Squat to Knee Drive
- Primary muscleCardio
- EquipmentBodyweight
- DifficultyBeginner
- TypeCardio · Locomotion
- Secondary muscles
- Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes
- Body part
- Cardio
- Position
- Seated
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Cardio
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Pairing a bodyweight squat with a knee drive at the top strings lower-body work into a continuous, low-impact cardio pattern with no jumping involved, which makes it usable in small spaces and quiet settings. Alternate the driving knee each rep and keep the squat honest; the movement gets easy fast once depth disappears.
How to do the Squat to Knee Drive
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Bend your knees and lower your body down as if you were sitting back into a chair.
- Keep your chest up and your weight in your heels.
- Pause for a moment at the bottom, then push through your heels to return to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Tip: Work in timed rounds of 20 to 40 seconds and rest at least as long as you worked.
Muscles worked
Primary
Cardio · Cardio
Rope work, skips and shuffles push the heart rate up quickly, so use them for interval conditioning with timed rounds.
Secondary
Common mistakes
- Rushing the reps — whatever the movement, move at a speed you could stop at any point; if you cannot, you are using momentum rather than muscle.
- Cutting the range short — take each rep through the full range the joint allows, since half reps train half the movement.
- Holding the breath — breathe out on the effort and in on the return, and never let a whole set go by on one breath.
- Training without a purpose — pick the movement for a purpose, whether that is conditioning, skill or a warm-up, and train it that way.
Where it fits in a workout
Movements like these go at the end of a session as conditioning or in the warm-up to raise the heart rate. Alternate a timed round of ropes or shuffles with a bodyweight movement like push-ups for a simple circuit.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
When to talk to someone
- Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
- Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
- Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.
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Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.