Quads exercise
Pistol SquatHow to do it, with form in numbers
- Also works
- Abs, Adductors
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Level
- Advanced
How to do it
How do you do the Pistol Squat?
- Stand on one leg, the other leg straight out in front.
- Reach both arms forward at shoulder height.
- Push your hips back and lower slowly on the standing leg.
- Go as low as you can with your heel down and free foot up.
- Push through your whole foot to stand tall again.
Cues
- Heel stays glued to the floor.
- Knee follows your toes.
- Reach forward with your arms to stay balanced.
Common mistakes
- Dropping into the bottom too fast.
- Letting the knee cave inward.
- Letting the free heel touch the floor.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
Starting position
Right foot flat, toes forward or turned out a little. Lift the left foot and hold the left leg straight out in front, about 40° forward of vertical, heel clear of the floor, ankle pulled up so the toes point to the ceiling. Arms straight out in front at shoulder height, palms down, hands about shoulder-width apart. Trunk upright, stomach braced, gaze ahead.
The movement
Push the hips back and bend the right knee, hip and ankle together, lowering slowly. The right knee travels forward over the toes and stays over the second and third toes; the right heel stays flat. As the hips sink, raise the straight left leg so its heel stays off the floor, and tip the trunk forward from the hips; the arms stay reaching forward as a counterweight. Lower until the back of the right thigh rests on the calf. Pause briefly without relaxing, then press the whole right foot into the floor and stand back up, hips and chest rising together, until the right knee and hip are straight. The left leg lowers back to the start as you rise.
End position
Bottom: back of the right thigh on the calf, hips below the knee, right heel down, left leg straight and about level with the floor. A 140° knee then has the thigh sloping about 10° down from knee to hip, so the hip joint sits about 33 cm off the floor and 15 cm behind the ankle. To keep the body's centre of mass over the foot, the trunk leans well forward and the arms and free leg reach forward. With the hips that low, a straight left leg of about 90 cm can drop no more than about 18° below level before the heel touches.
Tempo
2.5 s down, 0.3 s pause at the bottom, 1.5 s up, 0.7 s standing tall. The slow descent matches the controlled lowering both [2] and [3] ask for.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stance foot toe-out | 5° | 0–15° | [3] |
| Right knee flexion at the bottom | 140° | 125–145° | [1][4] |
| Right knee, front view | over the 2nd–3rd toe | within 3 cm | [2][3] |
| Right heel lift | 0 cm | 0 cm | [2][3] |
| Left leg at the top, forward of vertical | 40° | 30–60° | [1] |
| Left knee | 0° (straight) | 0–10° | [1][2] |
| Left heel clearance above the floor | ≥ 5 cm | never touches | [1] |
| Arms, from horizontal | 0° (straight forward) | ±15° | [1][2] |
| Right knee flexion at the top | 0° | 0–5° | [1] |
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Pistol Squat is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
Sources
- ExRx, Single Leg Squat (bodyweight, also called the pistol)
- University of Sussex Sport, Pistol Squat teaching sheet
- Myer et al. 2014, Strength Cond J, "The back squat: a proposed assessment of functional deficits and technical factors that limit performance"
- Front Sports Act Living 2024, "Impact of the deep squat on articular knee joint structures" (scoping review)
