Going for a walk

If you don’t have a mirror, this is a really great way to Body Sense that you’re standing with correct posture. This will give you a good sense of "Creating your Column" – the last step of getting into proper posture by getting your shoulders aligned.

Once you’ve set up your posture, let your arm hang relaxed by your side. Check to see where the upper part of your arm (shoulder to elbow) is located. If the upper part of the arm is directly in line with the torso, your posture is probably right on. But if your upper arm is behind or in front of the torso – even slightly – you are out of alignment. To correct, use the steps of the posture rather than moving your arm. If you still have trouble, you might be holding too much tension in your shoulders, so just relax them and try again.

Lower Body Alignment for ChiRunning

Once you have checked in with your posture after beginning to run, feel the big toe and little toe leave the ground at the same time. This will help you feel the foot peel off the ground and keep you from "pushing" off. After practicing this for a little while, Body Sense how your pelvic rotation can facilitate letting your legs open up behind you. This big toe/little toe focus will help keep your knees tracking forward and align your foot so that it doesn’t splay outward.

 

Sometimes it is hard to tell if you are leaning from the waist or from the ankles. Try this exercise:
- Stand tall and lean (bend) at the waist. Notice where the weight in your feet is. Usually it will still be in the middle of the foot or even in the heels. Note that you can stand in this position without feeling much forward pull; and that your back is working to hold up your torso.
- Now stand in your ChiRunning posture, drop your focus to your feet and lean from the ankles moving your nose forward just 1 inch. Notice how the weight has come forward to the balls of your feet or to your toes. Also notice how you feel the pull of gravity forward. You are leaning so your foot is on the gas pedal. But you are not moving so you must also have your foot on the brake. The brake is being caused by the tension in your ankles. If you consciously shut off this tension in your ankles, you take your foot off the brake and you must fall forward.

This exercise helps to feel how inefficient leaning from the waist is. It also highlights how tension in your ankles is a form of braking.

You can also use this exercise to feel the impact on the lower back/hips/glutes and quads when moving while bent at the waist. Stand tall and lean (bend) at the waist. Now take step and notice what you feel. You will likely feel many of the back/hip/glute muscles and quads tensing in an isometric contraction to stabilize the torso with each step. Take a few steps in succession and get a sense of the impact to the body.
ChiWalking Tip - Use a Backpack to Practice Pelvic Rotation:

Wear a backpack that has some structure to it from top to bottom. You can also put something in your backpack like a binder or full size book and fill the backpack with a towel or clothes to give it some structure. The goal is to feel the backpack flat up and down your back from T12/L1 to about your sacrum (tailbone). Walk with pelvic rotation by trying to slide (or swipe) your hips/lower back from side to side across the backpack. Feel the contact across the lower back as the pelvis is allowed to rotate back. Notice if the pelvis is rotating level without wagging your tail. If the pelvis is level there should also be no gap between the lower back and the backpack.

This backpack provides external physical feedback for pelvic rotation to the rear with a neutral (level) pelvis.

Since the release of the ChiRunning and ChiWalking books, I've made a few changes in how I've taught some aspects of the posture section. So, rather than waiting for the changes to come out in the 2nd Edition of the ChiRunning book (to be released Spring '09), I'm going to jump ahead and let you in on the most up-to-date way of aligning your posture. I've been aligning myself this new way for about 6 months now and seen it to be a much easier and quicker way to get aligned while walking or running.

In the ChiRunning and ChiWalking books we have you begin the posture stance by standing with your feet parallel and hip-width apart with your knees not locked. After that, we go to straightening your upper spine and this is where one of the changes comes in.

We used to have you place one hand over your belly and the thumb and middle finger of the other hand spread apart and placed just under your collarbone. Then we had you pull down with your lower hand while lifting with your upper hand to straighten your upper body. Then we had you resting your chin on your upwardly stretched index finger in order to bring your head and neck into alignment with the rest of your posture. This is where I began to see problems in the method, because some people have long necks and short fingers or visa versa and it just wasn't working the same for every body I came across. One person's chin would be too low and another's would be too high. Another reason for making this change is that it's awkward to use this method of aligning yourself once you're moving. So, I needed to come up with a way that everyone would be able to get their head in the right alignment without the use of their hands. Here it is…it's easy.

Place your hand on the backside of your neck and brush your fingers in an upward direction. While you're doing this, lift up on the back of your head, like you're trying to reach for the sky with the crown of your head. This motion will stretch all the muscles on the back of your neck and allow your chin to naturally stay low. It will also help you straighten your upper spine without the use of your hands.

