Lower Body
Knee exercises
The knee joint is a hinge joint connecting the femur to the tibia, with the patella (kneecap) in front. It primarily allows flexion and extension, with some rotation when bent. Essential for walking, running, squatting, and climbing.
399
Exercises
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Movement ranges
Published population evidence
Knee population reference statistics
Population reference evidence—not a normal range or tracking target.
These values summarize a source population measured under a specific protocol. They are not individual normal ranges, treatment goals, or personal tracking thresholds.
No published population reference statistics are available for this joint.
The legacy movement cards and reviewed exercise library remain available below.
Related exercise guides
Home-first options prioritize safe range, household equipment, and pain-aware progression.
5-10-5 Pro Agility Shuttle
Start low straddling the middle line of three lines set 5 yards apart. Sprint to one outer line, touch it and turn, sprint to the far line, touch it and turn, then sprint back through the middle. You may feel your legs, hips and trunk working hard.
20s
90/90 Hamstring
Lie on your back with one leg straight and the other hip and knee bent to ninety degrees. Extend the bent leg straight into the air, pause briefly, then return and repeat. Switch legs.
10 reps
Ab Wheel Knee Tucks
Start in a high plank with both feet in the cradles of an ab wheel. Pull both knees toward the chest so the wheel rolls in, then extend the legs back.
8 reps
Adductor Foam Roll
Lie face down propped on your forearms with one leg resting on a foam roller. Rotate the leg so the roller presses the inner thigh. Roll slowly between the hip and the knee, then repeat on the other leg.
10 reps
Agility Ladder In-Out Straddle Hops
Stand facing the first square of an agility ladder with soft knees. Jump into the box with both feet together, then jump wide so both feet land outside the ladder. Jump into the next box and repeat.
20s
Agility Ladder Two-Foot Run
Stand at the end of an agility ladder on the forefeet. Run forward placing both feet in each box in quick left-right alternation. Keep the quick rhythm down the ladder.
20s
All-Fours Hip Rotation With One Knee on Each Rotating Disc
You kneel on all fours with one knee in the middle of each round disc and both hands on the floor. You rotate your hips while your knees turn on the discs.
10 reps
All-Fours Quad Stretch
You start on your hands and knees on a mat with a flat back. You lift one leg and reach back to hold its foot or ankle with the same-side hand, keeping that knee bent. You press the hip toward the floor and hold.
20s
Ankle Dorsiflexion Rock (Knee-to-Wall)
Ankle mobility drill that also loads the knee in a safe bent position. Essential for squat depth.
10 reps
Armbar-Finish Hip-Thrust Shadow
Aim: to build hip strength and control. Good for: Glute and hamstring strengthening; Floor hip thrust variation; Home mat workout.
8 reps
B-Skip
Aim: a smooth knee lift, leg reach and quick foot placement. Good for: Warm-up before running; Home cardio on grass or flat ground; Leg coordination practice.
30s
BJJ Technical Stand-Up
Aim: body control and leg and hip strength. Good for: Practising getting up from the floor; Hip and leg control; Floor-to-stand strength.
6 reps
Baby Get-Up
You lie on your right side on a mat. You roll forward onto one forearm and a knee, ending propped up in a sitting position, then return.
10 reps
Backpedal
Stand tall facing away from your path with your weight slightly forward. Push off the forefeet into backward strides, leaning slightly forward. Pump your arms and look over your shoulder.
5 min
Backward Walking/Jogging
Walking or jogging in reverse. Excellent for quad strengthening and knee-friendly cardio.
5 min
Baduanjin Pulling Toes With Both Hands
A standing eight-brocade qigong figure. You bend forward slowly on straight legs and grasp the toes or touch the ankles with both hands. You return upright, place the hands on the lower back and bend slowly backward.
10 reps
Ball Leg Curl
Lie on your back with your ankles on top of an exercise ball. Raise your hips off the floor. Bend your knees to roll the ball in, pause briefly, then extend your legs to roll it back out.
8 reps
Band Overhead Squat
Stand on a resistance band with the arms extended overhead against band tension. Lower into a squat while pushing the arms straight up and keeping the back straight.
8 reps
Band Push Press
Stand on a looped resistance band holding the handles at shoulder height. Dip with soft knees, then extend the legs quickly to drive the handles overhead.
6 reps
Banded Knee Extension (Seated)
Seated knee extension using a resistance band. Home-friendly quad strengthening.
