How To Do Side Kick Up Down

Here's How:

1. Preparation
   
   • Lie on your side and line up your ears, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles. Prop your head up on your hand, making sure to lift the ribs away from the mat so that the back and neck stay in alignment.
     
     
   • The front hand rests firmly, palm down, on the mat in front of your chest. Use this hand to help stabilize, but don't depend on it.
     
     
   • Now move the legs slightly forward of your hips. This will help protect your lower back.
     
     
   • Rotate the legs out slightly from the hips, in Pilates stance.
2. Kick Up
   
   • Double check your line up. The shoulders should be stacked one on top of the other, as should the hips. Shoulders and hips are in a line and the knees and ankles are a little in front.
   • Make sure that your abdominal muscles are pulled in and up.
     
     
   • Now, lengthening even more through the top leg, let it get so long that it flies up toward the ceiling (smoothly, with control).
     
     
   • Make sure that the pelvis does not tilt back to let the leg go up. Keep the hip bones stacked.
3. Control Down
   
   • Pull you abdominals up, in opposition to the lengthening of the leg, as you control the descent of the leg back to the preparation position.
4. Repeat
   Start with Repeating the exercise 5 times. Work up to 8.
   
   

Tips:

1. It is more important to have control and good form (see prep position) than to kick the leg high.
2. Modify this exercise by keeping the head down on an outstretched arm.
3. The top leg can be slightly bent.

What You Need

• A Pilates Exercise Mat