While a typical beach weight workout may bias the upper body, if you want to be more athletic, the lower body is king because it is where the most whole-body power can be produced for athletic movements. The major lower body muscles that we tend to target the most in the gym are the quads, the glutes and the hamstrings. 

Hip dominant exercises will bias the glutes more. Knee dominant exercises will bias the quads more. The hamstrings are biarticular, in that they work around the knee and the hip joints, so they can be worked in knee or hip dominant positions.

For these reasons, splitting your lower body exercises into hip dominant and knee dominant can be a great way to holistically train your lower body.

What is the Difference Between Hip Dominant and Knee Dominant?

Put simply, hip dominance refers to movements that work more predominantly through the hip joints and knee dominance refers to exercises that work more predominantly through the knee. This may be in relation to the other joint or other exercises. For example, a knee extension will use the knees and use very little of the hip musculature and thus would be considered knee dominant. A front squat can still be technically hip dominant but comparatively to back squat variations may be ‘more knee dominant’ and so in some contexts a front squat may be referred to as knee dominant or hip dominant.

Three Knee Dominant Leg Exercises

Zercher Squats

Zercher squats engage your quadriceps, glutes, and core muscles effectively. The extreme front-loaded position makes it much easier to be more knee dominant.

• Hold a Barbell in the crooks of your elbows, with your arms wrapped around it and fists to the sky.

• Stand with your feet just outside shoulder-width apart, facing slightly out.

• Sit deeply between your knees until at the bottom of the squat.

• Push through your heels to stand back up and complete the rep.

Dumbbell Leg Extensions

Dumbbell knee extensions target the quadriceps muscles and help improve knee stability. It is a great variation for a home gym if you don’t have a leg extension machine.

• Sit on a Weight Bench with your feet flat on the floor.

• Hold a small Dumbbell between your feet.

• Extend your knees by straightening your legs and lifting your feet off the floor.

• Slowly lower your feet back down to the starting position.

Nordic Hamstring Curls

Nordic hamstring curls are an effective exercise for targeting and strengthening the hamstrings at long muscle lengths, utilising eccentric overload.

• Kneel on a pad or mat, securing your ankles under a stable object, or have a partner hold them.

• Engage your core and slowly lower your body towards the ground, using your hamstrings to control the movement.

• When you can no longer control the descent, catch yourself with your hands to prevent hitting the ground.

• Push back up using your hands and repeat the exercise.

Three Hip Dominant Leg Exercises

Romanian Deadlift

RDLs primarily target the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back muscles. They help improve hip hinge mechanics, strengthen the posterior chain, and enhance hip and hamstring flexibility.

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a barbell with an overhand grip in front of your thighs.

• Hinge at your hips, keeping your back straight and slightly bending your knees.

• Lower the barbell down your legs, keeping it close to your body until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.

• Engage your hamstrings and glutes to lift your body back up to a standing position, maintaining a slight bend in your knees throughout the movement.

Low Bar Back Squats

Low bar back squats target the glutes and lower back muscles. The low bar position allows for greater involvement of the posterior chain and emphasises hip and glute activation.

• Position the barbell on your rear delts. Squeeze your elbows together and keep your chin up to create a nice back rack for the bar.

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and toes slightly turned out.

• Engage your core and descend into a squat by pushing your hips back and bending your knees.

• Lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the ground or slightly below, keeping your chest up and knees in line with your toes.

• Drive through your heels to push back up to the starting position.

Glute-Ham Developer Hip Extensions

GHD hip extensions primarily target the glutes and hamstrings. This exercise helps improve posterior chain strength, hip extension power, and overall stability. It can be effective for strengthening the glutes and hamstrings without high technical requirements because of the constraints of the machine.

• Adjust the GHD Machine to a comfortable position for your body, with your feet securely positioned under the footpads.

• Start with your body in a straight position, with your hips fully extended and your torso parallel to the ground.

• Engage your glutes and hamstrings to lower your upper body towards the ground by bending at the hips.

• Maintain control as you descend until your body is at a 90-degree angle or slightly lower.

• Contract your glutes and hamstrings to lift your upper body back to the starting position.

Why Are Some People Hip Dominant or Knee Dominant?

This comes down to our lower body levers. Those with longer femurs relative to their tibia tend to be more hip dominant in the way they move whereas people with shorter femurs, relative to their tibia, tend to be more knee dominant. For example, during a back squat, if you have longer femurs you will have a greater lever arm around the hip in order to keep the bar over your centre of mass, making it more hip dominant.

This means we may want to use extra measures to make movements adhere to the hip or knee dominance that we intend them to. For example, we may use a heel wedge or a front squat for someone with long femurs to make their squats more knee dominant, where otherwise they may struggle to make it knee dominant with a traditional barbell back squat.

If you are looking for a new way to structure your lower body training, then why not try splitting it up by into knee dominant and hip dominant movements? It is a great way to cover a wide variety of lower body movements to strengthen your legs. Remember, if you have particularly long femurs or short femurs, you may want to adjust some of your exercises to make sure it is more or less hip/knee dominant, depending on your goals!

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Tags: Equipment > Bars and Weight Plates ; Exercise Type > Strength