Pilates Exercise Dive: Side Leg Kicks
The challenge of maintaining balance while lying on your side
Side Leg Kicks - how I love you!
Today we’re looking into #21 of Joseph Pilates' original 34 Mat exercises, The Side Kick.
I've just gone to my copy of Return To Life Through Contrology, Joe's book from 1945. After his writing on "The Basic Fundamentals Of A Natural Physical Education", come "The Exercises" which show photos and instructions for all 34. I love to refer to these and see what the man himself had to say.
In the video at the bottom of the post there's a whole heap of choreography (which isn't even all of what I learned in my teacher training program) but it turns out not only don't I show Joe's version, I rarely if ever even teach it! Is that a Pilates teacher fail? It very well could be...
Joe’s version is quite simple
Lie on your side, with your legs stacked (close together) about two feet in front of you, kick your top leg forward as far as you can and then bring it behind you about a foot, repeat the forward kick "and attempt to better your first trial". Do the same thing in reverse.
Here it is in living black and white:
I'd say this is one of the exercises that got 'dancersised' over the years, probably because not only did Mr. Pilates work with so many dancers, they were also the main group who kept the flame of Pilates' work alive when very few folks had even heard of his method.
Now as mentioned above, there's a wide range of challenging variations to The Side Kick which are only limited by one's teacher's imagination, hence the name I learned: The Side Leg Kick Series.
The goal of The Side Leg Kick(s)
WHY we should want to become good (or better) at this particular exercise
Mr. Pilates synthesised it so succinctly in his CAUTIONS, Pose 4: "Maintain balance lying on side of body"
...Okay, my work here is finished - blog entry done and dusted, lol!
But seriously, let's go a bit deeper, I mean after all, I do title these particular posts as Exercise Deep Dives.
More of WHY we do this exercise
Well, it helps if we put on our Pilates glasses and look at the exercise through those lenses
we want to be strong in whatever position we put our body in
we're always trying to balance out the body's stability with its mobility
the less of us on the mat (i.e. side lying versus on our backs supine) the more we have to create our own stability
following on - the less feedback we have from the mat the more we have to internally organise our bodies in space - hello proprioception!
changing our relationship to gravity challenges us
strong + mobile hips = strong + mobile back
intentionally breathing and coordinating it to our movements helps to find the rhythm of the exercise
And the WHAT of The Side Leg Kick(s)
Side Leg Kicks is a Pilates Mat exercise that in the original 34 Matwork exercises comes after Jackknife and before Teaser. Since it does clock in at #21, it's one that is a bit more complicated than those at the beginning of the flow. You're starting to get tired at the end of your session but must stay engaged, body and mind, to perform it successfully.
You begin by lying on your side using the back edge of your mat to help you keep your spine and shoulders aligned and as mentioned above, you bring your straight legs slightly forward of your hips at an angle.
Here are Mr. Pilates' instructions:
Lock hands behind head (when I teach, this is the more advanced version)
Head up
Eyes straight forward
Arms straight in line with shoulders
Lie full length right side on mat or floor
Bring legs (close together) forward about 2 feet
He then goes into the simple kicks forward and back.
Here's my general choreography:
I start with the top arm on the mat for balance instead of behind the head
Small CIRCLES both ways - this helps you figure out how to move the thigh bone easily in the hip socket and hopefully not overwork your hip flexors
Then the KICKS Forward & Back - with more of a swing feeling like a pendulum compared to his wind up and release version
The RAINBOW/HOT POTATO - taking the freed moving leg from the circles, expanding the range of motion into internal and external rotation, as well as abduction and adduction
SIDE KICKS - here's that dancer overlay - it's basically a grand battement 'a la seconde, which roughly translates as a big beat to the side
Next I'll move onto lying down all the way flat (extending the bottom arm straight out up above our head, top arm still on the mat in front of our breastbone) with the legs no longer in front of our hips but directly below them and carry on with the choreography...
Lifting the top leg up and adding the bottom leg, one at a time
Lifting & lowering both legs at the same time
Keeping the legs elevated and lifting the bottom leg down and up or the top leg up and down
Keeping the legs elevated and lifting the top arm off the mat and reaching it down the length of the top leg to test the balance
Slightly separating the legs and going for a WALK by swinging both straight legs freely from the hip sockets (why does this seem hard to describe in writing? If it doesn't make sense, watch the video at the top)
Note: I do add other variations not listed above (or shown in the video) to either to make things more advanced or throw in something a little bit different.
HOW to best accomplish the Side Leg Kick(s)
Here are some of my tips and images that help my clients (and me):
As you set yourself up, use the back edge or your mat as your guide making sure that your spine is long and straight from your bottom elbow to your tailbone
Make sure to support your neck and gently traction your spine with your hand (no sinking). You can feel as though your head is pouring over your hand
Reach the top leg longer than the bottom leg to help not only with decompressing the top hip socket but also to keep both sides of the waist long
Lightly press the last two toes of the bottom foot into the mat to help you stay stable
Draw your belly towards your spine and your spine in towards your belly and lift them both up, like getting sucked through a straw.
Broaden into the base of the shoulder blades like a cobra hood (but without rounding your upper back)
Visualise the ball and socket of the hip joint - you're keeping the socket still and moving the ball
When you do the walking at the end think of Newton's Cradle
Don't know much about Newton's Cradle? Well this won't help but it is from one of my favourite episodes of Mythbusters 😂
Lastly I always remind people to
Keep breathing, keep lengthening, and to smile - it's just movement
Most people think of The Side Leg Kick(s) as being only this👇👇 but now you know they're so much more 🙌
Charlie 🐾 and I say thanks for reading and don’t forget to watch the video tutorial below Joe’s quote.
Catch you next time,
xBec
The information contained above is provided for informational purposes only. The contents of this blog are not intended to amount to advice and Rebecca Forde disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this post