How to do a Side Leg Kick
Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
Workouts with Side Leg Kick
Target muscles worked
Instructions for Proper Form
Side Leg Kick is an exercise that primarily targets your glutes. By lying on your side and raising your top leg into the air, you’re already recruiting your glutes, as well as your other smaller muscle groups like hip flexors. With your glutes already engaged, you then move them through a range of motion to further improve muscle activation.
- Lie on your side and place your top palm on the floor for stability.
- Engage your glutes and hips to raise your leg up at your hips. Engage your core for stability.
- Engage your hips and quads to swing your leg forward.
- Engage your hips and glutes to swing your leg behind you.
- Repeat for the duration of the exercise.
- Maintain good posture by keeping your active leg straight with a slight bend in your knee.
- You should feel this exercise primarily in your glutes and hips.
Common Form Mistakes
Foot Parallel
Keep your foot parallel to the floor. If you allow your leg to rotate the exercises will be less effective. Focus on keeping your toes pointed forward throughout the movement.
Sets & Reps Calculator
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Alternatives & Variations to Side Leg Kick
1. Single Leg Kickback
86.2 mSCORESWAPPED 226 TIMESSingle Leg Kickback is a compound, bodyweight exercise that primarily targets your glutes. The exercise requires you to engage your glutes, and kick your leg back and up with your knees bent. Targeting each side independently is a great way to identify discrepancies in mobility and strength between sides.
2. Hip Thrust
97 mSCORESWAPPED 168 TIMESHip Thrust is a compound, bodyweight exercise that primarily targets your glutes. This is a great beginner exercise that can help you learn and develop your glute drive, which is helpful for a number of different exercises and general movements. It’s a simple and easy to perform exercise that can help you develop strength.
3. Standing Leg Side Hold
35.4 mSCORESWAPPED 162 TIMESStanding Leg Side Hold is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the glutes and hip abductors. By raising one leg to the side and holding it there, you engage these muscles to maintain stability and balance. This exercise helps improve balance, stability, and muscle endurance. It's a great addition for anyone looking to fine-tune lower body strength and muscle control.
4. Side Leg Hip Circle
10.6 mSCORESWAPPED 160 TIMESSide Leg Hip Circle is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the glutes and hips. By lying on your side and drawing circles with your top leg, you engage your hip flexors and glutes through a full range of motion. This is an excellent exercise for improving hip mobility and stability, as well as strengthening the smaller stabilizing muscles around the hip joint.
5. Straight Leg Kickback
57.6 mSCORESWAPPED 144 TIMESStraight Leg Kickback is a bodyweight exercise that primarily targets the glutes. By extending your leg out behind you, and off the ground, you’re already engaging your glutes and hamstrings. By pulsing your leg up and down, you take your already engaged glutes, and move them through a limited range of motion. This is a great exercise for isolating the glutes.
6. Frog Pump
53.8 mSCORESWAPPED 129 TIMESFrog Pump is a variation on the more standard Hit Thrust. Like Hip Thrust, this is a compound, bodyweight movement that primarily targets the glutes. By placing your feet together with your knees flared out to either side, you can further recruit your hip flexors.
7. Dumbbell Hip Thrust
88.1 mSCORESWAPPED 109 TIMESThis exercise is a weighted variation on the more standard Hit Thrust. By holding a dumbbell against your hips, you can add a bit more resistance to this usually bodyweight exercise. This is a great variation for adding a bit more difficulty to your Hip Thrusts.