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Bodyweight Lumbar flexion and loaded pistols

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What are the benefits of a normal, grown man (~210 lbs is normal for a grown man, I don't care what anyone says ) being able to perform a naked pistol without his heel elevated versus only being able to perform it with an elevated heel or from standing on a box?

I've performed them all those ways and I don't see the benefit from naked unelevated pistols over the other options.

Is the ankle mobility required for the naked unelevated pistol really all that critical in much else? Again, YMMV but strong ankles that are able to hold isometrically in a a neutral position go a lot further for injury prevention than anything else.
 
JZB said:
Is the ankle mobility required for the naked unelevated pistol really all that critical in much else? Again, YMMV but strong ankles that are able to hold isometrically in a a neutral position go a lot further for injury prevention than anything else.
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Not critical for regular life, but then again, none of these more advanced exercises are critical for regular life either.

However, for more athletic pursuits, I absolutely see the value. Front Squatting requires a similar amount of ankle mobility, and Olympic lifting requires even more. If that doesn't interest you, that's cool. But some of us like creating foundations where if we were to need that mobility for other disciplines... Well it's there.

Another overlooked benefit of the floor, naked Pistol is the amount of hip flexion you need. At 210 lbs, I congratulate you in your Pistol! You have built a very solid level of abdominal and hip compression by working on these on the floor. Again, not critical for regular life, but it's useful for athletic pursuits (Leg Raises, L-sits and generally abdominal strength all improve from it).


As far as injury prevention, I don't know of anything regarding isometric vs mobility in terms of injury prevention. However, I have a hard time believing that more mobile and unrestricted ankles would not be helpful for injury prevention.

Just my 2 cents :)
 
JZB said:
Is the ankle mobility required for the naked unelevated pistol really all that critical in much else? Again, YMMV but strong ankles that are able to hold isometrically in a a neutral position go a lot further for injury prevention than anything else.
Click to expand...

I've always considered ankle mobility exceptionally important. Poor ankle mobility leads to things like shin splints, tendinopathy, knee valgus movement during any sort of squatting or jumping, and generally more wear of the knee joint. Everybody's ankles have a little different degree of normal range, and some of us will naturally have more dorsiflexion that carries over into making a pistol squat a little easier. The idea is to maintain a normal range of motion for you and be able to stabilize through that range. Pistol squats are just one tool that may be used for that purpose, but not a necessity. My guess is your elevated pistols work your ankle mobility quite well. Unless you compete in an athletic event that requires terminal dorsiflexion of the ankle, I wouldn't worry about it.

Generally, nobody injures themselves while their joints are in a neutral position. Being able to stabilize a joint through a broad range of motion is an important aspect of athletic performance, injury prevention, and returning an injured athlete to sport.
 
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@JZB, what @rickyw said. People much smarter than me have observed that it's useful to think of our bodies as, from the ground up, alternating joints that need to be primarily stable with joints that need to be primarily mobile. Mobile ankles, stable knees, mobile hips, stable lumbar spine. If your ankles don't work they way they're supposed to, you'll find ways to make the supposed-to-be-stable joints like your knees move in order to compensate, and therein lies a lot of potential trouble.

And fwiw, you don't see many isometric, unmoving ankles. Watch someone standing on one leg and you'll see their ankle moving to keep them balanced.

I am not a doctor, but the above is my understanding after listening to a lot of smart people on this subject.

-S-
 
This is how I see it, and why I think achieving and maintaining the ability of naked pistols is important: you are maintaining hip, knee and ankle mobility, flexibility of extended leg and of active leg calf, propioception, body tension and strength. Also probably low belly fat, since if you get to heavy you might not be strong enough or your belly might get in the way of the movement.

Summaryzing my point of view: if you can do a pistol and have reasonable endurance, your body is working fine
 
Hello,

I like your summary :)

You can try to make your pistol even more challenging by doing it on a plank or so, which is thiner than your foot. It will improve your balance even more without any additional load.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
@JZB , out of curiosity, when you noticed you were losing lumbar stiffness from pistols were you doing them before your hinges or after? Were you feeling a loss of stiffness during your workouts or generally throughout the course of the day?
Thx
 
@rickyw, in my own training, I've kept pistols in a different cycle from barbell deadlifts most of the time. When I combine in the same cycle, I put the pistol after the DL as a way to stretch out my back (among other things).

-S-
 
Hello,

@rickyw
Depending on the volume you want to do with this move, it can be during a dedicated cycle / session or not.

I used to do it as a move in itself of my training session. Now, I only go for some reps at the end, during the stretching. For that, I use different types of pistols (standard, dragon, etc...) So I keep them at the end of the daily practice.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
They were several hours apart. Pistols gtg style, but I'd not do any for a few hours before swings, if swings were done later in the day. If swings were doing early in the day I'd still notice the poor carryover from the previous day. Like I said, I think it's a bad idea, for me at least, to program my CNS to use a rounded back in that movement, especially since the body weight NW movements are a primary way for me to practice tension and breathing etc.
 
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