Legs · Bodyweight
Standing Sprint
How to do the standing sprint, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- time
- Movement
- Gait
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Run in place as fast as you can, driving your knees up and pumping your arms in a sprinting rhythm. Stay on the balls of your feet, keep your torso tall, and push the pace for the work interval. Recover, then repeat the sprint effort.
- 1Quads and hip flexors driving your knees up fast
- 2A quick, light turnover on the balls of your feet
- 3Arms pumping hard to match your leg speed
Common mistakes
- Slumping forward or letting your posture break down
- Landing flat-footed instead of staying on the toes
- Holding tension in your shoulders and neck
Muscles worked
The standing sprint mainly works the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves, with the hip flexors, upper abs, lower abs, and tibialis anterior assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsPrimary
- CalvesPrimary
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- Tibialis AnteriorSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- ObliquesMinor
- Front DeltsMinor
- AdductorsMinor
Kovo programs the standing sprint 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 quads exercises
- How to do the resistance band squat
- How to do the resistance band squat to press
- How to do the resistance band thruster
- How to do the resistance band squat walk
- How to do the barbell squat
- How to do the barbell bulgarian split squat
Last reviewed June 2026.