{"id":2531,"date":"2025-01-21T07:13:09","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T07:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/mastering-donkey-kicks-a-guide-to-techniques-advantages-and-best-practices.html"},"modified":"2025-01-21T07:13:09","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T07:13:09","slug":"mastering-donkey-kicks-a-guide-to-techniques-advantages-and-best-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/health\/mastering-donkey-kicks-a-guide-to-techniques-advantages-and-best-practices.html","title":{"rendered":"Mastering Donkey Kicks: A Guide to Techniques, Advantages, and Best Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Like the animal for which they\u2019re named, donkey kicks get no respect. All you\u2019re lifting is your leg, after all \u2014 how hard can that be? And who wants to do an exercise named for a bucktoothed ass in a straw hat, usually portrayed as the mount for someone\u2019s diminutive sidekick?<\/p>\n<p>But hold on there, partner: Like that sidekick, donkey kicks \u2014 also known as the quadruped hip extension \u2014 are underappreciated workhorses. They fire up lazy lower-body muscles, improving mobility and ensuring the long-term health of some of your most vulnerable joints.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how to do donkey kicks with proper form.<\/p>\n<h2>Donkey Kicks: Step-by-Step Instructions<\/h2>\n<p><iframe title=\"Learn How to Do Donkey Kicks With Jordan Morello | Openfit\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Zmi989h1m8k?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Get down on all-fours, with your hands directly below your shoulders and knees directly below your hips. Your back should be flat, your neck neutral.<\/li>\n<li>Keeping your arms straight, core engaged, and knees bent at a 90-degree angle, raise your right knee off the floor and press the sole of your right foot up toward the ceiling. Squeeze your right glute (butt muscle) as hard as you can at the top of the movement.<\/li>\n<li>Reverse the move, lowering your right knee to the starting position.<\/li>\n<li>Repeat for the prescribed number of reps, making sure to perform an equal number with each leg.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Tips for Donkey Kicks<\/h2>\n<p>The most common mistake made when performing the donkey kick is overarching the spine in an attempt to raise the lifted leg higher.<\/p>\n<p>That isn\u2019t necessary: The target muscles are the glutes\u00a0\u2014 not the lower back \u2014 so you won\u2019t need to lift your leg such that you\u2019re arching your back excessively.<\/p>\n<p>Check this tendency by squeezing your abdomen hard as you approach the top of the move. This\u2019ll make sure you\u2019re activating your core muscles and keeping your pelvis stable.<\/p>\n<h2>Variations on the Donkey Kick<\/h2>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve got the traditional donkey kick down, build on it with any of these alternate takes.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Double-leg donkey kick (mule kick)<\/h3>\n<p><iframe title=\"How To Do The Mule Kick | Beachbody\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ipwQMaSNcfs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This two-legged version,\u00a0described in detail here,\u00a0requires additional explosiveness and athleticism.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Straight-leg donkey kick<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>Start with your leg extended straight behind you, toes pointed toward the floor instead of upward.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Pilates leg kick<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-147033\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/01204524\/donkey-kicks-600-pilates-kick.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"551\" height=\"332\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>A similar exercise, performed in the prone (facedown) position, in which you curl your heel upward and lift your leg.<\/p>\n<h3>4. Resistance band donkey kick<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-146354\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/20145820\/butt-workouts-at-home-exercises-600-quadruped-hip-extension.jpg\" alt=\"banded donkey kick | donkey kicks\" width=\"476\" height=\"476\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>The base move performed with a band around your thighs, which provides additional resistance to the lifting leg.<\/p>\n<h3>5. Circling donkey kick<\/h3>\n<p>The base move, but instead of lowering your leg after lifting it, you circle your thigh out to the side as far as possible to help mobilize your hip joint in all three planes of motion.<\/p>\n<h3>6. Weighted donkey kick<\/h3>\n<p>The base move performed with ankle weights.<\/p>\n<h2>Muscles Targeted by the Donkey Kick<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-144924 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/02123539\/do-squats-make-your-butt-look-bigger-600-glutes.jpg\" alt=\"glute muscle anatomy | donkey kicks\" width=\"600\" height=\"267\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>Donkey kicks mainly work your gluteus muscles: the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe donkey kick is so named because it mimics the animal\u2019s signature movement,\u201d says Trevor Thieme, C.S.C.S. \u201cBut true to the animal\u2019s nickname, it will also help you sculpt a great\u2026 you get the idea.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The target muscle in the donkey kick is your\u00a0gluteus maximus \u2014 the largest of the butt muscles \u2014 whose primary job is to extend your hip joint, also known as hip extension (think: getting up from a seated position).<\/p>\n<p>Helping out are the two smaller glute muscles, the\u00a0gluteus medius\u00a0and\u00a0minimus, and the hamstrings \u2014 the muscles on the backs of your thighs \u2014 which assist the glutes in extending the hips.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to helping you look better from behind, strong glutes and hamstrings help support your posture, protect your lower back and knee joints, and improve your speed and power when you run, jump, and play sports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Like the animal for which they\u2019re named, donkey kicks get no respect. All you\u2019re lifting is your leg, after all \u2014 how hard can that be? And who wants to do an exercise named for a bucktoothed ass in a straw hat, usually portrayed as the mount for someone\u2019s diminutive sidekick? But hold on there, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2533,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[56,91,98,103,117],"class_list":["post-2531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-butt","tag-fitness","tag-glutes","tag-hips","tag-lower-body"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}