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How to Do High Knees

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High knees are a fast, space-efficient cardio drill that strengthens your legs and core while spiking your heart rate — perfect for warm-ups and intervals.

How to do High Knees: start and end position Line drawing of high knees, viewed from the side, in two positions: left knee up, then right knee up. Left knee up Right knee up
High knees: the knee drives toward hip height while the torso stays tall — leaning back to reach the height tilts the pelvis instead of flexing the hip.

Muscles worked

Quads, hip flexors, calves, core.

Muscles worked by High Knees Front and back body diagram with the muscles this exercise trains highlighted in teal: quads, calves, core. Front Back
Muscles worked by High Knees: Quads, hip flexors, calves, core. Highlighted regions are shown in teal.

Why high knees work

Driving the knee to hip height repeatedly overloads the hip flexors well beyond what normal walking or running requires, while the quick tempo demands the same rapid force output sprinters rely on — which is why track athletes use it as both a warm-up drill and a form cue for better running mechanics.

How to do high knees

  1. Stand tall with feet hip-width apart.
  2. Jog on the spot, driving your knees up toward hip height.
  3. Pump your arms in rhythm.
  4. Stay on the balls of your feet.
  5. Keep a quick, light tempo.

Landing mechanics

Land on the ball of the foot under your hips, not out in front of you. Reaching the foot forward creates a braking force through the knee with every step. Stay tall through the torso and let the arms drive — a collapsed posture turns this into a slow, ineffective shuffle.

Form tips

Posture over speed

High knees degrade predictably. Within about fifteen seconds most people are leaning back, dropping the knee height, and shuffling — at which point the drill has stopped doing anything useful and is just tiring.

The fix is to prioritise posture and treat speed as the thing you earn last. Stay tall with your ribs stacked over your hips, and imagine a string pulling the crown of your head upward. Leaning back is the most common fault and it happens because it feels like it makes the knee lift easier; it does, by tilting the pelvis rather than actually flexing the hip.

Use your arms properly — drive them in opposition to the legs, bent at about 90 degrees. Passive arms make the drill considerably harder and slower, because the arm drive is genuinely contributing to the rhythm and to hip flexion speed.

Aim for knees reaching hip height. If you cannot get there while staying tall, do not compromise the posture to reach the height; do a lower version well and the range will improve.

Sets and reps

3 sets of 30–40 seconds.

Programming it into your week

Twenty to forty second bursts within a warm-up or a conditioning circuit. As a warm-up they prepare the hip flexors and calves for running; as conditioning they raise heart rate quickly with minimal setup.

How to progress

Start with marching in place at knee height, then add a light jog, then full speed. Height and posture matter more than speed — knees to hip height with an upright torso beats faster, lower, hunched repetitions.

Variations & progressions

How it compares

High knees are essentially running on the spot with an exaggerated knee lift, which makes them a good drill for running mechanics as well as a conditioning tool. Against mountain climbers they load the legs rather than the shoulders and core, so the two complement each other in a circuit.

Equipment

None, though shoes with some cushioning help on hard surfaces.

Looking for a full routine? Try our beginner bodyweight workout.

Frequently asked questions

Which muscles do high knees work?

The quads and hip flexors do most of the work, with the calves absorbing each landing and the core holding the torso upright against the rhythm.

What are high knees good for?

Warming up the hip flexors, calves and cardiovascular system before running or training, and as a quick conditioning burst inside a circuit. They also serve as a drill for running mechanics, since they exaggerate the knee lift and foot strike position.

How high should my knees actually go?

Hip height is the target, but posture takes priority. A lower knee lift with an upright torso and a foot landing under the hips is more useful than a higher one achieved by leaning back and tilting the pelvis.

References

  1. 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities: a second update of codes and MET values — Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2011)
  2. WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour — World Health Organization (2020)

Links open on the publisher's own site. We check every reference still resolves before each deploy.

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