Legs · Bodyweight
Side Lying Outward Knee Kick
How to do the side lying outward knee kick, 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
Lie on your side with your knees bent and hips stacked. Keeping your feet together, raise the top knee outward like a clamshell, then kick the top foot out to extend the leg before returning. Keep your core tight and your hips from rolling back.
- 1Outer glute and hip burning as the knee opens and the leg kicks out
- 2Hips stacked and stable, not rolling backward
- 3Control on the return rather than dropping the leg
Common mistakes
- Rolling your top hip back to open the knee further
- Using momentum to swing the leg
- Arching your lower back to assist the kick
Muscles worked
The side lying outward knee kick mainly works the glutes, with the lower abs, obliques, quads, external rotators, and hip flexors assisting.
- GlutesPrimary
- Lower AbsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- QuadsSupport
- External RotatorsSupport
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- HamstringsMinor
- AdductorsMinor
Kovo programs the side lying outward knee kick 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.