Butt Kickers

Boost your cardio routine with butt kickers, a simple yet effective exercise for strengthening hamstrings and improving endurance. This move also engages your calves and glutes, helping you enhance both speed and flexibility.

In this guide, you’ll find step-by-step instructions to perform butt kickers with the correct form to prevent injuries. You’ll also learn tips to increase intensity and adapt this exercise to your fitness goals.

How To Do

  1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms relaxed at your sides.
  2. Begin by bringing your right heel up towards your glutes, bending at the knee.
  3. Simultaneously, bend your left elbow, bringing your hand towards your shoulder.
  4. Lower your right leg back down. As it is reaching the starting position, start the movement on the opposite side. Bring your left heel up towards your glutes while swinging your right hand up.
  5. Keep a steady rhythm, alternating legs as if jogging in place.
  6. Finish by gradually slowing down to return to a standing position.

Tips From Expert

  • Start with your feet hip-width apart and arms by your sides. This ensures a stable body position to start the movement.
  • Keep your chest up and head facing forward at all times. This prevents your back from rounding and limits lower back strain.
  • Bring your heels up to your butt. Avoid aggressively kicking your butt. Instead, lightly contact it.
  • Each movement should be fluid and controlled. Drive your arm forward as the leg goes back.
  • Maintain a controlled breathing pattern throughout. This ensures adequate oxygen supply to your working muscles and brain.

Optimal Sets and Reps

Here's some guidance on the ideal sets and reps depending on your training goal for the butt kicker exercise.

Training Type Sets Reps
Strength Training 3–5 10–15
Hypertrophy 3–4 15–20
Endurance Training 2–3 20+
Power Training 3–5 8–10 (Explosive)
Optimal Sets & Reps of Butt Kickers

How to Put in Your Workout Split

Butt kickers are a valuable exercise to boost cardio and strengthen hamstrings, calves, and glutes. They can fit into various workout splits to enhance speed and endurance.

  • Push/Pull Split — Add butt kickers to pull days as they engage the hamstrings and glutes, which are often worked on pull days. They can be used as a dynamic warm-up cardio exercise before deadlifts, pull-ups, or leg curls.
  • Upper/Lower Body Split — Use butt kickers on your lower-body days, alongside exercises like squats, lunges, and calf raises. This combination covers all the main lower body muscles, while also training muscular endurance and lower body stability.
  • Full-Body Split — Integrate butt kickers in full-body routines 2–3 times weekly. Combine them with compound exercises, like deadlifts, squats, or push-ups, to add an element of cardio to your full-body training.

To increase intensity and train endurance, try either speeding up the movement or extending the duration of each set. For an added challenge to improve strength and explosiveness, you can wear a weighted vest.

Primary Muscle Groups

Hamstrings

Muscles located at the back of your upper leg, below your glutes and above your calves. Consists of three muscles.

Hamstrings

The hamstrings are a group of muscles at the back of the thigh. During butt kickers, the hamstrings activate when you pull your heel toward your glutes, creating a dynamic and repetitive contraction.

Plyometric exercises, such as butt kickers, are quick, explosive movements designed to build speed, power, and agility. They focus on jumping, bounding, or rapid leg movements that stretch and contract muscles quickly, improving reaction time and strength.

Maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) is a measurement of the maximum force a muscle can exert in a single, non-moving contraction. Plyometric exercises similar to butt kickers showed 65.34% of MVIC for the medial (inner side) hamstring. Whereas, the lateral (outer side) hamstring showed 35.59% of MVIC.

These activation rates were noted during single-leg hops and would likely be even higher during butt kickers. This is because of the knee bending during the exercise, which engages the hamstrings more intensively.

This shows that regularly performing butt kickers helps strengthen the hamstrings, which can improve sprinting speed and reduce injury risk. Strong hamstrings also provide stability to the knee joint. This can aid athletic performance in many areas and daily activities like walking and climbing stairs.

Secondary Muscle Groups

Gluteus

Large, superficial muscles located at your buttocks just below your lower back area.

Hip Abductors

Muscles located between your lower back and perineum. Consists of three muscle groups.

Quadriceps

Muscles located at the front portion of your upper legs, below your pelvis and above your knees. Consists of four parts.