Now, in all my walking and running classes I have everyone do this easy little exercise. First stand in a slumped position (poor posture), then in one smooth motion reach for the sky with the crown of your head…straightening your spine and lengthening the back of your neck. This upward focus of your attention will quickly straighten your posture and actually (believe it or not) lighten your footstep by counteracting the downward motion of your foot coming onto the ground.

Having your neck in the correct position has an effect on the rest of your spine all the way down to your tailbone. You'll find it easier to level your pelvis and to relax your shoulders, keeping them low. It's a crucial part of the "C" shape which is a new concept I've been working with… and which was not mentioned in the ChiRunning book.

Look at the illustration and you'll see the "C" shape super-imposed on the subject. If you look at the direction the arrows are pointing, you'll see that the arrows begin at T12/L1 and move in opposite directions. The arrows on the upper section of the "C" shape go up (lengthening the back of the neck) and then down the front side of the head, ending at the chin (which is held down). The lower section of the "C" shape runs down towards the tailbone and then comes back up on the front side of the pelvis, ending at the pubic bone (when leveling the pelvis, you lift up on the pubic bone).

Practice getting yourself into the "C" shape whenever you feel your posture slipping…whether you're sitting at your desk, standing, walking or running. It'll have the amazing effect of bringing your mind and your body together, because you'll be engaging your core in the midst of your activity and bringing yourself to the "center" of your experience.

Your posture is the absolute keystone of all your movement and structural support. When you have strong physical center, it has a direct influence on your mental and emotional well being. Practice your posture as if your quality of life depends on it, because it does.

How to start an exercise

"I just realized what my 'rifga' stretching/yoga practice is, at it's heart. It's corrective yoga. My approach is to do the poses/stretches that open me up in the best way to get to anatomical neutral. That is my goal and that is why I stretch early and before exertion. I want to be as plumb and square as possible before I load my body. If I don't 're-open' my structure as exertion and activities tighten it back up, pain increases. A sure sign I am doing something wrong, especially when I can get the pain to diminish by getting closer to square all the time. That was the major mistake I have made all those years of heavy training and competing. I didn't fully address my serious myofascial imbalances enough and loaded the frame way to hard for how 'bent' it was. I have never seen any "magic" in basic yoga other than a series of poses held for varying lengths of time and focused on integrating breathing and open primal positions at the same time. Great stuff for sure but I never saw any supra physical mojo to being flexible enough to wrap both ankles around your neck. And I think that learning how to breathe, and hence relax, while working the body is the key component. When clients ask me about taking yoga my only reluctance is to say that it is not individualized enough for most of them and would overstretch some areas and understretch others. Not good for unstable spines or joint capsules. And certainly not the best and straightest path to "neutral body". The key is really being able to hold the poses and breathe deeply into them…

"Accumulated micro trauma gets almost all, regardless whether one is weak and can't hold themselves up against gravity anymore or one is strong and pushes the limits their frame can handle in the quest for super health, fitness or performance. So it's corrective/selective stretching/yoga for me. Just as I am 'corrective' in my approach to exercise selection that is the basis of my stretching yoga practice as well. Neutral is the goal.Not only neutral spine but neutral knee, shoulder, neck, elbow, etc. Chek was right."

If you don’t have a mirror, this is a really great way to Body Sense that you’re standing with correct posture. This will give you a good sense of "Creating your Column" – the last step of getting into proper posture by getting your shoulders aligned.

Once you’ve set up your posture, let your arm hang relaxed by your side. Check to see where the upper part of your arm (shoulder to elbow) is located. If the upper part of the arm is directly in line with the torso, your posture is probably right on. But if your upper arm is behind or in front of the torso – even slightly – you are out of alignment. To correct, use the steps of the posture rather than moving your arm. If you still have trouble, you might be holding too much tension in your shoulders, so just relax them and try again.

Lower Body Alignment for ChiRunning

Once you have checked in with your posture after beginning to run, feel the big toe and little toe leave the ground at the same time. This will help you feel the foot peel off the ground and keep you from "pushing" off. After practicing this for a little while, Body Sense how your pelvic rotation can facilitate letting your legs open up behind you. This big toe/little toe focus will help keep your knees tracking forward and align your foot so that it doesn’t splay outward.

 

Stretching

"I was stretching outside on a slight slope because it was the only grassy place available. I was amazed at the difference this made compared to flat ground.

