This is one of my favorite moves to train my legs and for good reasons: They're fun, they can be a challenge and it gives off a hell of a burn in the thighs. IMO, it's really underrated. Many people don't know what it is and if they saw it at 1st glance, they may think it's some silly move and why the fuck would you want to move in this manner? Why is it even called The Bigfoot Walk? Is it something that an actual Bigfoot does? Well, we've never actually seen one so why call it that?
The truth is, it's just a name, what it really is, is walking in a quarter to a half squat that digs into the quads and glute muscles and it has similarities to a wrestler's stance. Very effective and it's more than what people may perceive it to be. When seen at first, it doesn't seem like much, after all it's just a rinky dink goofy ass move right? Shit, where's the resistance when you do it, the range of motion is just a tiny part of a squat right? Give it a go, see how it feels after 30 seconds or so. Seems easy doesn't it, the fact is, you're in constant tension and when you keep going, there's that build up that might make those legs scream like Drew Barrymore in E.T.
Many people (most likely men) may see it as some kind of exercise that only pussies do. It's part of that dogmatic mindset where if you want real strength, you lift heavy, have greater ROM, you get results like a man. They'll have you believe Heavy Squats & Deadlifts are the true kings of Lower Body Development. Bro, might want to pull that stick out of your ass and come back down to earth. Here's a fun fact (and might come as a shock): Many athletic movements are in a partial range position. How about this for a kicker, many movements are dynamic, semi unilateral & semi bilateral, kind of like the Bigfoot Walk here.
What you may call a sissy, poor excuse of a move might just save your knees and your quads that has more use than a loaded squat. Don't get me wrong, squats with or without weight are essential depending on your goals but it's not the Zeus of all leg exercises. In Martial Arts such as Wrestling, Muay Thai, Boxing, Kung Fu, this is the type of strength you need in the legs where you only need to go down a bit but not in a complete squat. Because of the constant tension along with the shifting from one leg to another, you're putting a greater long term strength into the muscles. It's not a matter of pure strength that is temporary, it's about that strength lasting.
Like I said earlier, give it a go for a minimum of 30 seconds or even a minute if you think it's easy. If you feel it right away, that means you have some work to do. I would do this for up to 5 minutes 1-2 times a day and go longer sometimes. I don't do it everyday but it would be a change of pace, some who have gotten into it will go longer or do them in sets like 3 sets of 3 minutes. This is only a piece of the puzzle though, an idea if you will of what Animal Movement Training does to condition the body. Our fitness culture has this obsession of heavy squats that i n reality isn't 100% productive for long term health. It is impressive as hell at times and if that's your thing, cool and I hope you're able to minimize injuries.
For more info on Animal Based Movement & Training, give MOVEMENT 20XX a glance, very powerful stuff and some of the best conditioning & strength training methods on the planet.
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