Hip Adductors

Muscles located at the upper inside part of your legs between your quads and hamstrings.

Gastrocnemius

Muscles located at the back of your lower leg and consists of your calf. Starts just behind your knee and extends to your ankle.

Soleus

Muscles located behind your gastrocnemius sitting slightly deeper. Runs down your leg and connects with the gastrocnemius to make your Achilles tendon.

Iliopsoas

Muscles starting at your back, moving through your pelvis connecting just below your groin.

Gluteus

The gluteus muscles, located at the back of the hip, consist of the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus. They are crucial in generating power during butt kickers. They assist in hip extension, propelling each leg movement backward.

This activation supports stronger, more explosive movements in running and jumping exercises. Strong glutes also improve stability and protect the lower back from strain.

The gluteus maximus plays the most prominent role in the hip extension. The gluteus medius and minimus are only minimally activated during butt kickers. For greater activation, try gluteus medius exercises like clamshells or gluteus minimus exercises like hip abductions.

Quadriceps

The quadriceps are on the front of the thigh. They help to straighten the knee as you bring each foot down during butt kickers. This muscle group plays a vital role in stabilizing your knee joint and supporting activities like running and squatting.

Regular engagement of the quadriceps with butt kickers also improves lower body strength and agility.

Gastrocnemius

The gastrocnemius is a large calf muscle essential for walking and maintaining good posture. This muscle contracts each time you push off from the ground during butt kickers. This provides a spring-like effect that aids in speed and endurance.

Strengthening this muscle increases power in exercises involving jumping or running. Moreover, it contributes to better balance and mobility in daily life.

Soleus

The soleus is a flat muscle that lies beneath the gastrocnemius. It helps with ankle stability and push-off during each step you take. Therefore, it’s especially active during the initial raising of the feet during butt kickers. A strong soleus supports endurance and reduces the risk of ankle strain.

Iliopsoas

The iliopsoas is the most powerful hip flexor muscle. It is located in the lower abdomen and extends to the inner thigh. It connects the spine and pelvis to the femur (thigh bone). During butt kickers, the iliopsoas works to stabilize your hip joint as you bring your heel up towards your glutes.

It keeps the leg movement smooth and controlled, helping to maintain a steady rhythm throughout the exercise. Training the iliopsoas will help improve lower body coordination and reduce the risk of hip injuries.

Hip Abductors And Adductors

The hip abductors (outer thigh) and adductors (inner thigh) contribute to hip stabilization during butt kickers. These muscles help maintain balance and alignment, preventing sideways movement.

Engaging these muscles supports hip strength, which is important for preventing injuries during exercise and day-to-day life.

Equipment

Bodyweight

Bodyweight

Requires bodyweight resistance and additional equipment for proper execution.

Variations

Exercises that target the same primary muscle groups and require the same equipment.

High Knees

Cobra Stretch

Seated Forward Bend

Bodyweight Single-leg Deadlift

Jump Rope

Standing Forward Bend

Dynamic Hamstring Stretch

Seated Hamstring Stretch

Hurdler Stretch

Alternatives

Exercises that target the same primary muscle groups and require the different equipment.

Barbell Deadlift

Barbell Stiff Leg Deadlift

Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlift

Dumbbell Single Leg Romanian Deadlift

Seated Leg Curl Machine

Lying Leg Curl Machine

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Barbell Sumo Deadlift

Barbell Romanian Deadlift

Dumbbell Deadlift

Who Should Do?

Runners And Athletes

Butt kickers can be a valuable warm-up for runners and athletes aiming to enhance speed, power, and endurance. Including butt kickers in a warm-up routine helps prepare the legs for intense activity.

Adding butt kickers to your routine also increases agility and muscle flexibility, helping to prevent injuries during high-impact activities. Additionally, this exercise can enhance running form and speed by promoting better muscle activation and coordination.

Beginners Seeking Low-Impact Cardio

Butt kickers are an accessible, low-impact cardio exercise. They are easy to learn and can be done by individuals of any fitness level. Furthermore, no equipment is needed, so they can be completed without a gym or training setup. 

It’s easy to adjust the intensity to suit any capabilities by changing the pace or duration. Therefore, making it an adaptable option for different starting levels and goals.