1. The kneeling lunge stretch facing up hill forces you to keep most of your weight on the back leg and really targets the hip flexor.

2. The tactical frog facing up hill forces your weight back, which is great, especially when you do the turn over rotation part of the move.

3. The front split facing up hill puts a greater stretch on the hams… The front split facing downhill is a whole different story. Talk about a hip flexor focus —wow. Note the hill was not very steep, just a slight rise. Try it, you will like it."

Planche

Have you been training the planche progression but are not getting anywhere fast? Wouldn't it be nice to go from tuck planche to straddle planche in just under 4 months? Well I've been there and have done that and now I want to share my knowledge so you can do the same.

When I first started planche training progress was painfully slow. So I became frustrated and quit a number of times. It was not until I realized a few things that progress really picked up and I was on my way to achieving one of my long term goals: to hold a straddle planche.



The first point to take home is that planche is a full body compound exercise; and for any compound exercise muscle synergism is of the utmost importance because you're only as strong as your weakest link. All the involved muscles have to work in perfect harmony otherwise force production will be compromised. This brings us to the mind/body connection. You will not get anywhere if you do the exercises passively not focusing on which muscles are working and if you are not trying to consciously maximize that contraction. A good example to demonstrate this point is an inexperienced person trying to bench press something for the first time. They will life down flat on the bench and try to push the bar with their arms. However if that person were to squeeze the shoulder blades together, arch the lower back, push down through the feet and focus on maximizing the contraction in the chest and shoulders they would be able to produce a greater amount of force due to increased scapular stability and activation of more agonists. The point is that any compound exercise requires conscious effort in order to be performed effectively.

For any compound exercise some muscles act as stabilizers and some as agonists. The stabilizers provide a framework or foundation on which the agonists can produce force. For the planche the agonists are primarily the deltoids and pectorals because all the torque is produced at the shoulder joint and these muscles act to counteract that force. The stabilizers make up the bulk of the muscles active in the planche and the primary ones are the trapezius, latissimus dorsi and teres major.

This brings us to exercise technique. In order to effectively hold the planche at any level of progression you must first activate the stabilizers. To do this plant your hands on the ground or grasp a set of paralletes, slightly protract the shoulder blades, then contract your upper traps as hard as you possibly can (you can see my traps protruding in the above picture). Then begin transferring your weight onto your arms by leaning forward; as you do this contract your lats. As your feet come off the ground contract the agonists.

Looking back at the bench press example retracting the shoulder blades prevents them from moving during the exercise and anchors them to the bench giving you more stability which equals greater force production. The bench press is an open chain exercise performed in the supine position. Whereas the planche is the closed chain exercise performed in the prone position; therefore it makes sense to slightly protract the shoulder blades and contract the upper traps to immobilize them thus giving you scapular stability.

A good exercise to help you recruit those stabilizers and maximize that contraction is a repetitive movement of rocking back and forth as you are in the beginning position with your legs bent and feet in contact with the ground. I do 3 x 8 of this exercise to warm up and prime those stabilizers before holding the planche at a higher level of progression.


Just rock back and forth in this position and concentrate on contracting your upper traps.

One area that I and others have found to be under-stimulated is the chest. I have found that in order to get those sternal pecs working you have to squeeze your arms together while you are holding the exercise (this works best when doing the planche on the floor or on a fixed set of paralletes). Just imagine holding a balloon with your arms extended, palms facing each other and trying to crush it. One final point on technique is the amount of forward lean. Bio-mechanically speaking, leaning forward produces less torque in the shoulder joint because it shortens the moment arm of the applied force thus giving you a greater mechanical advantage. Therefore try to maximize forward lean without falling forward.

In order to make rapid progress when training for the planche you must achieve total muscle synergism. To do this the nervous system has to be efficient at recruiting the right muscles, in the right order at the required intensity. The planche requires balance, coordination and posture control (not to mention an insane amount of strength): it is more than just a strength exercise, it is a motor skill. As with any motor skill progress will be heavily dependent on adaptations in the central nervous system. Due to the demands planche training places on the CNS it is best to use Pavel's 'Greasing the Groove' method (see The Naked Warrior) when you first start training at any level of the progression. You will keep your nervous system fresh and the repetitive nature will reinforce the motor program. As your nervous system adapts and you are able to hold the progression for a longer period of time only then it is best to use the sets x reps method and maximize time under tension so that your muscles adapt and hypertrophy.

