{"id":50299,"date":"2016-06-15T07:15:29","date_gmt":"2016-06-15T11:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=50299"},"modified":"2016-07-15T11:20:07","modified_gmt":"2016-07-15T15:20:07","slug":"pistol-squat-beginner-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/pistol-squat-beginner-video\/","title":{"rendered":"So You Want to Do a Pistol Squat\u2026Here\u2019s How"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-U9OmWYWh4k?rel=0\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve seen it done by an elite CrossFitter, <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/db\/365-ashley-wagner-adam-rippon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">figure skater<\/a> or sprinter, you\u2019re not wrong for being seriously impressed. The pistol squat, aka lowering into a ninja-like single-leg squat with the other leg extended in front of you, is the ultimate test of <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/bodyweight-workout-plateau-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bodyweight strength<\/a>, ankle mobility and balance control through the foot and hip. And if we had to guess, 98.7 percent of the general population can\u2019t do \u2018em (let alone do one with perfect form). Why? Very simply, \u201cIt\u2019s so unnatural for us to do,\u201d says Chris Ryan, fitness expert and trainer on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbc.com\/strong\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NBC\u2019s <em>Strong<\/em><\/a>. \u201cThink about it: Squatting is so much more natural using two legs and two feet to stabilize and support our body.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But there\u2019s good reason to get out of your comfort zone. \u201cYou run and jump off one foot naturally. But when you can safely strengthen one leg at a time by overloading the leg muscles, you work mobility, strength, coordination and balance\u00a0control \u2014\u00a0all in one exercise,\u201d Ryan says.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/muscle-imbalances-functional-movement-screen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Is Your Mobility Holding You Back? 5 Tests to Find Out<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Breaking Down the Pistol Squat <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Don\u2019t drop it like a squat just yet, though. The pistol squat is an advanced exercise, and requires a serious game plan to avoid overloading the <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/runners-knee-strengthening-exercises\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">knee joint<\/a>, says Ryan. If you come up on your toes and your heel leaves the ground at any point during the exercise, that\u2019s your cue to start building on the basics. Better yet, Ryan recommends breaking down the pistol into seven simple progressions, as demoed on a recent visit to <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/365?partner=life&amp;mtype=5&amp;ldate=061516&amp;grp=fitness&amp;crtv=pistolsquat&amp;utm_source=life&amp;utm_medium=textlink&amp;utm_campaign=fitness&amp;utm_content=pistolsquat&amp;sub_id=365\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Daily Burn 365<\/a> in the video above.<\/p>\n<p>Our two favorite intermediary steps? Using a box or a band. To get the most from the box, focus on powering through the heel, Ryan says. \u201cMentally, only think about stabilizing through your heel and forget that your toes exist. Slowly go through a few inches of depth and the minute you feel your heel rise up, simply drop the other leg for safety to the ground.\u201d Continue working on your ankle and hip mobility as well (we\u2019re all about <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/best-hip-stretches-relieve-tightness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">these five hip stretches<\/a>) and you\u2019ll eventually hit depth you need for the full pistol squat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/squat-exercises-strength\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">6 Squat Variations for Total-Body Strength<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Resistance bands are another way to get your strength and <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/mobility-tests-muscle-imbalance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">mobility<\/a> up to speed. When performing the assisted pistol with bands, allow your arms to assist in the movement as much as you need initially. \u201cAs you get stronger and more comfortable with the movement, you should use less and less &#8216;arm power&#8217; to bring yourself <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/no-equipment-back-exercises\/\"   title=\"back\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"699\">back<\/a> up,\u201d Ryan says. Then you can progress from using two arms to just one arm \u2014 and hey, you\u2019re half way there!<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Give \u2018Em a Shot! <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Once you&#8217;re able to do the full-range movement, the temptation can be to fire from all cylinders. (Pistol squats are a great party trick, after all.) But a few quality sets of 5-10 reps every couple of weeks is more than enough, Ryan says. (And don\u2019t forget to use the step-by-step progressions above as part of your <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/db\/365-dynamic-warm-up-mobility-exercises\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dynamic warm-up<\/a>.) \u201cDoing pistols too often, with too much volume in one workout, or too fast can lead to excessive wear and tear on the knees,\u201d Ryan says. \u201cTreat them as a great accessory to work out, rather than as a workout in and of itself.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Want a new, no-equipment workout every day? Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/365?partner=life&amp;mtype=5&amp;ldate=061516&amp;grp=fitness&amp;crtv=pistolsquat&amp;utm_source=life&amp;utm_medium=textlink&amp;utm_campaign=fitness&amp;utm_content=pistolsquat&amp;sub_id=365\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DailyBurn.com\/365<\/a> to sign up free for 30 days! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pistol squats demand strength, balance and mobility \u2014 and yup, they\u2019re hard as hell. Here\u2019s your complete how-to guide to completing your first pistol squat. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,6,14],"tags":[32,313,206,83,281,341,343,96],"class_list":["post-50299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exercise","category-fitness","category-strength-training","tag-bodyweight","tag-daily-burn-365","tag-mobility","tag-resistance-training","tag-strength-training","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2exercise","tag-post-format-video"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50299\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}