Pistol Progression Part 3 of 3 – CrossFit Classes in Cherry Hill

Pistol Progression Part 3 of 3 – CrossFit Classes in Cherry Hill

Well, if you’re reading this, that hopefully means you’ve been through parts 1 and 2 of our pistol progression and are having awesome success with the movement! Here is our third and final piece of the puzzle. With these tools, you’ll be able to add the pistol to your movement arsenal (no pun intended).

#1 – UNILATERAL ROTATION

When performing unilateral movements such as the pistol, our body naturally aligns itself by internally rotating. We are going to start right where we left off from part 2 of our progression, on the box, but now we will take a look at the step-down from the frontal view.

Pistol Squat Progression CrossFit Philadelphia
Notice how the body is not facing directly forward, but the torso is in line with the knee. The body is turned out towards that supporting leg. This rotational component is crucial to success with the pistol, and one that many athletes neglect. Again, start by standing atop a box with both feet together. Then begin to step down by reverse lunging, keeping the back foot sliding down the box until it reaches the floor. Be sure to start with your torso square, but rotate over the knee as your begin to descend. Same applies to standing back up. Being facing forward, then rotate over the knee as you stand, finishing back with a squared torso/hip position.

Pistol Squat Progression CrossFit Supercharged
#2 – SIDE STEP/LEG SWING

Here is where our pistol practice gets fun! Instead of sending our leg straight back to start our descent from the box, we now want to stand close to the edge of the box so that our foot can hang off the side. Perform our step down by sending your leg back behind you into the air. This will send the torso forward and allow us to lower our level.

Pistol Squat Progression CrossFit Philly
Once we reach the bottom of our pistol it’s crucial to swing that leg through to the front!

Pistol Squat Progression CrossFit Supercharged
This is the position we want to get comfortable with! To stand back up, simply swing the leg back behind you and reverse the process!

Pistol Squat Progression CrossFit Supercharged PhiladelphiaPistol Squat Progression CrossFit Supercharged PhiladelphiaPistol Squat Progression CrossFit Supercharged Philadelphia
This is just another way of progressing the pistol and allowing it to be stronger. Once you master the leg swing version, you can start to keep the leg slightly in front and it eventually become a true pistol!

Pistol Squat Progression Philadelphia CrossFit
Hopefully, this 3 part pistol progression has gotten you closer to getting that magical movement. Remember, it’s not about getting the pistol on your first try. It’s about being better than you were yesterday, so have patience and practice as much as possible!