As you advance further into the planche progression any additional force you can produce will make a substantial difference and accelerate your progress. Planche training is like squeezing that last bit of toothpaste out of the tube, but in this case you are trying to squeeze force out of your body anywhere you can. And when it comes to exercise technique and force production I have learned that a little goes a long way. For example, studies have shown that force production is significantly higher when using an alternated grip for the deadlift compared to using a standard pronated grip. Another example is using a fatter bar for the bench press compared to using a thinner bar. So do what works best for you- it could be a wider or narrower arm position, more focus on contracting a specific muscle or using different hand position (i.e try doing the planche off a ledge).

The main point about planche training is that you have to recruit the right muscles in the right order at the right intensity. The goal is to get all those muscles working together in perfect harmony - to achieve complete muscle synergism. In order to do this you have to become aware of your body and make a conscious effort. In summary you have to strengthen the mind/body connection.

Exercises

In a nutshell I think of the deadlift as the most natural lift for the human body. Squatting can be used both as a mobility move (crouching to avoid being seen) or stability move (pushing a car). Squatting is hard on the joints and not as natural. There is so much going on that mistakes can grow exponentially. Deadlifting on the other hand is natural and puts little stress on the joints. Less moving segments means less potential to screw up!

"I always say - have someone move a big pile of big rocks and you will see nature pick the best lift - they will not squat to the rocks they will bend to the rocks - deadlift will always win when hard labor is involved....Lastly - we are a quad dominant culture with many field and court sports to develop the thighs while the gleuts seem to disappear - distance running is the absolute quickest way to see the gleuts go...

HANDSTAND. To align your shoulders close to the kettlebell lockout position behind the neck push with your hands towards the wall to push your body away from it. Look at the horizon or the crack between the floor and the wall rather than down between your hands. Keep your abs and glutes tight, your elbows locked, squeeze your thighs together, and let the shoulders sink into the sockets. Hold for time and don't forget to breathe.

JUMP SQUAT. Clasp your hands behind your head. Drop to parallel while keeping your heels down and your back flat and jump straight up. Land on your toes, quickly roll back on your heels while keeping your back flat, drop into a parallel squat, and instantly spring back up. It is a popular drill among Russian GS athletes and Kyokushin karate black belts must be able to knock off 100 reps. Ease into this one.

JUMP GOOD MORNING. This one is a travel favorite of Suren Bogdasarov, the coach of weightlifting legend Yuri Vlasov. Rapidly hinge at the hip until your straight back is parallel to the deck and jump. Bend your knees just a little and keep your hands clasped behind your neck.

WRING OUT A WET TOWEL. The idea is to strengthen your grip and forearms.

DIVE BOMBER PUSHUP. This drill looks like a cat climbing under a fence. Keep your elbows in at all times to protect your shoulders.

Chest/Triceps

Obviously doing push ups is pretty natural. Whether it was the Marine Corps, Army, Navy or Air Force, we all learned the effectiveness of doing pushups…in some cases over and over and over. The thought of doing 400 or so push ups might appeal to a few, but some of us have a snowy road to get out on to, a sales call to make this morning, something a touch more pressing.

Decline Pushups Most rooms have at least one chair. Elevate your feet and do decline pushups. Remember to maintain a flat back, avoiding the temptation to relax your midsection and sag (picture 1). It's not just an exercise to work your chest, you're also strengthening your lower back, your abs, and, dare I say it, working your core. You'll notice that your elbows should stay tight to your body, if possible scraping your sides as you descend (picture 2). Avoid the temptation of letting your elbows flare out. Not only does a wandering elbow make your form weaker, you can't effectively activate and recruit your lats that can aid your press, but you also expose your shoulder to unnecessary strain. Pull yourself down to the floor; don't let gravity do all the work. Press the heels of your hands in to the floor, actively pull your body toward the floor, and feel your armpits thicken. You'll notice when you push up, your body almost explodes off the bottom, the lat and tricep acting as a watch spring, winding tight on the way down, exploding with energy on the way up. Do five sets of twenty reps, or as many reps as you can until you feel your form has fallen below 80 percent of perfection.

If you want to get more of a pump in your tri's place your hands near each other, directly under your sternum. I like to form an equilateral triangle, my index fingers forming each of two sides and my thumbs forming the base. Press in to the floor using the heels of the hand, and keep the elbows tight against your sides. Do as many as you can, until your triceps scream for mercy.

