Conditioning
High knees
- Kit
- No kit
- Works
- hip flexors · calves · quads
- Also
- core · glutes · front delts
High knees is a running-in-place drill where you drive each knee up to hip height at a quick cadence. It raises your heart rate fast, works the hip flexors and calves, and trains you to stay tall and light on your feet. It needs no equipment and about a square metre of floor, so it suits small spaces, though the landings are loud on an upper floor.
Form
How to do high knees
- 1Stand tall with feet hip width apart, chest up, arms bent at your sides.
- 2Drive one knee up towards hip height and land on the ball of the opposite foot, staying light through the ankle.
- 3Swap legs in a quick running rhythm, pumping your arms in opposition to your legs.
- 4Keep your torso upright and your hips level. Do not lean back or let your ribs flare.
- 5Breathe in a steady rhythm rather than holding your breath, and if the pace slips, slow the cadence but keep the knees high until the effort ends.
Watch for
Common mistakes
Leaning back to get the knees up.
Fix: Stack your shoulders over your hips and lift the knee with your hip flexor instead of tipping the torso away from it.
Knees barely rising while the feet move fast.
Fix: Slow the cadence slightly and aim each thigh at parallel with the floor so the effort stays in the hips.
Landing flat and heavy through the heels.
Fix: Stay on the balls of your feet and let your ankles and knees bend a little on each landing to absorb it quietly.
Variations
Easier and harder
Sessions
Put it in a workout
None of the fixed workouts uses it. Pick a workout for your kit, or start today's session on /gym.