Legs · Bodyweight
Side to Front Knee-up
How to do the side to front knee-up, 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
- Flexion
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand on one leg and drive the other knee up to the side, then bring it forward and up across the front of your body in a controlled, rhythmic motion. Alternate sides to open the hips through a dynamic warm range.
- 1Feel your hip flexors lift the knee high on each rep
- 2Stay tall and balanced on the standing leg
- 3Keep your core engaged to control the motion
Common mistakes
- Don't hunch forward to meet the knee
- Avoid rushing and losing your balance
- Don't let the standing knee cave inward
Muscles worked
The side to front knee-up mainly works the hip flexors, with the lower abs, obliques, quads, glutes, calves, and adductors assisting.
- Hip FlexorsPrimary
- Lower AbsSupport
- ObliquesSupport
- QuadsSupport
- GlutesSupport
- CalvesSupport
- AdductorsSupport
- Upper AbsMinor
- HamstringsMinor
- External RotatorsMinor
- Tibialis AnteriorMinor
Kovo programs the side to front knee-up 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.