How to do a Hip Lift March
Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
Workouts with Hip Lift March
Target muscles worked
Instructions for Proper Form
Hip Lift March is a bodyweight exercise that primarily targets your glutes and core. This exercise involves lifting your hips off the ground and alternating marching motions with your legs. The movement adds instability, increasing core engagement and promoting better muscle activation. It's a great addition for improving stability, strength, and coordination in the lower body.
- Lay on your back with your feet planted onto the ground and knees pointed towards the ceiling or sky.
- Place your arms to the side on the ground.
- Brace your core and lift your hips off the ground until your knees and shoulders are in a straight line, maintain this position throughout the exercise by activating your glutes and hamstrings.
- Bring one knee up until your hips and knee both form a 90-degree angle.
- Maintain the orientation of the leg and bring it back to the ground at a normal pace.
- Repeat movement on the other leg.
Sets & Reps Calculator
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Alternatives & Variations to Hip Lift March
1. Leg Raise
96.5 mSCORESWAPPED 46 TIMESLeg Raise is a simple bodyweight core exercise that involves laying on the ground and suspending your legs in the air. While your core does play a significant role in raising your legs, the real benefit comes from controlling their descent back to the floor.
2. Dead Bug
92.4 mSCORESWAPPED 41 TIMESDead Bugs are a bodyweight core exercise that requires you to lay on your back, and alternate extending your arms and legs out away from your body. The position you’re in on the ground keeps your core engaged, while extending your arms and legs away from you forces you to further recruit your core to continue to stabilize yourself.
3. Plank
92.8 mSCORESWAPPED 29 TIMESPlanks are one of the most common core exercises out there. This is a bodyweight exercise that is performed for time rather than reps. Planks don’t require any movement, instead they force you to place yourself in a position that requires you to engage your core, and maintain that muscle activation for the duration of the exercise. This is a great way to help build strength and stability in a way that will translate to a variety of other exercises, and your daily life.
4. Russian Twist
96.2 mSCORESWAPPED 26 TIMESRussian Twist is one of the more common core exercises. This exercise targets multiple muscles in your core, but the reason for including this exercise is usually to target your obliques. By raising your feet off the ground, engaging your core, and twisting to each side, you can better target this specific muscle in your core.
5. Crunches
94 mSCORESWAPPED 22 TIMESCrunches are one of the most common exercises out there. It’s an easy to perform, bodyweight exercise that targets your abdominals. Crunches are very similar to Sit Ups, however, instead of raising your upper body all the way into a near sitting position, you only raise your shoulder blades off the ground. This is a great exercise for beginners looking to build core strength.
6. Alternating Heel Touch
78.2 mSCORESWAPPED 22 TIMESAlternating Heel Touch is a bodyweight, core exercise that involves laying on the ground and reaching towards your heel on either side. By raising your shoulder blades off the ground, you’re already engaging your core, while reaching towards either side helps to engage your obliques.
7. Leg Pull-In
94.9 mSCORESWAPPED 18 TIMESLeg Pull in is a bodyweight exercise that targets your core. By raising your legs off the ground, you’re already engaging your core. Additionally your core helps to pull your legs in towards your chest.
8. Scissor Kick
94.2 mSCORESWAPPED 18 TIMESScissor Kicks are a bodyweight, core exercise that involve raising your feet off the ground, and kicking your legs up and down. By raising your legs off the ground, you’re already working your core. By continually alternating which leg is raised, you’re constantly forced to keep your core engaged for stability as well as to keep each leg raised.
9. Reverse Crunch
87.7 mSCORESWAPPED 17 TIMESReverse Crunch is a variation on the more standard crunch, although it may appear closer to something like a Leg Raise. Rather than engaging your core to bring your chest towards your pelvis, you instead elevate your legs, and bring your pelvis in towards your chest.
10. Ab Crunch Machine
96.1 mSCORESWAPPED 15 TIMESAb Crunch Machine is a variation of Crunches performed with a machine. Unlike standard Crunches, the use of a machine gives you more control over your resistance. In addition, the machine will restrict your range of motion allowing you to focus more on exertion than stabilizing the movement.
- Intermediate
- Abs
- Ab Crunch Machine