The flutter kick is, arguably, thought of as a swimming technique used to drive a swimmer forward by keeping the legs up and stabilising the body in the water. But it is just as common, in fact, on dry land – it’s the process of moving your legs up and down, one leg going upwards while the other goes down, bending them slightly at the knees. The flutter kick specifically targets the lower abdomen and is often performed in strength training classes such as Pilates, Les Mills CORE, and Les Mills BodyPump.
Including flutter kicks in your workout increases your core strength and improves your endurance and flexibility. And by targeting the abdominal muscles, it can slim your waist, thanks the muscle-strengthening and calorie-burning benefits of the exercise. A word of warning though, not doing your flutter kicks correctly could diminish the affect. Common mistakes are to bend your knees too much, keeping your ankles too stiff, and kicking with your legs too far apart.
As we said earlier, flutter kicks are a common exercise in Pilates, a series of precise movements that strengthen your core muscles, which helps to make you more flexible.
Pilates provides the perfect balance between strength and flexibility. It can help to reshape your body, making it leaner, and improve your posture.
Pilates also helps relieve unwanted stress and tensions, with its slow, controlled approach giving long-term results.
Another class where you find the flutter kick is Barre, which is set apart from other group fitness classes by the use of the ‘ballet barre’ – the exercises you see ballet dancers doing while holding a rail and usually next to a full-length wall mirror.
Barre focuses on your lower body and core, developing strength and flexibility from the ankles up though the calves, knees, thighs, glutes and abdominals.
Here at Bolton Arena Sports Village, you’ll find the flutter kick being put to good use in Pilates, Les Mills core sessions, Trim and Tone classes and several others, where working on your core strength is part of, or the whole focus of, the class.
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