5 Simple Progressions to Help you Master Pistol Squats

Tips from CrossFit.

OPTION A: Behind – two styles (foot down or foot wrap)

✔️Both styles require less ankle flexion bc leg is behind your body instead of in front
?Start w foot down & successfully balance for 10 pistols on each leg.
?Then try the foot wrap. Goal is slow & balanced. Try for 10 on each leg

OPTION B (swipe left): In front – two styles

✔️Chair pistol
?This requires a ton of balance but you can see you may not go as deep as a full pistol, so it requires less ankle flexion…it’s a great scaling option to work towards pistols.
–
✔️Sliding pistol
?This requires more flexibility but a little less balance than a traditional pistol. You can see the squat can go much deeper than the chair pistol option. We love this because it stretches the hamstring of the sliding leg too
–
?Try a total of 15 to 20 on each leg & see how many you do without losing balance (out of those 15 to 20)

OPTION C (swipe left): Candlestick Pistol

➖ Points of performance
✔️Hollow body in candlestick (no pike at the waits – take every chance you can to master body position)
✔️Heel drives to butt as you roll forward
✔️Chest tall and slight lean forward at bottom of pistol
✔️weight is mid foot
?The benefit of using a controlled momentum: Helps drive the weight slightly forward for balance & “forces” ankle flexion necessary for this skill
?Work on 10 successful pistol on each leg

? @cfgymnastics | PISTOLS & their progressions ————————————- ▪️There are many benefits to one-legged squats, as they require a great amount of balance and flexibility, but they also fire up some smaller muscle groups in your legs. – ▪️At the #cfgcourse we discuss and demo many scaling variations to the pistol but wanted to give you a preview … ————————————- ▪️OPTION A: Behind ➖two styles (foot down or foot wrap) ✔️Both styles require less ankle flexion bc leg is behind your body instead of in front ?Start w foot down & successfully balance for 10 pistols on each leg. ?Then try the foot wrap. Goal is slow & balanced. Try for 10 on each leg ————————————- ▪️OPTION B (swipe left): In front ➖two styles ✔️Chair pistol ?This requires a ton of balance but you can see you may not go as deep as a full pistol, so it requires less ankle flexion…it’s a great scaling option to work towards pistols. – ✔️Sliding pistol ?This requires more flexibility but a little less balance than a traditional pistol. You can see the squat can go much deeper than the chair pistol option. We love this because it stretches the hamstring of the sliding leg too #allthestretching – ?Try a total of 15 to 20 on each leg & see how many you do without losing balance (out of those 15 to 20) ————————————- ▪️OPTION C (swipe left): Candlestick Pistol ➖ Points of performance ✔️Hollow body in candlestick (no pike at the waits – take every chance you can to master body position) ✔️Heel drives to butt as you roll forward ✔️Chest tall and slight lean forward at bottom of pistol ✔️weight is mid foot ?The benefit of using a controlled momentum: Helps drive the weight slightly forward for balance & “forces” ankle flexion necessary for this skill ?Work on 10 successful pistol on each leg – Demo'd by #cfgcoach @pamelagnon ?@rising crossfit – Want to know more?… come learn scaling/progressions/programming & more when you join us for a weekend course! Click link in bio or training.crossfit.com/gymnastics

A post shared by CrossFit (@crossfit) on Oct 14, 2017 at 1:28pm PDT

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