all posts post new thread

Bodyweight Pistol assymetries

Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
D-Rock

D-Rock

Level 5 Valued Member
Lately I have been sprucing up my pistols with GTG. It had been years since I focused on them, and they had devolved into more of a "falling with style" (~Aleks Salkin) pistol wannabee.

Anyway, after 4 weeks I can do a beautiful controlled pistol on my right. I can get most of the way down on my left, a couple times I got a strict one but it was much more of an effort than my right and I cannot do it consistently. I've been following the advice from the One Good Rep article, going down until I lose tension. I do not think it is a flexibility/mobility issue. While my left ankle sometimes "feels" a little stiff, I actually have the exact same range of motion. I do not think it is a strength issue, as I can do weighted pistols comparably on each leg. I am chalking it up to a coordination issue as left is my "off" side.

How do I bring my left up to par with my right?
Concerns:
  • I had thought of doing more frequency with my left...but if my right is fresh whenever I go to GTG, I feel like I should go ahead and do one.
  • I had thought of increased volume and/or counterbalance on my left, but then by time I get to do a smooth one, my left would be stronger than my right.
 
Last edited:
Karen Smith did a 'How to do a Perfect Pistol' article in the blog on this site, and it started with some good diagnostics assessment to see if the required mobility was present in the joints...you might look at them and see if there's a stiff ankle or something else physically causing a problem that could be worked on.
P.S.- here's the link
/A Simple Handbook for Pistol Assessment and Correction
 
Last edited:
Can you cheat your way to the bottom of the pistol on the left side (either by squatting with to legs and switching to pistol or sitting on the ground and getting in position)?

If you can't check your mobility. If you can it might be a good idea to try hanging out at that position with tension, it will make your body (and brain) accustomed to the position and it will know the destination better when you do a pistol.

But before you do any of this go through @Karen Smith's article again, it's a safe bet to assume she covered all the common issues.
 
@D-Rock, try some different visualizations. One that helps me is to imagine an "X" that goes from my right leg to my left shoulder and my left leg to my right shoulder. For your pistol on the better, your right, side, visualize the right leg to left shoulder connection - it makes my abs work better but it doesn't do much for the good side for me. But I notice that I tend not to feel the other side of the X working on the weaker side, and visualizing the connection across my midsection helps the weaker side work better.

-S-
 
@Matts thank you for the assessment article, I forgot about that one. I actually passed the assessments. Reading through that I believe my issue falls into the "lack of control" category.

Shahaf Levin said:
Can you cheat your way to the bottom of the pistol on the left side (either by squatting with to legs and switching to pistol or sitting on the ground and getting in position)?
Click to expand...

Yes, I can cheat my way there. I can squat with both legs, then stick my right leg out with no trouble, hang out there for awhile, and stand up on my left foot with ease. So it seems my problem is control of the last third of the movement.

@Steve Freides thank you, I will have to give those a try!
 
pet' said:
Did you try some partials and then progressively increase your ROM ?
Click to expand...
I guess this is sort of what I did, going down until I felt I was going to lose tension. Over time I got lower with my left (to a point) and reached full ROM with my right.

So maybe I just need to give it more time? Or actually use a box? Combined with the visualizations.
 
Hello,

D-Rock said:
So maybe I just need to give it more time? Or actually use a box? Combined with the visualizations.
Click to expand...
I needed lots of time to do a proper pistol with both side. Indeed, I tend to have more strength in my right leg than in my left leg. I needed almost 10 months or so learn the pistol, using GTG approach.

An important fact is also ankle flexibility. So, do you have the same flexibility for your right and left ankle. Indeed, it can prevent you to have a full ROM. Basically, if the ankle is not flexible enough, your heel will get up a little and you will lose tension.

A tip I used:
Fix a rope to a point (door, etc..). Then, start getting down. At the beginning, maybe you will use the rope to avoid falling backwards and to get up. You will know you use the rope if there is tension on it. With practice, you will put less and less tension in the rope.

Basically, after a while, you will not use the rope to get down anymore. You will only use it to get up. And finally, you will not use it at all anymore.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Last edited:
I already started doing nice full reps with my left. I believe some added tension and the visualizations helped, thank you @Steve Freides !

I really think it was just a stability issue, as I could do a perfect rep with a 16kg kettlebell no problem before hand.

Thank you all, I will probably be using all these suggestions to vary my sessions and help ingrain the movement on both legs further. @pet' I might try holding onto something and moving to a sticking point and hang out there, building tension and prying. I might use box variations to this end too, and I also have a new love for leg switches in the bottom position and bottoms up pistols.

@pet I think it went so fast because I was relearning the movement, although I think it only took 2-3 months to learn it in the first place back when I was a teenager.
 
Steve Freides said:
@D-Rock, try some different visualizations. One that helps me is to imagine an "X" that goes from my right leg to my left shoulder and my left leg to my right shoulder. For your pistol on the better, your right, side, visualize the right leg to left shoulder connection - it makes my abs work better but it doesn't do much for the good side for me. But I notice that I tend not to feel the other side of the X working on the weaker side, and visualizing the connection across my midsection helps the weaker side work better.

-S-
Click to expand...

Steve, thank you for this tip! For this time that I am unable to do kettlebells I have been utilizing this for the one legged bodyweight deadlift. I do not have any difficulty on the right throughout the entire move, but on the left I really have to tighten up especially and concentrate on visualizing this...it has made a huge difference! Thanks!

interestingly enough, my left is more difficult for presses, getups, etc as well....like that whole side of the body has asymmetry. I am also right handed...I would be curious to know of people who report assymetries how much would be related to hand dominance...
 
I know for one, many of my tweaks and assymmetries have to do with my left side, because I am right handed. I would be willing to guess a good percentage of strength/coordination has to do with side dominance.
 
D-Rock said:
I know for one, many of my tweaks and as symmetries have to do with my left side, because I am right handed. I would be willing to guess a good percentage of strength/coordination has to do with side dominance.
Click to expand...


This shows up in many ways and with virtually all physical activities. I'm right handed but perform left pistols much better. I believe this might be due to MA practice and doing a lot of kicks with the right leg, the left has to be all the more stable to generate power.

Of course being a good little student I practiced even more volume with the left to make up for this, but in the end I tend to lead with my left and perform leading kicks with the left leg better than the right, and full kicks from the rear better with my right.

No matter how much one practices there is going to be side preference for certain tasks. I wouldn't know what to do with a right handed baseball glove, even though I'm right dominant it doesn't apply to all chores apparently.

It helps to really dial in whatever side is the better performer and dissect the weak side from start to finish to see where the wheels are coming off. It is almost always some form of subtle yet fundamental posture issue that manifests almost from the get-go, and relatively easy to reprogram. Sometimes its a motor unit or balance issue and much harder to correct.
 
Hello,

I performed a lot the "one leg wall chair". Even if this is an iso-hold, it helps quite a bit to build the pistol.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom