On hands and knees, you kick one leg up with the knee bent, squeezing the glute at the top before lowering. It is a bodyweight glute exercise that suits beginners and home workouts and can be made harder with ankle weights or a resistance band.
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How effective is this exercise for you?
3
Sets
15
Reps
Bodyweight
Equipment
5.00
Cal/min
🎯 Muscles Worked
🎯
Primary
Glutes
➕
Secondary
Core
📋 How To Perform Donkey Kick
1
Start on all fours, hands under shoulders, knees under hips.
2
Keep your knee bent at roughly 90 degrees and your core braced.
3
Lift one leg up and back, driving your heel toward the ceiling using your glute, not your lower back.
4
Avoid arching your spine — the movement should come from the hip only.
5
Lower with control just short of the floor and repeat, then switch sides.
💡 Benefits of Donkey Kick
Isolates the glutes with no equipment and very little load on the spine or joints. It is a good warm-up for hip thrusts and squats and a simple exercise for building the mind-muscle connection with the glutes.
📈 Sets, Reps & Programming
Do 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps per side, keeping the movement slow and controlled. Add a resistance band above the knees or ankle weights when bodyweight feels easy.
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
Arching the lower back to lift the leg higher
Rotating the hips open to the side
Swinging the leg instead of lifting it
✅ Pro Tips
Keep the core braced and the hips square to the floor
Squeeze the glute at the top and lower slowly
🛡️ Safety Notes
Very safe. Keep the neck neutral, and stop if you feel pain in the wrists or knees; use a mat or cushion if needed.
🔁 Progressions & Regressions
Make it harderuse ankle weights or a resistance band.
It is a good start for beginners, but you will need to progress to resistance bands, ankle weights or heavier exercises like hip thrusts for continued growth.
How many reps should I do?
15 to 20 slow reps per side with a squeeze at the top.
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