapping which leg is on top. This horizontal, crossing version is what sets scissor kicks apart from flutter kicks (up-and-down) and is why the inner thighs work; hands rest under the hips for support.

## Starting position

Lying on the back on a mat, hands palms down under the hips (or flat beside the hips), head resting down with the chin slightly tucked. Lower back pressed into the mat. Both legs straight and together, lifted so the heels hover about 20–25 cm off the floor. Toes gently pointed.

## The movement

Open the legs a little to the sides, then close them so the right leg crosses over the left at the shins; open again and close with the left leg crossing over the right. The legs stay straight and at the same height band throughout; the movement is side to side in the horizontal plane, with only a small height offset so the legs pass over each other. Pelvis, lower back and head stay still.

## Breathing

Steady, even breaths; do not hold the breath.

## Form in numbers

- Crossed position: ankles cross by 8–10 cm, top leg about 5–8 cm higher than the bottom leg.
- Knee flexion 0–5° throughout; toes softly pointed.
- Lower back stays flat on the mat; pelvis does not roll side to side.

## Sources

1. [Tom's Guide (Jane McGuire), "Scissor kicks: How to do them and the benefits for building core strength"](https://www.tomsguide.com/how-to/scissor-kicks-how-to-do-them-and-the-benefits-for-building-core-strength)
2. [Weight Training Guide, "Lying scissor kick"](https://weighttraining.guide/exercises/lying-scissor-kick/)
3. [Healthline, "Lower Ab Workout: 10 Exercises for a Stronger Core" (scissor kicks)](https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/flutter-kicks)

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/scissor-kicks