We love pistols. Personally Ive been doing them for years before they became in vogue with the current calisthenics and bodyweight movement. The pistol is a great blend of mobility, stability and strength. There are various progressions to get there and this article from Ryan and the guys at GMB outlines a good one. The biggest inhibitor of people achieving pistols is not following systematic progressions over a number of months. For most people, pistols take months of training to achieve. Secondly many lack mastering the basics such as a flat foot bodyweight squat, preferably knees together, lunges, kickstand squats, airborne lunges, single leg deadlifts and other bodyweight leg exercises. Thirdly is not spending dedicated time on mobility, in particular for the ankles (and then hips) which for most is the biggest concern. Having correct hip, shin and foot alignment is imperative to the pistol being HEALTHY for people to perform. We see far too many people doing pistols with terrible alignment that stresses the ligaments, tendons and joints in really dangerous ways. The quality and form of the pistol is often poor. Furthermore if you need to do a pistol with a Kettlebell, dumbbell or weight plate to assist, well you just havent earned it yet. And loading or doing high reps with pistols? Having being able to pistol at times with a 44-48kg Kettlebell I can say that this places a lot of stress on the joints, tendons and ligaments. I think there are safer ways of loading single leg exercises such as using the airborne lunge that will get a great result without the wear and tear on the body. If you have knees issues I think you have to be really cautious with pistols. Even bodyweight ones. The wear and tear on the joints may not be worth showing off to your gym mates and friends. Ensure its the right exercise for you and your body. Good stuff here gmb.io/pistol-squat/
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 00:46:10 +0000
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