Pistol Squats

[Neuro]

I can't do these. I'd like to be able to. My lifting numbers are relatively novice with 305/225/375 at a BW of 195, but my inability to do these bothers me. I'm also quite flexible, so it's not a flexibility thing, as far as I can tell.

Similarly, I used to be able to get up off the floor without using my hands (the criss-cross legged way) and can no longer do it. I'm worried that I've gotten heavier, but not actually that much stronger than I used to be (i.e. my P4P strength is not improving). I gained from 170 to 205 during my first year of actual strength training (before that, simply sports and general exercise).

Besides simply attempting/performing pistol squats, does anyone have a progression method or anything they've used to be able to perform pistols, and/or any off the other more complex bodyweight movements?

I appreciate any feedback.

 

[Revok]

Hold onto the sides of the rack or a doorway throughout each rep. Work towards using fewer fingers to hold on, then free up a hand to hold a kettlebell or some other weight, which will help you balance.

You have the strength - you just need to develop the skill to steer your weight through one leg. Being in the hole on pistols requires more ankle dorsiflexion than any other lift, so make sure you're mobilising your calves & achilles and using elevated heel support if necessary.

 

[Gfreak]

You're definitely strong enough to do them, the main thing limiting me from doing them was ankle flexibility. Try doing it with your heel elevated and see how that goes...other wise just hold on to something lol.

 

[Ice 9 Cobra]

If you wanted a more concise run through

 

[Simon Boulter]

Hehe, thanks for posting my videos buddy.
I suggest adding in some weighted rear foot elevated split squats, to get you used to (sorta) being on one leg, then getting some volume in with some bodyweight skater squats, once your used to them, begin adding weight.
All the while you should be practicing some easier progressions of the pistol, doing this should certainly help.

Check out my article/video here, and see which progressions you think would be best for you. In the video, they are in order that I believe *most* people should follow as a progression
http://boultertraining.com/master-the-pistol-single-leg-squat-variations/

 

[Gawd]

The uneven box squats has certainly helped me.

 

[Neuro]

Thanks for the great feedback guys-- I really appreciate it. And Simon, great vids. I like the progression you set out in the latter-- I'm gonna mess around with it this Sunday and see what I can do. Revok-- I might try the power rack, too.

Thanks everybody. They look like a really fun exercise and I'm excited to get into them.

Edit: Also, where did you guys incorporate pistols into your routines? My current split is Mon-Wed-Fri on 5/3/1. I was thinking Sunday, along with some plyometric (box & broad jumps) and GPP work (light turkish getups, etc.). I'd keep the volume pretty light. Thanks again!

 

[Noquarter]

I used to do pistol squats with a 16kg kettlebell easily 2 years ago and I didn't even bother progressing my parallel squat numbers. I got good at it because i kept on doing it.Nowadays, I could barely do 3 reps of body weight pistols. Why? Because I didn't do it as religiously like I did before.

 

[Neuro]

Hehe, thanks for posting my videos buddy.
I suggest adding in some weighted rear foot elevated split squats, to get you used to (sorta) being on one leg, then getting some volume in with some bodyweight skater squats, once your used to them, begin adding weight.
All the while you should be practicing some easier progressions of the pistol, doing this should certainly help.

Check out my article/video here, and see which progressions you think would be best for you. In the video, they are in order that I believe *most* people should follow as a progression
http://boultertraining.com/master-the-pistol-single-leg-squat-variations/

Something in my upper thigh/hip flexor/abductor area is messed up, so I didn't squat heavy today-- just did the rest of my routine (bench, rows, dips, etc.).

Instead, however, I did some plyos and tried some of the progressions displayed in your video, Simon. I did the standing box pistol and the basketball (I used a table) assisted pistol, as well as the box pistol. I found the most success with the standing box, and could rep out a few on my left leg (I did something like 4x3), but on my right leg, I could barely get any depth due to the aforementioned issue. I tried to go ATG (how I squat) and the muscle weakness caused me to fall over. I almost got to parallel though. I'll keep working on it. Might see a sports doc about the weakness.

Regardless, your video was really helpful-- I'm eager to go through the progressions.

 

[Simon Boulter]

Cheers,
I'm uploading a ton of videos in the future, starting with this weekend (One Arm Push Up Tutorial) all of which will be much higher quality.
I'll be posting them in my Training Log and in the Bodyweight Training Thread.
Glad you found the info useful dude.