I never thought Pilates would be my thing. Yet over time, weekly classes helped me fall in love with building strength, improving mobility, and refining how my body moves. Alongside CrossFit, yoga, and my work as a personal trainer, I’ve developed what I consider a solid core.
While I don’t have visible six-pack abs, a strong midsection does far more than create definition. It supports posture, improves spinal stability, and helps with injury prevention, allowing you to move safely and efficiently at any age. That’s something well supported by existing research.
One exercise that regularly appears in Pilates caught my attention recently: flutter kicks. It’s a move I’ve used with clients for years and one that features across many core workouts. Curious about its impact, I committed to doing flutter kicks every day for a week to see what would change — and what wouldn’t.
Understanding Flutter Kicks
The flutter kicks exercise is performed by lying on your back, lifting your shoulders slightly off the floor, and hovering your legs just above the ground while alternating them up and down. Although commonly used in both mat and reformer Pilates, this movement is more modern and not part of the original Joseph Pilates sequences.
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Despite the leg motion, the exercise should be driven by your core. Momentum should never take over, even though the movement can look fast. You may also hear flutter kicks referred to as scissor kicks, but the goal remains the same: controlled movement powered by your midsection.
How to Perform Flutter Kicks Correctly
- Lie flat on your back with your legs extended.
- Place your hands by your sides or slide them under your upper glutes for lower-back support.
- Draw your belly in toward your spine and gently tilt your pelvis.
- Lift your legs to hover above the mat, point your toes, and raise your shoulders slightly while engaging your core.
- Alternate your legs in a controlled fluttering motion.
- Bend your knees softly if the movement strains your hips or lower back.
Focus on control and rhythm rather than speed. If lifting your upper body feels too demanding, keep your head and neck supported on the mat. Avoid arching your lower back, as this shifts work away from your core and increases strain on the lumbar spine.
Doing Flutter Kicks Daily for a Week: What I Noticed
Flutter kicks maintain constant tension through the core, encouraging deeper muscle activation and building endurance in the hips and torso over time. After practicing them daily for a week, the experience highlighted an important distinction between ab muscles and the core.
The abs, or rectus abdominis, are just one part of a wider system that includes the obliques, transverse abdominis, erector spinae, multifidus, pelvic floor, diaphragm, hip flexors, and glute muscles. Training the entire core rather than focusing solely on abs supports functional strength, posture, and pain reduction.
My Core Endurance Was Tested
Despite considering myself strong, flutter kicks proved challenging. Keeping both legs and shoulders elevated demands continuous core engagement, increasing time under tension. While CrossFit helped build power and maximal strength, Pilates revealed gaps in my endurance.
Lifting heavy weights didn’t translate to sustaining 10 rounds of 45 seconds of flutter kicks with short rest periods. The controlled nature of the movement exposed how different training styles develop different physical qualities.
The Movement Required Full Focus
Executing flutter kicks correctly involved managing multiple elements at once. I had to keep my shoulder blades lifted, maintain abdominal compression, and prevent my lower back from arching. At the same time, my legs needed controlled movement while my hips stayed stable.
Midway through, I realized I was holding my breath. Proper breathing is essential for core engagement, especially since the diaphragm is part of the core system. Shallow breathing and poor posture are closely linked, making breath control a key part of the exercise.
My Back Benefited From the Change
Unlike sit-ups, crunches, or Russian twists, flutter kicks keep your back supported against the floor, avoiding repeated spinal flexion and extension. While this doesn’t automatically make the exercise suitable for everyone with back pain, my spine certainly appreciated the difference.
Including anti-flexion, anti-extension, and anti-rotation movements helps train stability and tension control. Flutter kicks offered a refreshing alternative, and I didn’t miss traditional sit-ups once they were out of my routine.
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