Pistol squat: how to do one, the progressions that get you there, and what it trains

A pistol squat is a full squat on one leg, with the other leg held straight out in front of you so it clears the floor at the bottom. It needs no equipment, which is why it shows up in home and bodyweight training, but it's a skill as much as a strength test: balance, ankle range and a strong leg all have to be there at once.

This page covers the rep, five progressions that build up to it, what the closest studies say it trains, why the ankle matters, the faults, and the sets. If two-leg squats are still new, start with the bodyweight squat; the wider case for one-leg work is on unilateral exercises.

How to do a pistol squat

1. Stand on one foot, weight over the middle of it, the other leg lifted a little in front of you.
2. Reach both arms forward at shoulder height. They balance you as you sit back.
3. Sit down and back on the standing leg, knee in line with your foot, heel flat on the floor.
4. Lift the free leg straight out in front as you go down, so it stays off the floor.
5. Go as low as you can control, the back of your thigh toward your calf at the bottom of a full rep.
6. Stand back up by pushing the floor away through your whole foot, without bouncing. That's one rep.

Five progressions, from first try to full rep

If a full pistol isn't there yet, these are the usual steps, a practice order rather than a tested one; move on when you can do two sets of 8 with control:

1. Box pistol. Squat on one leg down to a bench or box behind you, touch it lightly, and stand up. Lower the box as you get stronger.
2. Assisted pistol. Hold a post, a door frame, a band or suspension straps, and use your arms only as much as you need.
3. Counterweight pistol. Hold a light plate or dumbbell out in front of you. It shifts your balance forward, which can make the bottom easier rather than harder.
4. Elevated pistol. Stand on a step or box so the free leg can hang below it. You don't need to hold that leg as high.
5. Slow lowering. Lower yourself as slowly as you can to the bottom, then use a hand or both feet to come back up.

If none of these work yet, the Bulgarian split squat and step-ups train one leg at a time with the back or the other foot doing some of the balancing.

What it trains

A PubMed search for this page found no study of the pistol squat by name. Most research on "the single-leg squat" uses it as a movement test rather than as an exercise, so it isn't used here. The closest training comparison is a loaded one. In 11 healthy, moderately strength-trained people doing a set of six to eight reps to failure in each of three exercises, a barbell single-leg squat produced more side-glute (gluteus medius) activity than a Bulgarian split squat or a split squat: 81.9% of a maximal contraction against 54.9% and 46.2%. The big glute and the outer front of the thigh showed no significant difference between the three.¹

If the pistol behaves like that loaded version, it works the front of the thigh and the big glute much like split squats do, and the side glute harder. Those are activity readings from one set, not growth over weeks. For growth, one leg or two doesn't seem to matter much: a 2025 meta-analysis of nine studies found no difference in muscle growth between one-limb and two-limb training, while strength rose most in whichever version was trained.²

Why the ankle matters for depth

To get low on one leg with your heel flat, your shin has to travel forward over your foot. In 72 healthy adults with an average age of about 23, more ankle range (the shin moving forward over a planted foot) went with a deeper single-leg squat. The link was small overall and stronger in people who exercised more than three times a week; hip abductor strength showed no significant link with depth.³ That's a correlation, not proof that stretching the ankle will deepen your pistol, but if your heel lifts at the bottom, ankle mobility has a short routine, and the elevated and box progressions let you train while it improves.

The common faults, and a fix for each

• Heel lifting at the bottom. Stop a little higher, use a box, or try the counterweight version. Work on ankle range alongside.
• Knee drifting inward. Keep it pointing the same way as your foot. If you can't, go back a progression.
• Dropping into the bottom. Lower under control. A fall into the bottom isn't a rep you own yet.
• Rounding hard to stay balanced. Some forward lean is normal; folding over to reach the depth means it's time for a box.
• Free leg dragging on the floor. Use the elevated version, or hold the free leg higher with a hand on the shin while you learn.
• Squatting through something that hurts. Sore muscles the next day are normal; a sharp or lasting hurt in a joint isn't. Stop, and see a doctor or a physical therapist.

Sets, reps and where it goes

• Two or three sets of 5 to 8 per leg at whatever progression you're on, stopping one or two reps short. (How to judge reps left.) The American College of Sports Medicine's 2026 position stand, which covers healthy adults, advises at least two sets per exercise.⁴
• Early in a leg session, while you're fresh. At home with no weights, it can be your main squat.
• Count it with your leg sets. The same stand found muscle growth was enhanced by ten or more sets per muscle group a week.
• Progress by the list above, then by depth, then by holding a weight once the full rep comes easy. (Progressive overload covers the options.)

If you'd rather not plan it alone

The pistol squat is one skill; how it fits around your other leg work, and how fast to move through the progressions, depends on your week. Coaching is the version where your workouts are built around the days you actually have, and a weekly call looks at the week you just had and rebuilds the next one. Coaching to build muscle explains how that works, and here's how to apply. Otherwise: at your next leg session, try two sets of 6 box pistols per leg at a box height you control, and write down the height.