Pistol Squat
Squat · quads · advanced
Start
FinishHow to do it
Stand on one leg with the other extended straight in front, lower all the way to the deep bottom position keeping the free leg off the floor, then drive back up without touching down.
Muscles worked
Primary: quads · Also works: glutes, core, hamstrings
Equipment
No equipment
Common mistakes
- Collapsing into the bottom instead of controlling the last few inches, which is where knees get hurt
- Letting the standing knee cave inward as you fight to stand back up
- Rounding the lower back to keep the free leg high rather than working on hamstring length separately
Variations
- Lower to a box and stand back up
- Hold a light plate at arms length as a counterweight
- Slow five-second eccentric only
Can't do this one? Swap it for
Take care: ABROFIT automatically removes this movement for anyone who has flagged a knee problem. If that's you, use one of the swaps above and speak to a physio before loading it.
Related exercises
- Barbell Back Squatquads
- Goblet Squatquads
- Bodyweight Squatquads
- Leg Pressquads
- Bulgarian Split Squatquads
- Walking Lungequads
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