The heel flick is a bodyweight running drill performed on the spot, flicking each heel up to the glute in a fast alternating rhythm that trains the hamstrings and calves. Also called butt kicks, it is the mirror image of a high knee drill: the thigh stays under the hip and the knee bends fast, so the hamstring learns to snap the heel up the way it does behind a sprint stride. Coaches run it in a warm-up after light jogging, timed in seconds rather than counted in reps.
What Muscles Does the Heel Flick Work?
- Primary: Hamstrings (biceps femoris, semitendinosus)
- Secondary: Gastrocnemius and soleus (calves), gluteus maximus
- Tertiary: Rectus femoris (hip flexor), rectus abdominis, anterior deltoid
How Do You Set Up for the Heel Flick?
Stand on a flat surface with a little give, a rubber mat rather than bare concrete, with a body length of space ahead if you plan to travel. Set your feet under your hips and shift your weight onto the balls of both feet. Stand tall with your ribs stacked over your pelvis, bend your elbows to about 90 degrees and let your hands sit loose at hip height. Look straight ahead.
How Do You Perform the Heel Flick?
- Rise onto the ball of one foot and take your weight onto it as the other foot leaves the floor.
- Snap the free heel up toward the same-side glute by bending the knee, keeping the thigh under your hip.
- Touch the heel to the glute or as close as your hamstring allows; that contact is the top of the rep.
- Drop the foot straight back down to land on the ball of the foot underneath your hip.
- Flick the other heel as the first foot touches, swinging the opposite arm to match the leg.
- Hold the alternating rhythm for the set, then stop with both feet flat under your hips.
What Are the Key Form Cues?
- Knees point down, not forward: keep the thigh vertical so the flick comes from the hamstring rather than a knee lift.
- Heel to glute, fast: think of pulling the heel up quickly rather than of pushing the foot down.
- Stay tall through the chest; the torso should not fold or lean back to make room for the heel.
- Keep the foot strike quiet and directly under the hip so the calf absorbs each landing.
- Let the arms swing opposite the legs at the same cadence as the feet.
What Are the Most Common Mistakes?
- Letting the knees drift forward: the drill turns into a soft jog and the hamstring never shortens fast, so keep the thighs under the hips.
- Leaning the chest forward to reach the heel: the hips fall behind the shoulders and the stride collapses, so stand tall and shorten the flick instead.
- Arching the lower back: pushing the ribs up to swing the heels higher extends the spine on every step, so keep the ribs down.
- Landing flat or on the heel: the ankle stops absorbing and the shock travels into the shin, so stay on the balls of the feet.
- Going straight into fast flicks cold: the hamstring is at its shortest at speed, so jog for a minute first and build the cadence over the set.
What Are the Best Heel Flick Variations?
- Walking heel flick: flick one heel per walking step, a slow regression for learning the knee angle.
- Travelling heel flick: cover 15 to 20 metres per set, adding forward drive to the same leg action.
- Single-leg heel flick: flick the same heel repeatedly before switching, loading one hamstring.
- High knee to heel flick: alternate five knee lifts with five flicks to train both stride phases.
- Heel flick with resistance band: a band around the ankles adds resistance to the knee bend.
How Do You Progress the Heel Flick?
- Keep it bodyweight and progress by raising cadence, not by adding load.
- Build from 15 seconds of flicks to 45 seconds while the heels keep reaching the glute.
- Add rounds from two to five, or a second warm-up day per week.
- Once the rhythm is quiet at speed, cover ground with the drill instead of staying on the spot.
How Should You Program the Heel Flick?
Use the heel flick in the warm-up of a running or lower body session, after a minute or two of easy jogging and before sprints or lunges. It can be done daily. Perform 2 to 4 rounds of 15 to 45 seconds with 30 to 60 seconds of walking between rounds. Pair it with a high knee drill so both halves of the stride get rehearsed.