{"id":18223,"date":"2026-10-16T23:31:36","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T23:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=18223"},"modified":"2026-10-16T23:31:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T23:31:36","slug":"megan-thee-stallions-donkey-kicks-are-the-best-hiking-warm-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/?p=18223","title":{"rendered":"Megan Thee Stallion&#8217;s Donkey Kicks Are the Best Hiking Warm-Up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"justify-start\">\n<nav class=\"align-left col-span-full mb-base\" data-pom-e2e-test-id=\"breadcrumbs\"\/>\n<p>The Grammy Award-winning rapper and fitness enthusiast calls donkey kicks her favorite exercise to keep her glutes strong. A personal trainer explains why adding them to your workout routine can help you move better on the trails.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--$?--><template id=\"B:1\"\/><!--\/$--><\/p>\n<div><\/p>\n<p class=\"fp-leadCaption py-tight text-left font-utility text-utility3-size leading-utility3-line-height text-secondary\"> (Photo: Megan Thee Stallion: Kevin Winter\/Getty; Design: Ayana Underwood\/Canva )<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<p>Published October 16, 2026 04:33PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The donkey kick exercise isn\u2019t new: this move is a longtime staple in Pilates, barre, and bodyweight workouts. But it <i>is <\/i>newly trendy, thanks to Megan Thee Stallion shouting out the donkey kick as one of her go-to exercises in a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thecut.com\/article\/megan-thee-stallion-is-gymsharks-newest-athlete.html\">recent interview<\/a> with <i>The Cut.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m going to call them stallion kicks,\u201d the Grammy Award-winning rapper joked in the interview. What\u2019s much less funny, though, is how much this exercise can fire up, and burn out, your glutes.<\/p>\n<p>As a certified personal trainer, I\u2019ve programmed this move into my own workouts and into group fitness classes, too, because it\u2019s a really effective way to isolate your butt muscles.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s why the donkey kick is so good for your glutes. And doing them regularly can keep your lower body ready so you can take on the trails with ease.<\/p>\n<h2>How to Do the Donkey Kick<\/h2>\n<p>The starting position for the donkey kick is really simple. First, get on all fours with your wrists under your shoulders and knees under your hips. From there, lift one leg straight up, keeping the knee on that same lifted leg bent to 90 degrees. Then, with control, lower your leg back down to complete one rep.<\/p>\n<p>Do a set number of reps; you can do the standard ten reps if you\u2019d like, but if you want to bang out more, then that\u2019s totally OK. Then switch legs and do ten on that leg. That\u2019s one set. Repeat for three sets.<\/p>\n<h2>Why Donkey Kicks Are So Good for Your Glutes<\/h2>\n<p>This move looks pretty easy, and in a sense, it is. Many other lower-body exercises that work the glutes\u2014like squats, lunges, step-ups, and deadlifts\u2014also engage other muscle groups. But because the donkey kick keeps your knees bent, which largely takes your hamstrings out of the equation, you\u2019re really just isolating your glutes here. That means it hits those muscles\u2014<i>hard.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>The gluteus maximus (your biggest butt muscle) does the heavy lifting to raise your elevated leg, while your gluteus medius and minimus (two smaller muscles that form your side butt) help stabilize your hips. Your core also stabilizes the move, and an engaged core keeps your torso still while you move one leg at a time. You\u2019ll know you\u2019re doing the move correctly when you feel lots of tension in your butt.<\/p>\n<p>Though it\u2019s a great way to isolate your glutes, donkey kicks do have their limitations. For one, they\u2019re not the most functional\u2014meaning the exercise doesn\u2019t closely resemble how we typically move in sports or day-to-day life. Contrast that with a step-up, squat, or lunge, which also work the glutes but in more typical movement patterns similar to how you\u2019d hike up or downhill.<\/p>\n<p>Second, it\u2019s hard to add a bunch of external load to the donkey kick. Sure, you could place a dumbbell under the knee of your lifted leg, or loop a resistance band above your knees (or even wear ankle weights), but you can\u2019t easily pile on a ton of external load. The end result? You eventually reach a ceiling with your glute-strengthening gains.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>The Best Way for Outdoor Athletes to Benefit From Donkey Kicks? Use It as a Warm-Up.<\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re a hiker, runner, or backpacker, the donkey kick can have a time and place in your workout routine.<\/p>\n<p>As the International Sports Sciences Association <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.issaonline.com\/blogs\/strength\/donkey-kicks-benefits-and-variations-for-strong-glutes?\">points out<\/a>, incorporating this exercise into a warm-up can help you activate your glutes more effectively during the rest of your workout. That\u2019s exactly how I\u2019d program them for outdoor athletes: do them before your next hike, run, or backpacking adventure to switch on your glutes so your butt is ready to work as soon as you hit the trail.<\/p>\n<p>When your glutes are fired up and ready before your favorite outdoor activity, you\u2019ll be better able to push forward with each step and may reduce your risk of knee pain and injury. Plus, the donkey kicks give you a little stretch in your hip flexors\u2014muscles that are chronically tight in many people\u2014so loosening them up can help you more comfortably navigate terrain.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more <i>Outside<\/i>\u00a0health stories?\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"article-content-link text-brand-primary underline hover:text-brand-primary\/85 break-words overflow-wrap-anywhere underline-offset-[3px]\" rel=\"noopener\" data-afl-p=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/hub.outsideinc.com\/bodywork_newsletter_sign_up-0\">Sign up for the Bodywork newsletter<\/a>. And for tips on how to train, fuel, and recover better,\u00a0sign up for the Sweat Science 101 newsletter.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span hidden=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/health\/training-performance\/megan-thee-stallion-donkey-kicks-hiking\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Grammy Award-winning rapper and fitness enthusiast calls donkey kicks her favorite exercise to keep her glutes strong. A personal trainer explains why adding them to your workout routine can help you move better on the trails. (Photo: Megan Thee Stallion: Kevin Winter\/Getty; Design: Ayana Underwood\/Canva ) Published October 16, 2026 04:33PM The donkey kick<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wild-living"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildgreenquest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}