How to do the Knees-to-Elbow, step by step
- Hang from the bar with a shoulder-width grip and active shoulders.
- Take a small swing from the shoulders.
- Tuck your pelvis and drive your knees up.
- Bring your knees to or above your elbows.
- Lower your legs under control.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
- Knees only get to hip heighttuck your pelvis more and pull higher.
- Uncontrolled swingingdeliberately slow your legs down.
- Passive shouldersactively push the bar down.
How to scale the Knees-to-Elbow
If you can't do the movement cleanly yet or the workout is too heavy, use one of these variations:
- Hanging Knee Raise
- Knee raise on parallel bars or a dip station
- Lying knee tuck on the floor
Also known as
Knees to elbow
Benchmarks with Knees-to-Elbow
- Filthy Fifty50 each: Box Jumps, Jumping Pull-ups, KB Swings, Walking Lunges, K2E, Push Press, Back Ext., Wall Balls, Burpees, Double Unders
- The Seven7 RFT: 7 HSPU, 7 Thruster 60 kg, 7 Knees-to-Elbows, 7 Deadlifts 110 kg, 7 Burpees, 7 KB Swings 32 kg, 7 Pull-ups
- Desforges5 RFT: 12 Deadlifts 102.5 kg, 20 Pull-ups, 12 Clean & Jerks 60 kg, 20 Knees-to-Elbows
These descriptions are general guidance and don't replace a coach. Have someone at your box show you new movements, and stop if anything hurts.