Bent Knee Back to Side Kick

The Bent Knee Back to Side Kick is a compound movement that trains the glutes with help from lower back, abductors, hamstrings and quadriceps. This guide covers the setup, the execution, the mistakes worth fixing early, and how to program it.

BodyweightIntermediateCompound

Updated 2026-10-20 · Written by the Metal Strength coaching team from the movement itself, and reviewed against the exercise library.

Bent Knee Back to Side Kick, performed through a full range of motion.

The squat is the most complete lower-body movement there is. Bending at the hips, knees and ankles under load trains the glutes through a long range while the whole trunk works to keep you upright, which is why almost every serious program is built around some version of it.

Who it is for. Everyone from a first-week beginner to an advanced lifter, scaled by load and depth. Put it first in a session, when you are freshest.

Muscles worked

The prime mover here is the glutes, with lower back, abductors, hamstrings and quadriceps assisting — which is why this movement earns its place as more than a single-muscle exercise.

Bent Knee Back to Side Kick — Muscles worked: Glutes, Lower back, Abductors, Quadriceps, Hamstrings (Back)

How to do it

Set your stance about shoulder-width, toes turned out somewhere between 15 and 30 degrees, and find a foot position where your knees track in line with your toes.
Take the load with your bodyweight, brace your midsection as if about to be poked in the stomach, and pull your ribs down so your lower back is neither arched hard nor rounded.
Screw your feet into the floor to build tension through the hips before the first rep, and fix your eyes on a point a few metres ahead.
Break at the hips and knees together and descend under control, keeping your weight over the middle of your foot.
Go down until your hip crease passes below the top of your knee, or as deep as you can reach without your lower back tucking under.
Drive back up through the whole foot, keeping your chest and hips rising at the same rate, and stand tall without leaning back at the top.

Breathing. Take a big breath at the top, hold it through the descent and the hardest part of the drive up, then breathe out once past the sticking point.

Form cues that matter

Spread the floor with your feet — it stops the knees caving in.
Keep the bar or load stacked over your mid-foot the whole way down.
Hips and shoulders rise together out of the bottom.
Knees collapsing inward as you stand up
Heels lifting, or the torso folding forward

Common mistakes

The mistake	Do this instead
Knees collapsing inward as you stand up	Lighten the load and actively push your knees out over your toes; add glute and abductor work.
Heels lifting, or the torso folding forward	Work on ankle mobility, widen the stance slightly, and squat only as deep as you can with flat feet.
The lower back tucking under at the bottom ("butt wink")	Stop the descent just above the point where it happens and build depth from there over weeks.

What makes this variation different

The Bent Knee Back to Side Kick is a specific version of this movement, and the details in its name change how it should be performed.

Using only your bodyweight means you can train anywhere, and it keeps the whole body involved in stabilising the movement. Progress comes from leverage, range and reps rather than from adding plates.

Sets, reps and rest

Goal	Sets	Reps	Rest
Strength	3-5	3-6	2-4 min
Muscle growth	3-4	6-12	2-4 min
Endurance	2-3	12-20	2-4 min

10-20Weekly sets
2-0-1Tempo
2-4 minRest

How to progress

Add weight before you add reps. Work at the top of your rep range for two sessions in a row with clean technique, then put the smallest increment available on the Bent Knee Back to Side Kick and build back up. Small, boring jumps beat big ones.

Variations and alternatives

If you do not have the equipment, or you simply want to rotate the stimulus, these 8 movements train the glutes in a similar way.

Safety

Key takeaways

Spread the floor with your feet — it stops the knees caving in.
Keep the bar or load stacked over your mid-foot the whole way down.
Work in the 6-12 rep range for muscle growth, leaving a rep or two in reserve on most sets.
Full range of motion on the Bent Knee Back to Side Kick matters more than the weight on it.
Progress gradually and keep technique identical as the load goes up.

Go deeper

FAQ

What muscles does the Bent Knee Back to Side Kick work?

It works the glutes as the prime mover, with lower back, abductors, hamstrings and quadriceps assisting. The midsection also works throughout to keep you stable.

How many sets and reps should I do on the Bent Knee Back to Side Kick?

Three to four working sets of 6-12 reps suits most people training for muscle growth, leaving one or two reps in reserve. Across all the exercises that train this muscle, 10-20 hard sets a week is a productive range.

Is the Bent Knee Back to Side Kick good for beginners?

Yes, provided you start light enough to own the technique. Spend the first few weeks on the movement itself with a load you could do several more reps with, and add weight only once the pattern is automatic.

What can I do instead of the Bent Knee Back to Side Kick?

Barbell Narrow Stance Squat, Barbell Front Squat and Lever Horizontal Leg Press all train the glutes in a similar way, so any of them works as a substitute when the equipment is taken or you want to rotate the stimulus.

What equipment do I need for the Bent Knee Back to Side Kick?

This version uses your bodyweight. The pattern matters more than the tool, though — the alternatives above cover the same movement with whatever you have available.

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