Stand tall with your feet together and your hands where they help your balance. Shift your weight onto one leg and raise the other straight out to the side as high as it will comfortably go, then lower it back down with control. Keep your torso upright and your hips level throughout. Height is not the prize here - a controlled lift with a quiet, level torso beats a high swing every time.

Works: hips, glutes, obliques, quads

Breathing: Exhale as you raise the leg, inhale as you lower it.

Common Mistakes: Leaning the torso away to hoist the leg higher, letting the toes turn up toward the ceiling instead of staying forward, and dropping the leg instead of lowering it.

Make Easier: Hold onto a wall or chair for balance, or keep the raises low and small.

Make Harder: Hold each raise for a 2-count at the top, add slow pulses at your highest point, or move on to Side Kicks to turn the raise into a strike.