Core · Cable
Cable Half Kneeling Lift
How to do the cable half kneeling lift, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Cable
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Rotation
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Set a cable to the low position and take a half-kneeling stance side-on to the stack, inside knee down. Grip the handle with both hands near your low hip. Drive through your core to lift the handle diagonally up and across your body to above your far shoulder, then return under control. Finish your reps and switch sides.
- 1Feel your obliques and core rotate and lift the handle across
- 2Keep your hips square and stacked over the down knee
- 3Drive the motion from your trunk, letting the arms follow
Common mistakes
- Avoid yanking with your arms instead of rotating your torso
- Do not let your hips twist or your down knee cave in
- Avoid arching your lower back as the handle rises
Muscles worked
The cable half kneeling lift mainly works the obliques, with the upper abs, lower abs, forearms, lower back, glutes, and front delts assisting.
- ObliquesPrimary
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- ForearmsSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- GlutesSupport
- Front DeltsSupport
- LatsMinor
- Upper TrapsMinor
- Mid TrapsMinor
- Lower TrapsMinor
- QuadsMinor
- Side DeltsMinor
- Hip FlexorsMinor
Kovo programs the cable half kneeling lift for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More abs & core exercises
- How to do the ab wheel rollout
- How to do the ankle tap plank
- How to do the ankle taps
- How to do the resistance band dead bugs
- How to do the resistance band pallof press
- How to do the rollout
Last reviewed June 2026.