Core · Bodyweight
Twisting Knee Thrust
How to do the twisting knee thrust, 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
- Rotation
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand tall with your hands up near your head. Drive one knee up and across your body while twisting your torso to meet it with the opposite elbow, then return and alternate sides at a brisk pace. This is a standing cardio and core move.
- 1Your obliques crunching as elbow meets opposite knee
- 2Your hip flexor pulling the knee up high and across
- 3Your standing leg staying balanced and steady
Common mistakes
- Just leaning down instead of driving the knee up
- Rounding the upper back to fake the twist
- Losing balance by rushing faster than you can control
Muscles worked
The twisting knee thrust mainly works the obliques and hip flexors, with the upper abs, lower abs, and quads assisting.
- ObliquesPrimary
- Hip FlexorsPrimary
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- QuadsSupport
- Lower BackMinor
- GlutesMinor
- HamstringsMinor
- CalvesMinor
Kovo programs the twisting knee thrust 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 abs & core exercises
- How to do the ab wheel rollout
- How to do the ankle tap plank
- How to do the ankle taps
- How to do the resistance band dead bugs
- How to do the resistance band pallof press
- How to do the rollout
Last reviewed June 2026.