12 reps
Bosu Lateral Hops
Start with one foot on the dome of a balance trainer. Bound sideways over it, switching feet in the air and landing softly on the dome.
20s
Both-Feet-on-Wall Leg Straighten
A pool wall leg press. You hold the bar with both hands, place both feet flat on the wall, then straighten your legs as far as you can and hold.
30s
Box Jump (Low)
Jump onto a low box and step down. Develops power while practicing soft landings.
5 reps
Burpee
Squat and place your hands on the floor, then kick your legs back into a plank. Lower your chest, bring your feet back in, and finish with a vertical jump. You may feel your whole body working and your breathing speed up.
6 reps
Butterfly Threads the Flowers With Internal Force
A Baduanjin qigong movement. Raise the hands to shoulder height as the feet form a wide stance. Turn the palms up, drop the hands to navel level, then circle each hand inward.
10 reps
Calf Raise (Double Leg)
Rise up onto toes with both feet. Calves absorb impact and help protect the knee.
15 reps
Calf Raise (Single Leg)
Single-leg calf strengthening. Builds the calf strength needed for running and jumping.
12 reps
Calf Stretch (Wall)
Standing calf stretch against a wall. Good ankle mobility helps protect the knee.
40s
Chair Pose, Utkatasana
A yoga squat hold on a flat mat. You reach the arms forward, bend the knees and send the hips down and back as if sitting on a chair edge, then extend the arms.
30s
Clamshell
Side-lying hip strengthening exercise. Targets the glute medius which helps control knee alignment.
15 reps
Clock Reaches
Single-leg stance while reaching to clock positions with opposite foot. Excellent for dynamic balance and hip/knee control.
8 reps
Cones Arrow Drill
Using three cones in an arrowhead layout, run to the point, shuffle diagonally back to one side, run to the point again, then shuffle to the other side.
5 min
Cones Box Drill
Around four cones in a square, sprint forward, shuffle sideways, backpedal, then shuffle back to the first cone, always facing the same way.
20s
Cones Circle Drill
Run at top speed around a ring of eight cones, staying close to the cones and leaning into the curve.
20s
Cones Four Corner Drill
Stand at the center of a four-corner cone pattern. Sprint out to a corner cone, round it, and sprint back to the center hub. Turn around the hub and attack the next corner.
20s
Cones Hourglass Drill
Start at a corner of an hourglass cone pattern and sprint diagonally to the center cone. Shuffle sideways across to the next diagonal line. Then sprint diagonally to the far corner.
20s
Cones Shuttle Runs
Sprint back and forth between two lines about ten metres apart, tapping the ground at each line and turning to run back.
20s
Cones W-Drill
Stand at the base of a W cone pattern and sprint forward to the first apex cone. From the apex, backpedal diagonally to the next point. Repeat through the remaining legs of the W.
20s
Cones X-Drill
Using four cones in an X pattern, sprint diagonally, shuffle sideways, sprint diagonally again, then shuffle back to the start.
20s
Cones Zig-Zag Sprint
Sprint from cone to cone along a wide zigzag. Slow sharply at each cone, drop the hips, and speed up toward the next.
20s
Corkscrew
Lie on your back with your knees bent, then raise both legs until your knees are above your hips. Keep your knees together and slowly move them in a circle without letting your feet drop to the mat.
8 reps
Dead Ball Thruster
Hold a dead ball at the chest, squat deep, then drive up and press the ball overhead in one smooth motion.
6 reps
Depth Jump
Step off box, land, and immediately explode into jump. Advanced plyometric for reactive power.
5 reps
Double Leg Butt Kick
From a slightly bent stance, drop into a quick shallow squat and jump as high as possible. Bring both heels toward the buttocks in the air and land with the knees partly bent.
6 reps
Double Leg Kick on the Pilates Mat
You lie on your stomach with your head turned to one side and your hands layered on your back. You press your hips into the mat and kick both heels toward your seat together.
10 reps
Duck Walk
Stand tall, then lower into a deep squat with your hips low and chest upright. Walk forward staying as low as possible without rising. Keep the chest upright to the end.
8 reps
Elephant Walk (the Folded Trunk-Swing Gait)
You bend forward at the hips with your back parallel to the floor and your clasped hands hanging down. You take big steps while your body and hands sway from side to side.
5 min
Elevated Pistol Squat on the Plyo Box Edge
Stand on the edge of a box balancing on one leg. Squat down on the support leg, letting the free leg dangle alongside the box. Push back up through the support leg to the standing start.
