Steph rockin the pistols back in the park days

If you tuned in to the 2010 CrossFit Games, you would have seen pistols rear its ugly head not once, but twice, in the team as well as individual events. Often dismissed or overlooked, this one-legged squat does wonders for your strength and balance. Beast Skills posted an incredible tutorial on this movement. Here are some of his tips:

1. Keep your support foot flat on the ground. Hold your other leg just above the ground and imagine it’s in a full leg cast.

2. Sit down, allowing your shin to come forward, with the knee in front of the toes.

3. Lean your torso and reach your arms forward to keep your center of gravity over your foot.

4. Squat down until your hamstring touches your calf.

Here are some progressions we will work with to get to the full movement:

Single leg step ups: Step up on a box with the toes of your support leg raised so that you don’t push off and cheat.

Use a box: Set a box behind you and squat just until you touch (not sit) on it. Progressively use lower boxes.

Assisted: Use a hand (to hold your foot up), partner, doorway, or band.

Counter weight: Hold a light dumbbell in front of you.

Deck pistols: Squat down, rock onto your back and use your momentum to rock back onto a single foot and stand (this one takes considerably more coordination and flexibility).

Obviously, you need a moderate amount of calf, ankle, and hamstring flexibility to get this done. All the more reason to stretch! Incidentally, the day we did the pistols in the park, I wrote up “partner-assisted” pistols as the cash out. Steph looked at me, furrowed her brow, and asked,”Do we HAVE to use a partner or can I just do it myself?” Then, without hesitation, she flawlessly executes this graceful pistol!

Stephanie’s Pistol from CrossFit Intrepid on Vimeo.

And, with enough practice, you may one day attain a black belt in pistols and be as bad ass as Al Viquez.  He downed the beer at the bottom before coming back up, of course.

Advanced Pistols

WOD 07.23.10

Turkish Get Ups 2×6

Pistol Progressions

AMRAP 10
16 Kettlebell Snatches
8 Pistols