Straight leg kicks are a standing warm-up drill. You hold your arms straight out in front at shoulder height and swing one leg forward and up with the knee straight, aiming the toes toward your hand. The front of the hip does the lifting while the back of the thigh (hamstrings) gets a moving stretch. The standing leg has to keep you balanced every time the other leg swings.

How to do the straight leg kicks

Stand upright, feet roughly hip width apart, on a clear floor that will not slip. Stand side-on to a kitchen counter or wall so you can rest one hand on it, at least until you know how steady you are.
Raise your free arm straight out in front of you to shoulder height, palms facing down. Once you feel steady without the support, you can raise both arms, as in the video.
Keeping your back straight and both knees straight, swing one leg forward and up. Let the kick come only as high as it will go without the knee bending.
At the top, try to bring your toes up to meet your hand, as the voice guide says. Most people cannot reach at first, and that is fine.
Lower the leg back down with control and set the foot beside the other one. Start with lower kicks and let the height build as you warm up.
Finish your kicks on one leg, then work the other leg the same way.

What you should feel

Work at the front of the hip as the leg lifts and a stretch at the back of the thigh near the top of the kick. The hip of your standing leg works to keep you steady.

Common mistakes

Bending the kicking knee to get the foot higher.
Rounding the back or dropping the arms down to meet the foot.
Leaning back as the leg comes up.
Letting the leg drop and slap back to the floor.
Rising onto the toes of the standing foot.

How often

Many programs use 1 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 kicks on each leg, often as part of a warm-up before exercise or sport. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

A sudden, sharp pain in the groin or at the front of the hip during a kick.
A sudden sharp pain, pop or snap at the back of your thigh. Stop straight away. If you then get large bruising spreading down the back of the thigh, a gap or dip you can feel, a stiff-legged walk, or clear weakness when you bend the knee, get assessed the same day at urgent care or an emergency department, as the tendon may have pulled away from the bone near the buttock.
Pain, pins and needles or numbness that shoots down the back of the leg.
You feel dizzy, or wobbly enough that you could fall. If you faint while exercising, call emergency services, even if you feel fine again quickly.

From the clinic

Each kick leaves you on one leg for a moment, and the woman in the video has nothing to hold. Start beside a kitchen counter with one hand resting on it and the other arm reaching forward, and clear rugs and clutter from around your feet. If you have fallen in the past year or feel unsteady, keep that hand on the counter the whole time.

Kick gently to begin with. A cold hamstring does not like a fast, full swing, so the height should come over the set, not on the first kick. Marching on the spot is a gentler way to warm up the same hip, and the supine hamstring stretch stretches the back of the thigh with no balance needed.

If you have had a hip replacement, get the go-ahead from your surgeon or physio before you try straight leg kicks. A high kick bends the hip well past a right angle, and many surgeons ask you to avoid that for the first months after some operations. If you are coming back from a torn or strained hamstring, check with your physio before adding fast kicks. With back pain that travels down the leg, a straight leg lifted high can stretch the irritated nerve, so keep the kicks low or leave them out until your physio has checked.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Straight leg kicks