Knees To Elbows (How To, Benefits & Alternatives)

Knees to Elbows are a hanging core exercise that strengthens the abs and hip flexors while also demanding grip strength and shoulder stability.

From a pull-up bar, you lift your knees all the way up until they touch your elbows, making it more advanced than a standard hanging knee raise.

Primary Muscles Worked: Rectus Abdominis, Obliques, Hip Flexors
Secondary Muscles Worked: Lats, Forearms, Grip, Shoulders (stabilization)
Equipment Needed: Pull-Up Bar

How To Do Knees to Elbows

Step-by-Step Instructions

Set-Up:
- Hang from a pull-up bar with hands shoulder-width apart and palms facing forward.
- Keep your body stable, core engaged, and legs together.
Execution:
- Brace your abs and lift your knees upward, curling your spine as you bring them toward your chest.
- Continue until your knees touch your elbows (or as close as you can get).
- Slowly lower your legs back down to the starting position with control.
Tips for Proper Form:
- Initiate the movement with your abs, not just your hip flexors.
- Avoid swinging: stay strict for maximum core activation.
- Exhale as you bring your knees up, inhale as you lower.

Key Benefits

Strengthens abs and obliques with a large range of motion.
Improves grip strength and shoulder stability from the hang.
Builds body control useful for gymnastics and calisthenics progressions.

Modifications and Variations

Easier Option:
- Perform hanging knee raises without trying to touch the elbows.
- Bend legs less (partial range of motion).
Harder Option:
- Add ankle weights for extra resistance.
- Perform strict toes-to-bar instead of knees-to-elbows.
- Try tempo reps, pausing briefly at the top.

Common Mistakes

Swinging or Kipping: Keep the movement controlled to focus on the core.
Cutting Range of Motion: Aim to bring the knees as high as possible.
Letting Shoulders Shrug Up: Keep shoulders engaged and slightly pulled down.

Reps and Sets Recommendations

For Core Strength: 3–4 sets of 6–10 reps.
For Endurance: 2–3 sets of 10–15 reps.
In Conditioning Workouts: Perform for 20–30 seconds as part of a circuit.

Knees To Elbows Variations

Looking to change up your workout a bit, or maybe you need to make Knees To Elbows more (or less) challenging? Here are a few variations you can try out.

Hanging Knee Raises

If you’re finding Knees To Elbows a little too difficult, then you could switch up to Hanging Knee Raises. You’re still going to be hanging from the bar, but you can keep your arms mostly straight instead of having to hold the 90-degree flexed position.

In addition to that, you don’t have to raise the knees as high. The combination of the two makes Hanging Knee Raises more beginner-friendly.

Toes To Bar

Need to actually ramp up the difficulty of Knees To Elbows. Try Toes To Bar. As the name implies (both of these movements are pretty specific with their names), Toes to Bar is roughly the same exercise but the legs are kept straight and are raised until – you guessed it – your toes touch the bar.

Knees To Elbows Alternatives

If you can’t do Hanging Knee Raises, for whatever reason (lack of equipment, injury, etc), here are a few alternatives that you can try to substitute in their place.

Suitcase Crunches

If you don’t have a pull-up bar or just aren’t ready for Knees To Elbows yet, Suitcase Crunches are a great alternative.

Suitcase Crunches are pretty close to the exact same movement, but with your butt on the ground instead of hanging in the air. Sit on the ground with legs extended straight out, six inches off the ground, and your torso leaning back at about a 45-degree angle.

Now, drive your knees and chest together (like closing a suitcase) and then extend back out. Keep your back and feet off the ground throughout the exercise.

Cross Body Mountain Climbers

Most of us probably did Mountain Climbers at some point in gym class growing up.

Cross Body Mountain Climbers ramp up the ab involvement big time. From a pushup position drive one knee up, cross-body, to the opposite elbow. Alternate back and forth until all reps are completed. You might be surprised just how much these can light your abs on fire.