6 reps
Figure-8 Walking Drill
Place two chairs about three metres apart. Walk at your usual pace in a continuous figure-of-8 around them with an upright posture and no hand support.
10 reps
Foam Roll IT Band/TFL
Self-massage of outer thigh and hip. May help with lateral knee discomfort.
2 min
Foam Roll Quadriceps
Self-massage of the front thigh using a foam roller. Helps reduce muscle tightness.
2 min
Foam Roller Peroneals
Lie on your side propped on a forearm with a foam roller under the outside of your lower leg. Roll up toward just below the knee, then back down to just above the ankle. Repeat on the other leg.
10 reps
Frankenstein Walk
Walk forward with your arms straight out at shoulder height. With each step, kick the opposite straight leg up toward your hand, then lower it and step into the next kick. You may feel a stretch along the back of the kicking thigh and work in the standing leg.
10 reps
Frog Hops
With the hands behind the head, hop forward from a squat position. Absorb each landing through the legs and go straight into the next hop.
6 reps
Frog Jump
Squat deeply until your fingertips brush the floor between your feet. Jump straight up with your arms pointing down, then land softly on the balls of your feet in the same spot. You may feel your thighs, buttocks and calves working hard.
6 reps
Frog Pumps
Lie on your back in a glute bridge with the soles of the feet together and the knees fallen outward. Pump the hips up in fast, short reps.
10 reps
Front Cone Hops
Jump forward with both feet together over a row of small cones. Land softly and rebound right away over the next one.
6 reps
Front-to-Back Leg Swing
Stand side-on to a wall with one hand on it. Swing your other nearly straight leg forward to about hip height, then back behind you, keeping your trunk upright. You may feel a gentle stretch at the front of the hip and the back of the thigh.
10 reps
Gate Pose Kneeling Side Bend
Kneel on a folded blanket with one leg stretched out to the side. Bend sideways over that leg with one hand on the shin and the other arm up over your head. You may feel a gentle stretch along your side and in the inside or back of the straight leg.
30s
Glute Bridge
Hip lift exercise that strengthens glutes and hamstrings. Strong hips reduce load on the knee.
12 reps
Graham Exercise on Six
Aim: to stretch the front of the body and strengthen the back and glutes. Good for: Chest and hip opener; Posture counter-stretch; Cooldown after sitting or core work.
30s
Half-Kneeling Balance Hold With a Self-Tossed Two-Handed Ball Catch
You kneel on your right knee on a mat with your left foot forward and your hips square. You stay still without using your hands for support. Then you toss a small soft ball up and catch it with both hands.
10 reps
Half-Kneeling Banded Hip Distraction With Internal Rotation
You kneel on one knee with the worked leg forward. A heavy band looped round the top of your front thigh is anchored to a rack upright, pulling the hip as you rotate.
10 reps
Hamstring Catches
Stand on one leg with the other hip and knee bent in front of you. Let the lower leg fall and swing forward under gravity, then use the back of your thigh to catch it.
8 reps
Hamstring Roll
You sit on the floor with your legs extended and a foam roller under your hamstrings, hands slightly behind you. You lift your hips off the floor and slowly roll from just above your knees to below your glutes, then roll back.
10 reps
Hamstring Stretch (Doorway)
Passive hamstring stretch using a doorway. Allows relaxed, sustained stretching.
1 min
Heel Slides (Supine)
Gentle knee bending exercise lying on your back. Excellent starting point for knee mobility after injury or surgery.
12 reps
High Bicycle on the Pilates Mat
From lying on your back, you pull your knees in and lift your hips off the mat. You place your hands on your lower back and seat and straighten your legs to the ceiling. You reach one leg across the room and bend the knee to touch the floor.
8 reps
Hindu Squat
Stand with your arms reaching forward. Squat low onto the balls of your feet as your arms swing back, then push up and swing your arms forward again. You may feel your thigh, buttock and calf muscles working.
10 reps
Hip Airplane
Single-leg hinged position with hip rotation. Advanced balance and hip control exercise.
6 reps
Hip Extension with Bands
You stand facing a post with a band anchored low on it and fastened to your right ankle. You hold the post with both hands. You move your right leg straight back from the hip as far as you can, then return.
10 reps
Hip Fallouts
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat, hip-width apart. Turn the soles of your feet to face each other and let your knees fall outward, keeping your back flat. You may feel a stretch in your groin.
30s