Flutterkicks

[pst]

Lately I've been doing flutterkicks. You lie on your back with your head slightly raised. You raise legs a few inches off the ground, point your toes and kick, sort of like swimming.
Supposed to be good for the abs.

Anyone have any ideas on incorporating these? Any advice on how often to do them, etc?

[Phrost]

Well, I've only done about a BILLION of them, but I only really noticed that they worked my hip flexor muscles and some of the lower abs.

Putting your hands under your ass helps a bit too. When you can do about 150 4-count, use leg weights.

But leg lifts are much better for abs. So are frog kicks.

[The Wastrel]

Ah yes....the flutterkick. I can remember a time when I was forced to do flutter kicks for nearly forty-five minutes...that's what you get for telling the NCO in charge of PT that his workout is garbage....when you're still in IET.

Flutter kicks are good for abs and also very good for hip flexors. But I have done so many that they are useless to me. If you're new to hard abdominal work, try them. You might like them. You don't really need to point your toes.

I prefer making my abdominal workouts harder so I can keep my sets down to thirty or so repetitions. Doing 200 four count flutter kicks is not the best use of my time.

[The Wastrel]

Look at the Army dudes leap onto this thread!

[FingerorMoon?]

They work the hip flexors hard.

Just a caution, if you've got weak stabilization, or are long limbed, you could find doing this exercise causes your spine to hyper-extend.

Putting your hands under your ass (as Phrost said), palm down can help stop your spine doing this

(if you feel yourself back coming up off the ground too much, or end up with a sore lower back after doing it)

[Matt Stone]

The "semi-official" word from Uncle Sugar's docs is that flutter kicks are bad for the lower back.. I disagree. They are only bad for your back when you do them incorrectly.

Lay on your back. Place your hands, palm down, underneath your buttocks. Curl your head and neck forward so that your chin touches your chest (and keep it there!). By curling the neck forward, your curl the lower spine, removing the hyperextension and potential for injury. Only when people with weak abs give up and let their heads fall back does the lower back become endangered.

Ultimately, though, flutterkicks are only really good for smoking folks. I can do 5 sets of 5 Janda situps and get a far better workout than by doing 100 4 count flutterkicks...

[udo]

Could someone please tell me what frog kicks and Janda situps are?

[pst]

Thanks for the info. Sounds like I can be doing other things but my hip flexors could use the work for now. For some reason I can't do low kicks with my right leg as with my left leg.
Thanks again for the input.

[J-kid]

They are also cool to use as you armbar someone (Cross armbar from mount) just dropping them into there face is fun!!! hehe :D