by Tasha Wolf Whelan
A New Way to Squat and Deadlift
Sometimes all it takes is a small adjustment to unlock untapped gains. The kickstand does just that. Use it for squats and deadlifts like this.
Progress skyrockets when you add in single-leg training. Think of the single-leg Romanian deadlift (RDL). Mastering it requires strength, core stability, body awareness, and mobility. Great stuff if you do it right. Unfortunately, many lifters don't. They compensate, miss out on the benefits, and hurt themselves. That's where a kickstand stance comes in.
The Kickstand Solution
This variation, also called B-stance or 1.5 stance, bridges the gap between a bilateral (two-leg) stance and a single-leg stance. Aside from muscle growth and strength, use it to eliminate imbalances, increase stability, and bulletproof the knees from injury.
Bonus: It acts as a teaching tool for posterior hip shifting. This means it'll improve your ability to tap into the glutes and make them as magnificent as you want.
Bonus-bonus: If you're an athlete, it develops the single-leg strength needed to be explosive when sprinting, jumping, and changing directions. It zeroes in on the glutes and hamstrings, which are the primary drivers of those skills.
Bonus-bonus-bonus: If you struggle with hip mobility, it'll help you get into extended ranges of motion, allowing you to gain more strength and hypertrophy while maintaining a good hip and pelvic position.
How to Get Into the Kickstand Stance
- Begin in a bilateral stance. Position yourself with feet together, laying the foundation for a stable and balanced setup.
- Embrace the fan-out. Keeping your heels together, fan out one foot to the side (toe out) while maintaining an aligned position.
- Make micro-adjustments to your working foot. Fine-tune your big toe alignment so it's more in line with the heel of the working leg. Distribute the majority of your weight onto the flat foot.
- Activate the spotting foot. Introduce a subtle internal rotation. This amps up activation in the posterior lateral hip and glute. Rely minimally on the ball of your non-working foot for assistance.
- Feel the tension in the hips. Move your hips back and notice the loading in your glutes and hamstrings.
Hinge and Squat: The Best Kickstand Lifts
Exercise 1: Kickstand Landmine Romanian Deadlift (RDL)
This variation increases your strength on the standard deadlift. The landmine is a great tool to use for hinging in a kickstand.
Exercise 2: Kickstand Trap Bar Deadlift
Hold a hex bar for this style of deadlift. Load it up heavier than you think. The neutral grip and balanced center of mass are also nice.
Exercise 3: Kickstand Landmine Squat
If you've never been able to master a pistol or skater squat, this is for you. Swap out tricky single-leg squat variations for their kickstand counterparts, like this landmine version.
Exercise 4: Kickstand Goblet Squat
Doing the goblet squat with this stance biases one side over the other. You get double the benefits of a traditional goblet squat. Just make sure to do the same number of reps for each side.
Exercise 5: Kickstand Rotational Squat
Tap into the glutes even more by adding a rotation to your squat or hinge variations.
How to Program It
Don't think of the kickstand variations as main lifts. Do them to complement your squats and deadlifts. Try one after your primary lift of the day, or do it as part of the warm-up to prime the lower body for the main lift.
In general, do sets of 6-15 per side, but here are some more specific guidelines:
- For Strength: Bump up the weight and stick to the lower ranges ā 6-8 reps per side.
- For Muscle Growth: Lighten the load a bit ā 10-15 reps per side.
- For Priming: Go light and use it as a primer in a warm-up ā 5-8 reps with a controlled tempo.
