For years, the fitness world has been saturated with the mantra “never let your knees go over your toes.” But here’s the thing—this advice is flawed and holding you back from unlocking your full potential. At Barpath Fitness, we’re all about challenging the status quo and pushing boundaries to achieve optimal strength, mobility, and performance. Let’s dive into the “knees over toes” philosophy, why it matters, and how you can incorporate these game-changing exercises into your routine.
Understanding the “Knees Over Toes” Philosophy
The idea of keeping your knees behind your toes has been around for too long. Gym enthusiasts and even fitness instructors and trainers used to say keeping your knees behind your toes could protect them from undue stress. While this advice was rooted in good intentions—primarily to prevent knee injuries—it’s also left many with limited mobility and, ironically, weaker knees. Additionally, when squatting, there is actually more stress on the knee joint when stopping above parallel as opposed to going through a full range of motion squat (letting the hips go below parallel, which will most likely equate to the knees going past the toes depending on the person’s specific femur length).
Is Knees Over Toes Safe?
Yes, allowing your knees to go over your toes during exercises is completely safe. Not only can your knees go over your toes safely, but doing so can lead to better strength, mobility, and overall athletic performance. The rationale is clear: real-world movements, from jumping to sprinting and even climbing stairs, naturally push your knees over your toes. Training this way prepares your body for these demands, making you stronger and more resilient.
Benefits of Knees Over Toes Exercises
Enhanced Mobility and Flexibility
When you train with your knees over your toes, you’re not just building strength; you’re unlocking a new level of mobility. These exercises specifically target ankle and knee flexibility, areas that often get neglected. Improved mobility means better performance in the gym and less risk of injury in everyday life.
Increased Strength and Stability
Strength is foundational, but stability is what keeps everything together. By training your knees over your toes, you’re strengthening the muscles surrounding your knees—think quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves. This results in more stable joints that are better equipped to handle heavy loads and explosive movements.
Improved Athletic Performance
For athletes, the ability to move explosively is non-negotiable. Knees over toes exercises mimic the natural movements required in sports, where your knees often do go over your toes. Training these patterns builds strength where it counts, translating to faster sprints, higher jumps, and quicker changes in direction.
Injury Prevention
Knee injuries are common in both sports and everyday activities, often due to a lack of strength and mobility in the joint. Knees over toes exercises help fortify your knees against injury by developing balanced strength in the surrounding muscles. This means fewer aches and pains and a lower risk of serious injuries like ACL tears.
Our Favorite Knees Over Toes Exercises
ATG Split Squat
The ATG Split Squat is all about deep range of motion. By lowering yourself into a deep lunge, with your back leg straight and front knee over your toes, you’re stretching and strengthening your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. It’s a killer move for both flexibility and strength, especially for athletes.
The goal of this exercise is to drive your hamstring into your calf as you descend down trying to get your hamstring to cover your entire calf muscle (or as much as possible). If you cannot do this with your front foot elevated on the floor, then elevate the front foot as your ankle mobility and hip flexion improves. Over time, you should be able to do these with the front foot on the floor and progress this movement with weight.
Sissy Squat
Sissy squats are anything but a sissy exercise! This exercise isolates the quads and helps build the strength needed to protect your knees during more complex movements. These require a ton of stability and mobility in the toes, hips, and ankles – a true test of knee and quad strength.
The goal is to lift up on to your toes and lean back to create a straight line from hips to shoulders as you bring your knees to touch the floor.
A great regression for this movement is holding on to a band set up on a rack. This will get you comfortable with a full range of motion sissy squat while simultaneously building your strength and mobility to perform it without the band.
Shrimp Squat
The shrimp squat is a great exercise to improve quad strength. The more you can cover your calf with your hamstring on the eccentric, the more work will be placed on the quad. You can use a counterbalance to increase the mechanical advantage to reduce the amount of balance needed as you build up with this movement. The less weight you hold for counterbalance, the harder this exercise becomes.
How to Incorporate Knees Over Toes Exercises into Your Routine
Warm-Up Recommendations
Before jumping into these exercises, it’s essential to warm up your knees and ankles. Dynamic stretches and mobility drills focused on the lower body and core will prep your joints and muscles for the work ahead. Think ankle circles, leg swings, and bodyweight squats.
Programming Tips
Start by incorporating knees over toes exercises into your routine 2-3 times per week. Begin with lower intensity and volume, then gradually increase as your strength and mobility improve. Mix these exercises into your leg days or use them as part of your warm-up or cool-down routine.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Don’t rush the process. One of the biggest mistakes is going too hard too soon, which can lead to injury. Focus on form first—make sure your movements are controlled and that you’re not compensating with other muscles. Listen to your body and progress gradually.
Who Should Be Cautious?
If you have pre-existing knee conditions or injuries, consult with a healthcare professional before diving into these exercises. While they can be beneficial, it’s crucial to ensure that they’re appropriate for your specific situation.
Additionally, movements that cause pain or intense discomfort beyond normal sensations during the exercise should be modified to a level that allows for less intensity. Use modifications or adjustments as needed and don’t be afraid to hold on to walls, bands, or racks while building up strength to do these exercises.
If full versions of these exercises are too challenging, there are plenty of modifications, some which are demonstrated in the above videos. The goal is to build strength gradually, so don’t be afraid to adjust the movements to suit your current level.
Knees Over Toes Training
At Barpath Fitness, we believe in training smarter, not just harder. Knees over toes exercises are a prime example of how evolving your approach can lead to significant gains in strength, mobility, and performance. So, challenge the status quo and embrace the knees over toes philosophy.
For those looking to dive deeper, we offer online fitness coaching where we can help program exercises for your goals and fitness level. Schedule a free consultation to chat with us and see if coaching is right for you. Ready to take the next step? Start incorporating these exercises into your routine today and join the movement towards stronger, healthier knees.
Want more support for your knees? Download our FREE guide for knee pain or try our 12 week STRONGER program which focuses on increasing strength and mobility.
