Legs · Bodyweight
Walking High Knees Lunge
How to do the walking high knees lunge, 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
- Lunge
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Step forward into a lunge, then as you rise, drive the trailing knee up high toward your chest before stepping it forward into the next lunge. Alternate legs as you travel forward, staying tall through your torso. Use your arms in a running motion to keep balance and rhythm.
- 1Feel your quads and glutes load in the lunge and your hip flexors drive
- 2the knee up
- 3Stay tall through your chest and brace your core on each knee drive
- 4Push through your front heel to stand and lift in one smooth motion
Common mistakes
- Do not let your front knee cave inward in the lunge
- Avoid hunching forward as you drive the knee up
- Do not rush; control the lunge before lifting the knee
Muscles worked
The walking high knees lunge mainly works the quads and glutes, with the hamstrings, hip flexors, upper abs, and calves assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Lower AbsMinor
- ObliquesMinor
- AdductorsMinor
Kovo programs the walking high knees lunge 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.