Legs · Bodyweight
Side Lying Heel and Knee Taps
How to do the side lying heel and knee taps, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Rotation
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Lie on your side with your hips and knees bent and stacked. Keep your feet together and open your top knee like a clam, then tap the floor behind you with your heel and in front with your knee. Move in a slow, controlled rhythm and switch sides after your reps.
- 1Feel the outer glute on your top leg working as you open the knee
- 2Keep your hips stacked and stable so the motion comes from the hip
- 3Brace your core to stop your torso from rocking
Common mistakes
- Don't roll your top hip backward to cheat the range
- Avoid letting your feet drift apart when you tap
- Don't rush; control the open and the tap
Muscles worked
The side lying heel and knee taps mainly works the glutes, with the lower abs, obliques, external rotators, and hip flexors assisting.
- GlutesPrimary
- Lower AbsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- External RotatorsSupport
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- QuadsMinor
- HamstringsMinor
Kovo programs the side lying heel and knee taps 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.