Legs · Bodyweight
High Knee Sprints
How to do the high knee sprints, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- time
- Movement
- Gait
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Run in place or over a short distance, driving each knee up toward hip height as fast as you can. Stay on the balls of your feet, pump your arms in time with your legs, and keep a quick, light cadence.
- 1Drive your knees up high and fast with each step
- 2Stay tall on the balls of your feet, light and quick
- 3Pump your arms hard to match your leg speed
Common mistakes
- Don't let your heels slam down or run flat-footed
- Avoid leaning back; keep a slight forward lean
- Don't let your cadence slow as you fatigue
Muscles worked
The high knee sprints mainly works the hip flexors, quads, and calves, with the glutes, hamstrings, lower abs, and tibialis anterior assisting.
- Hip FlexorsPrimary
- QuadsPrimary
- CalvesPrimary
- GlutesSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- Tibialis AnteriorSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- ObliquesMinor
- Front DeltsMinor
- AdductorsMinor
Kovo programs the high knee sprints 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 hips & adductors exercises
- How to do the butterfly stretch
- How to do the external rotation
- How to do the cable hip adduction
- How to do the internal rotation
- How to do the cobra pose
- How to do the core scrunch
Last reviewed June 2026.