High intensity donkey kicks for strength and stamina

High intensity exercises are terrific for quick bursts of training that deliver results in a short amount of time. They rev up your cardio, burn muscles, and build strength in 20 seconds or less. These are vigorous exercises you will do for 20-30 seconds at a time. You’ll feel short of breath after each sprint because of just how much they rev up your heart rate, while also pumping up your strength.

“No time to train” is no longer an excuse with a high-intensity burst-series of exercises at your disposal. Today, Tema shows you “Elevated Donkey Kicks” to get you started!

Elevated donkey kicks: What you need

This exercise is simple in movement and only requires an elevation that can hold less than half your body weight. In the video, Tema is using a standard exercise bench. However, you can just as easily use a sofa, a coffee table, some stairs, or if you are out and about, a park bench or front stoop.

Starting position

Take your time to slowly and safely get your feet up on the elevated platform and your hands flat on the floor. A simple way is to begin on your hands and knees in front of the elevated structure, then place one foot up on the bench at a time.

The position is almost like a push-up position, except elevated and your body is in a pike position as opposed to level. Make sure your hands are directly under your shoulders.

What to do

Once in the starting position, you will pull your navel toward your spine to keep your core nice and tight. This will help with support and core strength.

With feet together, drop them both to the floor and then back up onto the bench again. That is one count. Do 10 donkey kicks in rapid succession.

At about number five you will really start feeling your heart rate increase. And because your arms are supporting much of your body weight, you will feel a burn in your shoulders as you develop strength with each movement.

Sets and Reps

You want to try for a set of 10 reps of donkey kicks. Conversely, if you don’t want to count, you can set a timer and see just how many you can do today in a set time period of, say, 20 seconds.

This high-intensity donkey kick burst is a great exercise to add to your existing routine. Try it just one time for the first week. Try to build this up to doing them 2-3 times per day, 2-3 times per week. With each day you will feel your endurance improving, your heart rate improving, and your arms and legs strengthening. Best of all, you will notice all this by experiencing greater endurance throughout the day.