Hello everyone,
I just wanted to create a thread for an observation that I've made. It's been mentioned before by quite a few people on the Forum, but to be honest I feel it deserves it's own thread.
For stronger and better balanced - that is, not falling back in the bottom position - pistol squats, try doing a set of hanging leg raises (HLRs) or even an L-sit hold on the floor if no bar is available.
The HLR movement seems to fire up the abs, hips and active flexibility in the hamstrings so that they are 'primed,' well for the bottom position of the pistol squat, making it easier to keep enough weight compressed and in front of your loaded leg so that you can sink in and rise out of the hole with more ease.
A sample training session that you could try (that I'm currently doing twice per week) is inspired by the "Strength Aerobics," bodyweight workout. I will link the article separately...
HLRs and Pistols performed in ladders with "rungs," of 1, 2 and 3 reps.
So, one ladder would go like this:
1x HLR
1x Pistol Left
1x Pistol Right
*shake out the tension, but get on with it*
2x HLR
2x Pistol Left
2x Pistol Right
*shake out the tension, but get on with it*
3x HLR
3x Pistol Left
3x Pistol Right
After one ladder, take a longer rest, and stretch out the hip flexors (this is important, and if you spend a significant amount of your day sitting, even more so). Perform the next ladder when virtually fully recovered so as to ensure perfect reps (think the same rest as between S&S swings).
Start with three ladders/3x(1,2,3). As the sessions progress, work up to 5x(1,2,3), to the point where 5x(1,2,3) is easy (I've given little thought to time standards).
Then, you might progress further by adding weight to the second or third ladder, and then another ladder, and then another (again, think about the progression of swing/TGU weights in S&S).
As I mentioned above, I am currently doing this routine about twice per week, though you could probably up it to 3-4 times per week. I personally wouldn't want to do it multiple days in a row as there could be an undesirable build up of fatigue. You may try more sessions though and see how you find it.
A pleasant aesthetic effect that I've found from a few weeks of training like this is that despite being what I would call "festively plump," right now in terms of body fat, my abs have become more visible and 'blocky,' due to some hypertrophy.
A final word on training abs before pistols (or anything). The common advice is to train abs at the end of a session, which I wholeheartedly agree with, though in the case of pistols, I truly feel that performing some ab work in the form of HLRs or L-sits before a set is too beneficial to miss.
Feel free to give this a try and see how you get on!
Regards,
Harry
I just wanted to create a thread for an observation that I've made. It's been mentioned before by quite a few people on the Forum, but to be honest I feel it deserves it's own thread.
For stronger and better balanced - that is, not falling back in the bottom position - pistol squats, try doing a set of hanging leg raises (HLRs) or even an L-sit hold on the floor if no bar is available.
The HLR movement seems to fire up the abs, hips and active flexibility in the hamstrings so that they are 'primed,' well for the bottom position of the pistol squat, making it easier to keep enough weight compressed and in front of your loaded leg so that you can sink in and rise out of the hole with more ease.
A sample training session that you could try (that I'm currently doing twice per week) is inspired by the "Strength Aerobics," bodyweight workout. I will link the article separately...
HLRs and Pistols performed in ladders with "rungs," of 1, 2 and 3 reps.
So, one ladder would go like this:
1x HLR
1x Pistol Left
1x Pistol Right
*shake out the tension, but get on with it*
2x HLR
2x Pistol Left
2x Pistol Right
*shake out the tension, but get on with it*
3x HLR
3x Pistol Left
3x Pistol Right
After one ladder, take a longer rest, and stretch out the hip flexors (this is important, and if you spend a significant amount of your day sitting, even more so). Perform the next ladder when virtually fully recovered so as to ensure perfect reps (think the same rest as between S&S swings).
Start with three ladders/3x(1,2,3). As the sessions progress, work up to 5x(1,2,3), to the point where 5x(1,2,3) is easy (I've given little thought to time standards).
Then, you might progress further by adding weight to the second or third ladder, and then another ladder, and then another (again, think about the progression of swing/TGU weights in S&S).
As I mentioned above, I am currently doing this routine about twice per week, though you could probably up it to 3-4 times per week. I personally wouldn't want to do it multiple days in a row as there could be an undesirable build up of fatigue. You may try more sessions though and see how you find it.
A pleasant aesthetic effect that I've found from a few weeks of training like this is that despite being what I would call "festively plump," right now in terms of body fat, my abs have become more visible and 'blocky,' due to some hypertrophy.
A final word on training abs before pistols (or anything). The common advice is to train abs at the end of a session, which I wholeheartedly agree with, though in the case of pistols, I truly feel that performing some ab work in the form of HLRs or L-sits before a set is too beneficial to miss.
Feel free to give this a try and see how you get on!
Regards,
Harry
