The Bigfoot walk challenge - do you have the strength to do this for 3 minutes straight? A very underrated exercise for leg development.

This exercise has a fitting name - the bigfoot walk because it does look goofy. However, it's far more effective than people think.

At first, it doesn't look much. Where is the resistance? Where is the range of motion?

Try it.

You should feel it immediately in your quadriceps and glutes. Do it for a serious length of time (most people feel incredible sensation in just 30 seconds or less) and you will realize it's the real deal.

This is the thing: most people even at higher levels of strength training are clueless about what works and what doesn't. 

People live in this dogmatic world where more weight equals more results, more range of motion equals more results and the back squat and deadlifts are the only exercises you will need for the lower body development.

Here's a shocking fact: most athletic movements consist of partial range of motion. Not only this, most athletic movements are dynamic and semi-unilateral and semi-bilateral similar to this bigfoot walk.

This simple goofy looking exercise might be way more useful than the loaded back squat everyone else is doing.

In most stand up sports and especially in martial arts you need this type of strength in your legs where you will squat a little bit down but not too much. In the bigfoot walk you have constant tension in your legs and you are shifting your weight from one leg to another.

Athleticism in general is also more about strength endurance than it is about pure 1 Rep Max power alone. Yet, the previous paradigm has made us obsessed with working on low rep ranges.

It feels almost unnecessary to explain the movement though - give it a try. If you feel the exercise immediately in your quadriceps... then you have a lot of work to do. If you feel it after 30 seconds, you still have a lot of work to do.

For martial arts purposes and athleticism this is the range of motion you should be the strongest at. Ideally, this exercise should feel effortless to you if you do it for under 1 minute. 

If you feel a strong burning sensation, then it means the legs need work to do and this exercise is how you strengthen them. You will notice more agility, springiness, speed and even power after you have worked with this exercise when compared to the loaded back squats.

This exercise is only the beginning though. The Animal Movement Strength Training (AMST) with different methods is a game changer because not only are movements like this more applicable and functional in the real world (martial arts, sports, physical activities), but very few people are doing this type of training (you will have an edge over your competition).

Literally everyone else is obsessed with heavy back squats that sometimes break their spine and knees - how productive!

In our personal leg training, we focus significantly more on Animal Movement Strength Training than we focus on the traditional weight lifting exercises (back squats, conventional deadlifts, cleans etc.)

But what else is there? Bunny hops are amazing for the strength, mobility and power of the lower body. They open up the hips like nothing else but can be quite advanced to start with.

There are more exercises to work on. Even the exercise such as the cat walk where you move horizontally low on the ground, develops the legs in a very functional manner.

If you are an athlete or a martial artist or a person into functional fitness, Animal Movement Strength Training is what will help you the most. It will produce dynamic, limber and elastic strength you will not build with traditional weight lifting exercises.

For more information, we recommend checking out Movement 20XX Method to learn more about Animal Movement Strength Training.

Stay strong.