Legs · Bodyweight
Kneeling Back Leg Lift
How to do the kneeling back leg lift, 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
- Extension
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Start on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Keeping a 90-degree bend in one knee, drive that foot up toward the ceiling until your thigh is in line with your torso, squeezing the glute. Lower the knee back down under control without touching the floor, then repeat for reps before switching legs.
- 1Your glute squeezing hard as you drive the heel toward the ceiling
- 2Your core braced to keep your back flat and still
- 3The working leg lifting from the hip, not the lower back
Common mistakes
- Arching your lower back to swing the leg higher
- Letting your hips rotate open toward the working side
- Using momentum instead of a controlled lift and lower
Muscles worked
The kneeling back leg lift mainly works the glutes, with the hamstrings, lower back, and lower abs assisting.
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- Upper AbsMinor
- ObliquesMinor
- QuadsMinor
Kovo programs the kneeling back leg 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 glutes exercises
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- How to do the airdyne bike
- How to do the arc trainer
- How to do the assault bike
- How to do the medicine ball atlas stone lift
- How to do the b stance hip thrust
Last reviewed June 2026.