Pistol Squat Right: Master the Single-Leg Squat

Learn how to perform the pistol squat on your right leg with proper form to build elite leg strength, balance, and mobility without any equipment.

How to Perform

  1. Stand upright with your feet together and your arms extended in front of your chest for balance.
  2. Lift your left leg off the floor, extending it straight out in front of you while keeping your right foot firmly planted.
  3. Inhale and begin to descend by hingeing at your right hip and bending your right knee simultaneously.
  4. Lower your body as deep as your mobility allows, ideally until your right hamstring touches your right calf.
  5. Keep your left leg and your arms elevated and parallel to the floor throughout the entire movement.
  6. Drive through your right heel to return to a standing position while maintaining a neutral spine.
  7. Exhale at the top of the movement and reset your balance before starting the next repetition.

Common Mistakes

  • Allowing the heel of the working foot to lift off the ground.
  • Letting the knee of the standing leg collapse inward toward the midline.
  • Excessive rounding of the lower back during the deep portion of the squat.
  • Using momentum or swinging the non-working leg to generate upward force.

Muscles Worked

Primary movers

  • Quads

Stabilizers

  • Glutes
  • Hamstrings
  • Core
  • Calves

Related Guides

Quads · Strength