# Donkey Kick: how to do it

- Main muscles: glutes
- Also works: hamstrings
- Equipment: bodyweight
- Level: beginner
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/donkey_kick/0d45aada48/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Get on all fours, hands under shoulders, knees under hips.
2. Brace your stomach and keep your back flat.
3. Keep one knee bent and lift it back and up.
4. Stop when your thigh is level with your back.
5. Lower slowly, then switch sides after your reps.

## Cues

- Push the sole of your foot to the ceiling.
- Keep your hips square to the floor.
- Squeeze your glute at the top.

## Common mistakes

- Arching your lower back to lift higher.
- Rolling your hips open to the side.
- Straightening the knee into a kick.

## Starting position

All fours on a mat. Hands flat, shoulder-width apart, directly under the shoulders, fingers forward, arms straight but not locked. Knees hip-width apart, directly under the hips, so hips and knees are both at about 90°. Tops of the feet on the floor (toes pointing back). Back flat and roughly parallel to the floor, stomach braced, neck long with the eyes on the floor between the hands. The app tells users to switch sides.

## The movement

Keep the left knee bent at 90° and lift the left knee off the floor. Squeeze the left glute to swing the thigh back and up, the sole of the foot pushing towards the ceiling. Only the hip moves: the back stays flat, the pelvis stays level and square to the floor, and the weight shifts only slightly onto the right knee and both hands. Stop when the thigh is in line with the trunk (parallel to the floor), hold, then lower the knee back under the hip without resting it on the floor.

## End position

Top: left hip at 0° (thigh in line with the trunk), knee still at 90°, shin vertical with the sole facing the ceiling. Going above the trunk line is the usual fault.

## Tempo

1.5 s up, 0.5 s squeeze, 1.5 s down, 0.5 s hover. ([2] used a 40 beat per minute metronome: one beat up, one down, one rest.)

## Form in numbers

| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Hands | under the shoulders, shoulder-width | wrists within 5 cm of the shoulder line | [1] [3] |
| Knees | under the hips, hip-width | within 5 cm | [1] [3] |
| Hip and knee flexion on all fours | 90° | 80–100° | [3] |
| Trunk angle from horizontal | 0° | ±10° | [1] |
| Working knee flexion, held | 90° | 80–100° | [2] |
| Working hip at the top | 0° (thigh in line with trunk) | −10° to +10° | [2] |
| Lumbar arch added at the top | 0° | under 5° | [1] |
| Pelvis rotation or tilt to the side | 0° | under 10° | [1] |
| Knee hover at the bottom | 2–3 cm | 1–5 cm |  |

## Sources

1. [ACE, Quadruped Bent-Knee Hip Extensions](https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/lifestyle/exercise-library/270/quadruped-bent-knee-hip-extensions/)
2. [Selkowitz, Beneck and Powers 2013, J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 43(2):54–64, Which exercises target the gluteal muscles while minimizing activation of the tensor fascia lata?](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23160432/)
3. [South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Arm raise in four point kneeling](https://www.southtees.nhs.uk/resources/arm-raise-in-four-point-kneeling/)

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/donkey-kick