To progress toward the pistol squat

3 raisons de t'entraîner aux squats pistol 3 reasons to train the pistol squat

If you're training at home, you should consider working on pistol squats. Why?

• If you're training at home, you probably have limited weights available, at least not enough for an effective bilateral barbell squat. Pistol squats can address this by strengthening your legs.
• It will help you rebalance your left and right sides.
• It's a cool movement, and if it's cool, you should work on it.

6 progressions to manage your first pistol squat

To succeed in your first pistol squat, I suggest working on these 6 progressions:

1. Narrow-legged squats

2. Eccentric pistol squats

3. Concentric pistol squats

4. Half pistol squats with support

5. Half pistol squats without support

6. Pistol squats with momentum

Common execution elements:

• Contract your entire body during the exercise.
• Keep your abs engaged even while breathing.
• Inhale while descending, exhale while ascending.

Ready? Follow me!

Narrow legged squats

This is the first step toward mastering the pistol squat.

• Foot placement: Stand with your feet close together until your heels touch. If that's not possible, try to have your feet as close together as possible. Your feet are not parallel but slightly turned outward.
• Execution: Descend while ensuring that your knees do not go beyond the tips of your toes.

Half pistol squats with support

You're starting to approach the single-leg progressions with the help of support.

• Foot placement: Begin standing with the non-working leg extended in front of you at a 30 to 45-degree angle. You are positioned facing away from a chair.
• Execution: First, bend at the hips as if you were going to sit on the chair. Then, the knee naturally bends to follow the movement. Sit briefly without losing tension and then rise back up.

Half pistol squats without support

With this variation, you're starting to approach the progressions without support.

• Execution: Begin by bending at the hip, as if you were going to sit on an invisible chair. Then, the knee naturally bends to follow the movement. Stop just before your knee is bent at a 90-degree angle. Then reverse the movement.

Excentric pistol squats

Tu commences à travailler sur toute la longueur du mouvement, en descente seulement ici.

• Exécution : tu commences par plier à la hanche, comme si tu voulais t'asseoir sur une chaise invisible. Le genou plie ensuite pour suivre le mouvement. Tu descend jusqu'à ce que tes fesses touchent tes talons ou presque. Un fois en bas, ramène ta jambe inactive sous toi et remonte sur les deux jambes.

Concentric pistol squats

You're starting to work on the full range of motion here, but only during the descent.

• Execution: Begin by bending at the hip, as if you were going to sit on an invisible chair. Then, the knee naturally bends to follow the movement. Descend until your buttocks touch your heels or nearly touch them. Once at the bottom, bring your inactive leg under you and rise up on both legs.

Pistol squats with momentum

You're getting closer to the final version as you will work on both the ascent and descent in the same variation.

• Execution: Begin the descent as you would for the descending pistol squat. When you reach the bottom, roll onto your back, lifting your legs off the ground. Reverse the movement by placing the working leg back on the ground and rising up, using the momentum from the roll.

Full pistol squats

You've reached the final version.

Execution: Start the descent as previously described. When you reach the bottom, with your buttocks almost touching your heels, rise back up without losing tension to return to the starting position.

Conclusion

And there you have it! Six progressions to achieve hero status and succeed in your first pistol squat. There are, of course, many others that I may not know or mention, but feel free to incorporate them into your home workout to reach your goal.

Wondering what to do to your legs after pistols? 

Why not spend some time on :

• Classic lunges?
• Bulgarian split squats?
• "Shrimp" squats?

It's up to you !