What Muscles Does a Pistol Squat Work?


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A pistol squat is one of most challenging exercises for your body, working your leg muscles in a way that many other exercises can’t accomplish.

Requiring balance, flexibility, mobility, stabilization and strength, the pistol squat demands you work these key elements to perform the exercise successfully.

A proper pistol squat will work the major muscles of the leg including the hamstrings, quadriceps, adductors, glutes, muscles of the feet and calves.

Although you may be using all these muscles to a certain extent, your primary movers are going to be your quads and glutes.


Pistol Squat Benefits

If you can successfully perform a pistol squat, the benefits can be tremendous.  Benefits of a pistol squat include:

  1. Increased proprioception
  2. Improved leg strength
  3. Improved ankle mobility and flexibility
  4. Proper posterior chain alignment and strength
  5. Strong and stable ankles and feet
  6. Improved balance
  7. Increased blood flow to the region
  8. Unilateral performance
  9. Improved body control
  10. Enhanced sports performance

A pistol squat not only provides all these benefits to the body, the nature of the exercise can help you improve your form and strength for exercises like the regular squat, lunge or deadlift to name a few.


What Muscles Does a Pistol Squat Work?

As mentioned above, the pistol squat works a plethora of leg muscles. If you are doing the exercise correctly, the glutes and quads will be doing the majority of the work. By the nature of the exercise, in order to get down and up out of such a deep one-legged squat, you will need powerful muscles  to create the extension your knee and hip and hip will require to safely drop your body into position and powerfully propel the boy back up to starting position.

Both quad and glute muscles are heavily used by people in Cross Fit, jumpers, basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, and football players. Training your body to perform this one-legged pistol squat will allow you to move around more easily and more powerfully, giving you a step up on the competition.


Why can’t I do a pistol squat?

One of the biggest reasons you can’t do a pistol squat is because you have tight and inflexible knees, ankles, hips and back. In order to get down into a flat footed, squatting position, you must have great flexibility in these areas. The entire posterior chain must be loose, limber and flexible, allowing you to make the great descent. Yoga, massage and foam rolling are going to be your go-to’s for increasing the flexibility in your joints. This must be a daily or every other day occurrence. You will never complete the exercise with tight and inflexible joints.

The second reason you can’t do a pistol squat is because your muscles are not strong enough to lower you or raise you back up. It might be smart to start with a standard squat, lunge and deadlift, in order to create the muscle necessary to complete the exercise.


Pistol Squat Progression for Beginners

There are many ways for beginners to progress and build up their body to perform a proper pistol squat. The first thing you need to do is strengthen your muscles and increase your flexibility. Choose exercises that really challenge your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and all the legs of the muscles. As you progress and get stronger, pick more challenging exercises. For example, if you are starting with lunges, progress to lunge on a glider or ball, jump lunges or split squats. These will really challenge the stabilizer muscles of the legs and prepare them for a pistol squat.

As for your flexibility, you need to be foam rolling, massaging and stretching all the muscles of the body as often as you are able. Increase this flexibility day by day. This part of the equation may take a few weeks or even months but stick with it and you will eventually get there. Massage and stretching will not only lengthen the muscles themselves, it creates a trust factor between your brain, muscles and nervous system, allowing you to go deeper and deeper into the stretch or exercise.  

Now that you’ve achieved a strong, flexible body, it’s time to work on the pistol squat itself.

Start by doing one-legged squats in a chair. After you are good at this, try a little bit lower. You might grab a box to help you with this. Next, you might grab some TRX suspension straps and allow your body to drop deep into the one-legged squat. You have the TRX handles to pull you back so you should be able to practice this safely. As you get better and better, only use one arm to assist in pulling yourself back up. Eventually you should be able to do the entire exercise all by yourself.


Summary: What Muscles Does a Pistol Squat Work?

In summary, a pistol squat will primarily work the quads and glutes. The exercise will challenge the limits of your strength, flexibility, mobility, balance and stabilization. Focus on the reasons you cannot do a pistol squat and improve and progress to finally accomplishing your goal. A pistol squat is one of the most difficult exercises out there. Put your mind to it, and this too can be an impressive exercise you can add to your weekly workout regimen.

For another great article, check out How to PROPERLY Do a Romanian Deadlift with Dumbbells (RDL’s)

Did I answer your questions? Let me know in the comments!

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