How to do a Vertical Knee Raise
Reviewed by JP Michelsen, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
About Vertical Knee Raise
Vertical Bench (Vertical Knee Raise)
Target muscles worked
Instructions for Proper Form
Vertical Knee Raise is a bodyweight core exercise that involves suspending yourself, and then engaging your core to raise your knees towards your chest. By keeping your torso upright, and raising your knees, this exercise is a bit better for building functional, real world strength.
- Stand upright on the pedals of a vertical leg raise bench.
- Press your back against the pad and rest your forearms on the parallel bars grabbing a hold of the handles with your palms facing in.
- Brace your core to keep your head extended away from your shoulders before suspending your body above the floor.
- Avoid any swinging as you flex your hips and your abdomen to bring your knees up to your chest.
- Lower your legs to the extended position.
Common Form Mistakes
Resting Between Reps
Keep your core engaged for the duration of the exercise, even between reps. This exercise is designed to add instability that your core needs to compensate for. Keeping your core engaged throughout the exercise will improve the effectiveness of the exercise.
Sets & Reps Calculator
Average Vertical Knee Raise standards by male, female, gender, weight, age and height
Use this calculator to see Fitbod's possible first recommendations for you. This would be your starting line, based on more than 4.5 billion logged sets from 1.1 million users.
- beginner3sets9reps1 Set Max10reps
- intermediate4sets9reps11reps
- advanced4sets10reps12reps
Enter your stats to calculate your Sets & Reps
Alternative Exercises to Vertical Knee Raise
1. Ab Crunch Machine
96.1 mSCORESWAPPED 4,247 TIMESAb Crunch Machine is a variation of Crunches performed with a machine. Unlike standard Crunches, the use of a machine gives you more control over your resistance. In addition, the machine will restrict your range of motion allowing you to focus more on exertion than stabilizing the movement.
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2. Crunches
94 mSCORESWAPPED 3,594 TIMESCrunches are one of the most common exercises out there. It’s an easy to perform, bodyweight exercise that targets your abdominals. Crunches are very similar to Sit Ups, however, instead of raising your upper body all the way into a near sitting position, you only raise your shoulder blades off the ground. This is a great exercise for beginners looking to build core strength.
- Beginner
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3. Leg Raise
96.5 mSCORESWAPPED 3,270 TIMESLeg Raise is a simple bodyweight core exercise that involves laying on the ground and suspending your legs in the air. While your core does play a significant role in raising your legs, the real benefit comes from controlling their descent back to the floor.
- Beginner
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4. Plank
92.8 mSCORESWAPPED 2,948 TIMESPlanks are one of the most common core exercises out there. This is a bodyweight exercise that is performed for time rather than reps. Planks don’t require any movement, instead they force you to place yourself in a position that requires you to engage your core, and maintain that muscle activation for the duration of the exercise. This is a great way to help build strength and stability in a way that will translate to a variety of other exercises, and your daily life.
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5. Bicycle Crunch
91.8 mSCORESWAPPED 2,879 TIMESBicycle Crunch is a more difficult version of a standard crunch. Instead of raising your torso off the ground for each rep, you keep your torso off the ground, and your core engaged. By cycling your legs, you add more instability to the movement, which leads to better core activation.
- Beginner
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6. Russian Twist
96.2 mSCORESWAPPED 2,630 TIMESRussian Twist is one of the more common core exercises. This exercise targets multiple muscles in your core, but the reason for including this exercise is usually to target your obliques. By raising your feet off the ground, engaging your core, and twisting to each side, you can better target this specific muscle in your core.
- Beginner
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7. Leg Pull-In
94.9 mSCORESWAPPED 2,442 TIMESLeg Pull in is a bodyweight exercise that targets your core. By raising your legs off the ground, you’re already engaging your core. Additionally your core helps to pull your legs in towards your chest.
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8. Hanging Knee Raise
73.4 mSCORESWAPPED 2,343 TIMESHanging Knee Raise is a variation of Vertical Knee Raise. Like Vertical Knee Raise, this is a bodyweight core exercise that involves suspending yourself and raising your knees to your chest. By hanging from a pull up bar, you add more instability to the movement, which causes you to further recruit your core for stability.
- Beginner
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- Pull Up Bar
9. Vertical Leg Raise
82.2 mSCORESWAPPED 2,285 TIMESVertical Leg Raise is a more challenging variation of Vertical Knee Raise. By keeping your legs straight as you raise them up and away from you, you add significantly more resistance to this exercise. Keeping your legs extended also forces you to engage your quadriceps. This is a great variation for anyone looking to make their Vertical Knee Raises more challenging.
- Intermediate
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- Vertical Bench (Vertical Knee Raise)
10. Cable Crunch
88.8 mSCORESWAPPED 2,225 TIMESCable Crunch is a variation on the more standard Crunch. Unlike Crunches, this is a weighted exercise that does not have you laying on your back. Instead of using your bodyweight for resistance, you use a cable machine. This gives you more control over your resistance, as well as more control over the direction that resistance is coming from.
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- Hi-Lo Pulley Cable
- Rope Cable