By Gabrielle Kassel, Well+Good
Glute strength comes with all sorts of perks like reduced lower back pain and increased #power, but considering that core strength comes with it’s own set of write-home-about perks, including dancer-like posture and increased run speed—why work on just your booty or your core when you could get a workout move that does both?
In a major win for multitaskers (and TBH, who isn’t?), New York City dance sculpt instructor, Megan Roup, who happens to be leading our next Well+Good Retreat in Miami this December, says you don’t have to choose between the two muscle groups. Her solution? Do the “knee pull to kick back” (as it’s sensibly called). The move is basically a combo of the donkey kick and a reverse crunch (AKA the cow in cat-cow).
To try it, start in tabletop position with your hands and knees on the floor: shoulders stacked over your wrists; hips stacked over your knees. When you’re ready to begin, bring the right knee into your chest and towards the nose by activating your core. Then, without changing the angle of your leg, uncurl the spine and extend your right leg straight out behind you by squeezing your glutes.
Keep extending your leg until it’s parallel to the floor. If you don’t have the mobility to get your leg this high, Roup says to lift it as high as you can. That’s one rep. Roup suggests doing 25 to 35 reps on one side before switching. Another perk of the move? While you’re toning the abs and butt, you’re also getting a nice hip stretch.
Glute strength comes with all sorts of perks like reduced lower back pain and increased #power, but considering that core strength comes with it’s own set of write-home-about perks, including dancer-like posture and increased run speed—why work on just your booty or your core when you could get a workout move that does both?
In a major win for multitaskers (and TBH, who isn’t?), New York City dance sculpt instructor, Megan Roup, who happens to be leading our next Well+Good Retreat in Miami this December, says you don’t have to choose between the two muscle groups. Her solution? Do the “knee pull to kick back” (as it’s sensibly called). The move is basically a combo of the donkey kick and a reverse crunch (AKA the cow in cat-cow).
To try it, start in tabletop position with your hands and knees on the floor: shoulders stacked over your wrists; hips stacked over your knees. When you’re ready to begin, bring the right knee into your chest and towards the nose by activating your core. Then, without changing the angle of your leg, uncurl the spine and extend your right leg straight out behind you by squeezing your glutes.
Keep extending your leg until it’s parallel to the floor. If you don’t have the mobility to get your leg this high, Roup says to lift it as high as you can. That’s one rep. Roup suggests doing 25 to 35 reps on one side before switching. Another perk of the move? While you’re toning the abs and butt, you’re also getting a nice hip stretch.