Practicing this exercise helps beginners improve cardiovascular health, coordination, and agility. This creates a foundation for more intense cardio and strength exercises as fitness levels improve.

People Training Lower Body Strength

For individuals aiming to build lower body strength, butt kickers are a valuable addition to their leg workouts. This exercise primarily targets the hamstrings and glutes, while also activating the calves for a balanced approach to leg strengthening. 

Incorporating butt kickers regularly can enhance lower body endurance, increase muscle stability, and improve joint mobility. Thus, supporting strength and agility in activities like squats, lunges, and running. 

The alternate use of the legs helps to prevent muscle imbalances over time because one cannot compensate for the other. Regular practice of this exercise can also improve coordination and balance, contributing to leg strength and stabilization. 

Who Should Not Do?

Individuals With Knee Or Ankle Issues

Butt kickers involve repeated bending and straightening of the knees, which can stress weak or injured joints. People with knee or ankle issues may experience discomfort or aggravate existing injuries. What’s more, the springing effect when changing legs can exacerbate the impact if not properly supported.

Performing high-impact movements can worsen pain and hinder recovery. Low-impact alternatives, such as walking or cycling, are recommended for those with joint concerns. Prioritizing gentler exercises helps build strength without risking further joint damage. 

People With Tight Quadriceps

Butt kickers require good flexibility in the quadriceps (the muscles at the front of the thigh). This is because the quads are stretched as the heel moves toward the glutes. For people with tight quads, this movement may feel challenging. They may experience resistance in bringing the heel close to the body and be unable to fully complete the movement.

A restricted range of motion could lead to poor form and compensation in other areas, reducing the exercise’s effectiveness. Focusing on flexibility exercises, like quad stretches or yoga, can help improve mobility. Once flexibility has improved, butt kickers can be added to workouts safely.

Individuals With Lower Back Pain

Butt kickers can place strain on the lower back if the core isn’t engaged or posture is compromised. For those with existing lower back pain, this exercise may exacerbate discomfort. 

Additionally, improper form or lack of stability can increase spinal stress, worsening the condition. This is especially a risk during high-intensity exercises like cardio training. As the body fatigues, sometimes the form becomes compromised, and the risk of injury increases. 

To avoid strain, focus on core-strengthening exercises first. Building core stability helps protect the lower back, allowing safer engagement in more dynamic movements over time.

Benefits Of The Butt Kicker

Enhances Cardiovascular Endurance

Butt kickers are an effective cardio exercise that increases heart rate, helping to improve cardiovascular endurance. Regularly incorporating them into workouts boosts stamina, allowing for longer and more intense physical activity. Enhanced endurance benefits overall health and supports better performance in other cardio-intensive exercises.

Strengthens Muscles

Butt kickers target key lower body muscles, including the hamstrings, calves, and glutes. Engaging these muscles with each repetition helps build strength and muscle mass. Stronger lower body muscles also contribute to better balance, agility, and stability in daily activities.

Improves Coordination And Agility

This dynamic movement improves coordination by requiring a steady rhythm and alternating movements. Butt kickers also enhance agility, supporting quick directional changes and faster reflexes in sports. Improved coordination and agility benefit not only athletic performance but also functional movements in everyday life.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many calories do butt kicks burn?

The calories burned during butt kickers depend on your weight, physical fitness, intensity, and duration. In general, the calories burned will be similar to what you burn while running at a similar intensity.

How many butt kickers should I do?

How many you should do is based on your training goals. Use the table above to align your workout with your exercise purpose. Focus on maintaining a steady rhythm and proper form before increasing duration or intensity.

Can I do butt kickers every day?

If using butt kickers as a quick warm-up, daily practice is fine. However, if you’re training them fully as an exercise, rest for 48–72 hours between sessions. This rest period allows muscles to recover and prevents overuse.

What are the disadvantages of butt kickers?

The high-energy, repetitive motion of butt kickers can be uncomfortable or a higher risk for the knee or hip joints. It’s important to prioritize proper form and stop the exercise if there are any unexpected pains.

Resources

Endomondo.com refrains from utilizing tertiary references. We uphold stringent sourcing criteria and depend on peer-reviewed studies and academic research conducted by medical associations and institutions. For more detailed insights, you can explore further by reading our editorial process.

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