Pilates Leg Pull Back: How to Do It and Muscles Worked

How to do the Leg Pull Back

Sit on your mat with your legs extended straight in front of you and your hands placed on the floor behind your hips. Press firmly into your hands and heels to lift your hips off the mat, forming a straight line from your head to your heels.

1. Engage your transversus abdominis to keep your torso perfectly still.
2. Press firmly through your triceps and posterior deltoids to keep your chest open.
3. Keeping your neutral spine held steady, kick your right leg up toward the ceiling.
4. Lower your right leg back down to the mat with control.
5. Shift your weight slightly without letting your hips drop.
6. Kick your left leg up toward the ceiling.
7. Lower your left leg back to the starting position.
8. Continue alternating legs while maintaining your reverse plank.

• Breath. Teachers cue breathing differently, but you might inhale as you kick your leg up and exhale as you lower it down. Alternatively, some instructors prefer you to exhale on the exertion of the lift.
• Where you feel it. You should feel strong work in your gluteus maximus, hamstrings, and triceps as they hold you up. You should not feel pinching in your lower back or sharp pain in your wrists.
• How many. 3 to 5 kicks per leg

Common mistakes

• Dropping the hips. Squeeze your gluteus maximus tightly to keep your pelvis lifted in a straight line.
• Sagging in the shoulders. Push the floor away with your hands to keep your triceps active and your chest lifted.
• Losing the neutral spine. Brace your transversus abdominis to prevent your lower back from arching excessively as you kick.
• Bending the knees. Reach through your toes and engage your hamstrings to keep both the supporting leg and the lifting leg straight.
• Looking back at the wall. Keep your gaze forward and slightly up to maintain proper neck alignment.

Make it easier or harder

Easier

• Hold the reverse plank position without adding the leg kicks.
• Perform the exercise resting on your forearms instead of your hands.
• Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor to perform a tabletop lift instead.

Who should be careful

• Weight-bearing through the hands can aggravate wrist, hand or shoulder pain. Fists, forearms or a raised surface can reduce the load.
• This is an advanced exercise. Build the strength and control from the simpler versions first, ideally with a qualified teacher watching.

Related exercises

• Control Balance Advanced
• Leg Pull Front Intermediate
• Double Leg Kick Intermediate
• Pelvic Curl Beginner
• Shoulder Bridge Intermediate to advanced

When to see a doctor or physical therapist

• Sharp or shooting pain in your wrists or elbows.
• Pinching or compression sensations in your lower back.
• Shoulder pain that feels like a deep ache or catching sensation.
• Numbness or tingling traveling down your arms or legs.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or treatment plan. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or are recovering from an injury or surgery, check with your own clinician before trying new exercises.

How we put this page together. Exercise data (type, level, equipment and muscles) was compiled by our editors from the classical mat order in Joseph Pilates’ 1945 book and from commonly taught mat repertoire. Muscle lists are a general anatomy guide; cueing differs between teachers. Text drafted with AI assistance and checked by the Editorial Team. See our editorial policy. Last checked October 2026.