Is The Bigfoot Walk Another Move To Increase Strength In The Legs

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. 

Holy Shit It's Bigfoot

 If you get the reference, kudos to you. Can you last 3 minutes in the Bigfoot Exercise Challenge? 

It may not look like much but it is for sure a great exercise for the legs. It is a little out there especially with the name but the effects of it are more than what people think. When you first see it, where the hell is the resistance, what does the range of motion initially? Give it a go and see what happens.

Pretty quickly you'll feel it in your thighs and your ass. If you can do it for a good length of time, you'll feel quite the sensation (even within 30 seconds). It is no joke especially if you want to condition the legs along with strength & durability. Here's the reality, many people even at a higher level of training don't always know what works and what should be thrown in the trash (CrossFit anyone?). A lot live in this dogmatic world that consistently believes that more weight comes to more results, the greater range of motion means more results and that compound movements such as the Squat & Deadlift are the kings of developing the lower body. Don't get me wrong, those lifts are essential to many things such as powerlifting, strongman training and certain aspects of sports specific training but they're not Mount Olympus caliber either. 

Here's a shocker for you: Many movements end up being in a partial range of motion. Not only that, but also because of the dynamics and mechanics of a lot of movements, there are a ton of Semi-Unilateral & Semi-Bilateral moves that are similar to the Bigfoot Walk. Think about it for a second like a martial artist or a wrestler, if their stance is too wide, his power and speed won't be as effective plus they can be caught easier in specific positions. With a firm and balanced stance (watch a wrestler like Dan Gable or Jordan Burroughs), it's a little more closed in, it's not spread out and out of unison. Similar to a Hockey Player, he needs that balance on those skates, if his range of motion is out of sync with controlling the puck, he's going to tear a groin, skates will go berserk and he can't be at his best or even at the most basic level of play. 

This particular movement is a lot more useful to do for real life and sports. It's weird to look at but it's not any weirder than crouching and walking through bushes or practicing various stances in wrestling or other combat sports. You're only squatting down a bit but instead of coming back up, you stay in that position and move around or hold for a period of time, simple but not as easy as it looks. People with knee issues (small levels) could benefit from this exercise. It creates constant tension and you're shifting from one leg to another. 

This is just another look at the wide range of exercises you can learn from such as the ones from Movement 20XX that incorporate full body application and progressions that hit many muscle groups and can get you in killer condition and long-term strength whether you're an athlete, a complete beginner, older trainee or just those who want to be in shape for the long haul. Some of these may be too advanced for some but overall, these exercise will take you to places in your fitness journey you may haven't experienced before. 

Be adventurous, take up the challenge if you can. If you can't last the full 3 minutes that's ok, build up to it little by little. Keep striving to be better and keep being amazingly awesome.