Pistol Proficiency

Unfortunately, by pistol proficiency, I am not talking about single handedly clearing an entire hotel like John Wick - I am talking about the far less impressive but far more realistic and achievable skill of the single leg squat… I really like the pistol squat: - It develops unilateral strength (addresses muscle imbalances)

- It improves core stability and joint mobility (handy for injury prevention and efficient movement) - Training pistols enhances your day to day life (makes climbing stairs and getting up off the floor easier, joints don’t hurt as much, etc)

With a lot of skills, frequency is more important than intensity; pick a skill - piano, archery, whatever - and ask yourself would you be better off practicing for 5-10 minutes a day, every day, or would you be better off practicing for 60 minutes once a week? 4 times out of 5 you’d probably pick the 5-10 minutes a day option… So there’s a clue there how you can build your pistol proficiency; frequency is important. Here’s how I do / did it. Frequency Get out of bed (or whenever suits), set a timer for 5-10 minutes and warm up. I like to do a few: - Hindu push ups - Deep lunges with a rotation - Cossack squats - Table with a reach / bridge - Anything else I feel like I need to do After that, I can do pretty much whatever I want to work on… For the purpose of this blog, it’s pistols and pistol progressions: - Controlled reps to a chair - Squats with my feet together - Slow eccentrics with a roll back (make sure you have enough space) - Full reps - Etc I don’t do anything hard or painful - it’s like 06.00 - all I’m doing is making sure my whole body feels good, supple, lubed up and primed for the day, while getting some practice in on a skill I want to develop… I’m not adding weight or anything weird like that… This can also work for things like handstands too, by the way… Intensity Once a week, we do a little more of the “deep work”… This will look different, depending on your ability, so here’s some sample plans / ideas: Beginner: - 3 Sets: 10-20x modified deadbugs, 5x walk outs w/ pause in the stretch position - 3 Sets: 10-20x alternating assisted pistol squats to a box / chair - 3 Sets: 10x bottom position pistol leg raises on each leg (helps if you sit on something) Intermediate: - 3 Sets: 10-20x modified deadbugs, 5x walk outs w/ pause in the stretch position - 3 Sets: 10-20x alternating assisted pistol squats to a box / chair - 3 Sets: 10x bottom position pistol leg raises on each leg - 3 Sets: 5x box / chair pistols on each leg Advanced: - 3 Sets: 5-10x single leg deadlift with knee raise each leg - 3 Sets: 8-12x goblet squat with feet (more or less) together - 3 Sets: 5x box / chair pistols on each leg - 10-20 Reps total: slow eccentric pistols * Please don’t get hung up on the above labels… Tips: - Breathe through your nose - Do these barefoot - Stay consistent - Obviously you adjust the height of the box / chair as you go… Don’t just pick a high box and bounce up and down on it for 3 months… As always, if you need help, come find me! Cheers, ~ Collins