Legs · Bodyweight
Knee Raise Step Jack
How to do the knee raise step jack, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Lunge
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand tall, then step one foot out wide as you drive the opposite knee up toward your chest. Step back to center and repeat on the other side, building a steady rhythm to keep your heart rate up.
- 1Hip flexors lifting each knee high
- 2Glutes and quads driving the lateral steps
- 3A controlled, springy rhythm side to side
Common mistakes
- Slouching or rounding the upper back
- Letting the knee drift across the body instead of up
- Landing heavy and flat-footed
Muscles worked
The knee raise step jack mainly works the hip flexors, with the quads, glutes, calves, lower abs, obliques, hamstrings, and adductors assisting.
- Hip FlexorsPrimary
- QuadsSupport
- GlutesSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- AdductorsSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- Upper AbsMinor
- Tibialis AnteriorMinor
Kovo programs the knee raise step jack 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.