How to Do Pistol Squats

Why this movement is worth getting right

A pistol squat is a single-leg squat to full depth with the other leg held in front. It trains leg strength through a long range, plus the ankle, hip, and midline control to stay over one foot. It shows up in workouts as a gymnastics squat, and it carries into any single-leg work — lunges, step-ups, running — where one side has to do the job.

A good pistol looks like a squat that happens to have one foot off the floor. A bad one looks like a fall that you stood up from. The difference is the heel, the knee, and whether you own the bottom.

Before you start

You should be able to squat below parallel on two legs with heels down, and you should be able to do reverse lunges or Bulgarian split squats with control. Ankle dorsiflexion is the usual limiter: if a knee-to-wall test on the working side is well under 8–10 cm, the heel will lift in a pistol.

You also need enough hip flexion to sit without the free leg hitting the floor, and enough strength to stand from a low single-leg position. If you cannot sit to a low box on one leg and stand, you are not ready for a free pistol. Train that. Do not bounce out of the bottom and call it a rep.

The setup

Stand on one foot, whole foot down, toes pointing roughly forward or slightly out. The free leg is straight in front, toes up. Arms can reach forward as a counterbalance. Brace as you would for a squat: ribs down, glutes on the standing side.

Find a spot on the floor to look at so the head stays quiet. If you are next to a rig, do not hang off it unless you are scaling. The standing knee tracks over the mid-foot from the first centimetre of the sit.

Executing the movement

Sit

Push the hips back and down as the knee travels forward enough to keep the heel down. The free leg stays off the floor. You should feel the standing heel, the mid-foot, and the big toe all working. The torso leans forward a little; that is normal. It should not collapse into a round-back sit.

Bottom

Hip crease below the knee if that is the standard you are training to. Pause enough to know you did not bounce. The free leg is still up. You should feel a loaded quad and glute, not a drop onto the calf with the heel off.

Stand

Drive the floor away. The knee keeps tracking over the foot. Hips and chest rise together. If you roll onto the toe to stand, you lost the foot. Finish standing tall on one leg before you switch.

What usually goes wrong

Heel lifting

The ankle will not let the knee travel, so you rise onto the toe and the knee dumps in or forward. Shorten the range, elevate the heel slightly as a scale, and work ankle mobility. Do not load the toe version and hope the heel comes back.

Free leg dropping

The hamstring on the free leg is tight, or you are losing balance, so the foot taps. Keep the toes up and the knee soft enough to hold the leg, or sit to a target until you can.

Knee caving

The standing knee drops in as you stand. Push it over the second toe. If it only happens at the bottom, you are probably losing the hip and using the knee to save the rep.

Bouncing out of the bottom

You use the rebound of the calf and Achilles instead of standing up. Pause. If you cannot stand from a pause, the strength is not there.

Falling onto the sitting bone

You lose tension and sit on the floor. That is not a pistol. Keep the brace and use a box until you can reverse from depth.

Staying safe

Pistols load the knee and Achilles through a long range. A sharp pinch at the front of the knee, a pop, or pain in the tendon that worsens through the set is a reason to stop. See a professional if it persists.

If you fail, sit to the floor or to a box rather than twisting out of the bottom on a bent knee. Do not grab a loaded knee and wrench it back over the foot. Fail in a straight line.

Scaling and progression

Sit to a box or bench on one leg, lowering the box as you get stronger. Hold a light plate or dumbbell in front as a counterbalance. Heel on a small plate if ankle range is the limiter. Assisted pistols holding a rig with two fingers, using as little help as you can.

Single-leg squats to a target, then negatives to the floor, then a pause at the bottom with a hold, then unassisted. When you have 5 per side with the heel down, that is a working pistol. Add reps or a vest before you add bounce.