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Lying Scissor Kicks: How to Do It, Muscles Worked & Form

Abs
Easy
Bodyweight
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If you want a simple core move you can do at home with nothing but the floor, lying scissor kicks are a great place to start. You lie on your back, lift your straight legs a few inches off the ground, and cross them past each other over and over, like the blades of a pair of scissors. That steady, controlled motion trains the front of your midsection, and it is often felt most in the lower part of your abs, the area right below your belly button that beginners so often ask how to train. You do not need a single piece of equipment, and you do not need a strong core to begin. You build one by starting with a handful of slow, clean reps and adding a few more each week. Scissor kicks are one of the clearest ways to learn what it feels like to keep your core switched on while your legs move, which is a skill that carries straight over to bigger lifts later.

Lying scissor kicks demonstration
Lying scissor kicks: keep your legs straight and low, cross them slowly, and pin your lower back to the floor.

Muscles Worked

Scissor kicks are a bodyweight core exercise, which means your own body is the only resistance. The work lands almost entirely on the muscles that make up the front and sides of your midsection, with your legs and hips helping to hold everything steady. Here is what is doing the job:

  • Rectus abdominis: the long sheet of muscle down the front of your stomach, the one people mean when they say abs. It works hard to keep your torso flat and stable while your legs move, and because your legs stay low, you often feel it most in the lower portion below your belly button.
  • Obliques: the muscles running down the sides of your waist. They fire on every switch to control the slight twisting and to stop your hips from rocking side to side as your legs cross.
  • Hip flexors: the muscles at the front of your hips that lift your thighs. They do the actual leg raising and lowering, so they are working the whole time, which is normal and part of the exercise.
  • Quadriceps and glutes (stabilizers): the fronts of your thighs keep your legs straight, and your glutes gently squeeze to steady your pelvis so your lower back stays supported.

How to Do Lying Scissor Kicks

  1. Lie flat on your back on a mat with your legs straight out in front of you. Slide your hands under your glutes, palms down, or rest them flat at your sides for support. Relax your head on the mat with your chin slightly tucked, then lift both legs about a foot off the floor with your legs straight and close together. Press your lower back gently down into the mat so there is no gap underneath it.
  2. Draw your belly button gently toward your spine to switch on your abs, and keep your lower back pinned to the floor for the whole set. Keep your legs straight with your thighs firm, and squeeze your glutes lightly to steady your hips. Make one simple rule: your lower back never lifts off the mat, and if it starts to, that is your signal to raise your legs a little higher.
  3. Keeping both legs straight and a few inches off the floor, lower one leg toward the ground while the other stays raised, then smoothly switch, crossing your legs past each other like the blades of a pair of scissors. Move from your hips in a slow, controlled rhythm, breathe steadily, and do not let your legs swing wildly or your lower back arch up.
  4. Once you have done your planned number of switches, bring both legs back together a few inches off the floor and hold for a beat, keeping your core tight. Then lower your feet all the way to the mat under control, rather than letting them drop, and rest before your next set.

Coaching Cues

  • Pin your lower back down. The single most important cue. Before and during every rep, press your lower back into the mat so there is no gap under it. This is what keeps the work on your abs and off your spine.
  • Raise your legs to make it easier. The higher your legs point toward the ceiling, the easier the exercise and the safer your back. The lower and closer to the floor they travel, the harder it gets. Start higher and only go lower as you get stronger.
  • Move slowly from the hips. Think smooth and deliberate, not fast and floppy. A slow tempo keeps your abs under tension the whole time and stops the movement from turning into momentum.
  • Keep your legs long. A soft bend in the knees is fine, but do not let your legs collapse into a bend. Long, straight legs make your core work harder to control them.
  • Relax your neck and shoulders. Let your head rest on the mat. There is no need to crane your neck up. The job is happening in your stomach, not your head.

Common Mistakes

  • Letting the lower back arch off the floor. This is the number one mistake and the fastest way to feel it in your back instead of your abs. If your back lifts, raise your legs higher or lower them a bit and reset your brace.
  • Going too fast. Fast, swinging kicks use momentum and let your hip flexors take over while your abs coast. Slow the rhythm down until you feel your stomach working on every switch.
  • Dropping the legs too low too soon. Beginners often try to skim their heels along the floor before their core is ready, which arches the back. Keep the legs higher until you can hold a flat back the whole set.
  • Holding your breath. Clamping down and holding your breath makes you tense and cuts the set short. Breathe in a steady, relaxed rhythm as your legs cross.
  • Rocking the hips side to side. If your hips are rolling, your obliques are switched off. Squeeze your glutes and keep your pelvis quiet so only your legs move.

Sets, Reps & Programming

Because scissor kicks are a light bodyweight move, you train them with time or a rep count rather than heavy loads. A good beginner target is 2 to 3 sets of 20 to 30 total switches, or 20 to 30 seconds of steady scissoring per set, resting about 45 to 60 seconds between sets. Count one switch of each leg as a rep. Fit them in one to three times per week, either as part of a short core circuit alongside a plank and a glute bridge, or tacked on at the end of a full workout. When a set starts to feel easy and your lower back stays flat the whole time, make it harder by lowering your legs closer to the floor, slowing the tempo down, or adding a few more switches. That gradual increase is called progressive overload, and it is the reason a simple floor move keeps building your core over the weeks and months.

Safety

Scissor kicks are one of the gentler core exercises, but the part to protect is your lower back. The golden rule is that your lower back stays pressed into the floor at all times. If you feel your back start to arch up or you feel any strain there, raise your legs higher toward the ceiling right away, since that shortens the leverage and takes the pressure off your spine. A little burn and fatigue low in your abs is exactly what you want. Sharp or pinching pain in your lower back is not, so if you feel that, stop, reset, and raise your legs. If you are very new to core work or have a history of back trouble, start with your legs high and your reps low, and build from there. There is no prize for skimming your heels along the floor before your core is ready for it.

Track It in LiftLogic

A strong core is what keeps your spine steady under every squat, deadlift, and press you will ever do, so it is worth building on purpose. Log your scissor kicks in LiftLogic, track your reps or your hold time, and watch them climb week over week as your core gets stronger and steadier. The app makes it easy to see your progress and know when it is time to lower your legs or add reps, so a quiet floor move turns into a genuinely stronger midsection. Download LiftLogic free on the App Store.