How to do a Pistol Squat
- Stand on one leg, extending the other straight out in front.
- Hold your arms forward for balance, chest up.
- Bend the standing knee and sit your hips back and down.
- Descend under control while keeping the free leg off the floor.
- Lower until the back of your thigh nears your calf.
- Drive through the standing heel to stand; hold a support to assist if needed.
Keep in mind
- Reach the free leg and both arms forward as a counterweight.
- Sit back and down slowly — the descent is the exercise.
- Keep the standing heel down the whole way.
- Come back up without letting the knee cave inward.
Common mistakes
- Collapsing into the bottom — control every centimetre, or sit down onto a box.
- The standing heel lifting — work on ankle mobility, or hold a support.
- Trying it cold — the hip and ankle need to be warm first.
Breathing
Breathe in as you lower, out as you drive up.
Take care
The hardest single-leg move in the catalog: build up with box pistols and assisted reps, and leave it out entirely if your knee is unhappy under load.
Easier and harder
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