Glute Kickbacks with Bent Knee
The ideal glute exercise for women that want to target the gluteus maximus whether they workout at home or at a gym.
Bent knee glute kickbacks are one of my favorite butt exercises because they can tone, tighten and strengthen all three muscles in your glutes. When you are looking for butt workouts for women that can be done at home, the bent knee donkey kickback should be at the top of your list. One of my favorite things about donkey kickbacks is that they can be a very effective butt exercise for women that have knee injuries since direct weight and pressure is not placed on the knee joint.
While you do not have to add resistance for donkey kickbacks to be effective, I like to use a long looped band in a medium to hard strength to make this movement more challenging.
How to Perform a Kickback:
Begin the donkey kickback on your hands and knees keeping your core tight throughout the movement. Loop the band around the arch of one foot and keep your foot flexed to hold it in place. Hold the front of the band with your hands shoulder width apart. With focus on your glutes, maintain your bent knee position while drawing your foot upward toward the ceiling.
Variations:
Glute Kickback with Straight Leg – AKA Donkey Kickback
Need resistance for the glute kickback?
Best Resistance Bands (Long Looped Exercise Bands): WODFitters Resistance Bands I LOVE these and find them super useful. The red and black bands are every day resistance bands but the others have solid uses 1-2 times per week depending on what your home workouts look like.
Are Glute Kickbacks Effective
If you are looking for an exercise that isolates the glutes for a tighter, more firm butt then it is hard to beat a glute kickback as it seriously works all three of the gluteal muscles, the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus. Because the glutes one of the more powerful muscle groups in the body, it can be difficult to challenge them. In fact, donkey kickbacks done without resistance are rarely enough. By adding a strong resistance band to the movement you can fire up those muscle fibers in ways that is just not possible without resistance.