One Arm Assisted Pushups The lowly ice bucket. Ever wondered how many things were put in that thing EXCEPT ice? How can a piece of plastic, less than 12 ounces in weight help with strength training? Turn the bucket upside down. Many of us use a kettlebell when we're learning one arm pushups. The ice bucket in your room can be just as effective. Now, I'm not going to go in to tremendous detail about actually doing OAPU's, The Naked Warrior covers it best. Assume the proper push up position, your right hand sternum high, fingers pointed forward, hand placed close enough to your body so that your elbow should touch your side as you descend to the floor. Place the ice bucket to your left, in line with your right hand. Gently place your fingers on the ice bucket's bottom (see picture 3) remembering that your left hand is only providing a small amount of support to the rest of your body. Inhale, then slowly lower yourself, feeling your body drawn in to your right lat. Maintain a flat back (no hip sagging allowed), then press in to the heel of your right hand and push, as if you were pushing the floor away from yourself (see picture 4). Do as many as you can, but remember, if your form starts to suffer, stop, there's no need building up bad muscle memory.

Dips. If you're lucky enough to have two chairs in the room, there's nothing like doing dips to work your tris, lats, and chest. Place the two chairs slightly wider apart than your shoulders (picture X). Keeping the chairs close will prevent you from the giving in to the temptation of flaring your elbows, putting unnecessary stress on your shoulders. Inhale, and push through the heels of your hands as you actively lower yourself (picture Y). Pressing through the heel of your hand will do three things. First, pressing there will activate your triceps and lat more effectively. Second, pressing through the heel of the hand prevents you from hyper extending your wrist which leads not only to weakness in your technique, but to very sore elbows later on. Lastly, pressing through the heels of the hand allows you to press with the skeletal strength of your forearms, just like an overhead kettlebell press.

Shoulders

Handstand Shoulder Press. Probably, one of the best body weight exercises you can do is the handstand press. For some of us, the idea of throwing our feet up against a wall and pressing can be pretty daunting. One of my favorite shoulder drills is a jack knife press. I can rep out more of these than a regular handstand press, and if your upper body strength isn't ready, it's a good way to learn. You're going to elevate your feet. Obviously, the higher your feet go, the more difficult the press, so you can start with something a small as a couple of phone books, or as high as a chair or even a desk. Place your hands as close to you feet as you can, creating a jack knife posture (see picture 5). Be careful don't put your hands so close that you topple over, but it's important to get them as close as you can. We want this to be a shoulder press, not a push up, so your body mass should move down in a straight line as opposed to moving down and forward. Inhale, and slowly lower yourself to the floor, keeping your elbows in tight, you should be able to see them as you descend. Once again, get the feeling that you're really pulling yourself down, not surrendering to gravity. Stop before you jam your head in to the floor (picture 6), and press up. Repeat until your form starts to falter below 80 percent perfection. Do five sets.

Back and Biceps

Towel Hang Pullups/Chinups. I admit it, I love working my back and biceps. Call it vanity, whatever, it just feels so darn good. I've tried hanging from open doors to do pull ups, with two unfortunate results. The first is that the top edge of the door digs in to my fingers, and makes it hard to concentrate on pulling with my back. The next reason, well, check out picture 7. As construction costs go up, several newer hotels hang doors with screws as short as one inch. Two hundred pound guys, hanging from doors attached with tiny nails? Do the math, it's not pretty, just ask the desk manager at the Ritz Carlton, Battery Park, New York. Hang one end of a towel over a door, hold it in place while creating a loop, and place the other end of the towel on the opposite side of the door. Carefully, close the door. Now, you have a structurally sound pull up/chin up platform. Grab the towel with the palms facing toward the door, activate your lats and pull with your back. The combined effort of grabbing the towel, along with pulling makes this one of the most intense in room exercises. Flip your hands, palms facing toward yourself and you have the best bicep/forearm cooker I know of.

Towel Rows. I've seen pictures of guys looping a towel around either side of a doorknob and doing seated rows. Again, I refer you to the equation Heavy Guy+Small Screws=Call to Front Desk Manager. Try this instead. Close one end of a towel in a doorframe. Carefully place both feet in the corner of the door and test for towel strength (picture 8). Flatten your back, pull your elbows in close (picture 9), then draw the towel toward your chest (picture 10). It's a great row, provides you with a great grip enhancer, and avoids a door moving at high speed toward your groin.

Legs

Doing heavy deadlifts in your hotel room probably isn't going to happen. Imagine the complaints from the occupants of 405 when you start deadlifting and dropping the sofa in 505. There are some very effective exercises you can do in your room, not only to stay fit, but to increase your heart rate as well.

Hindu Squats. Hindu Squats are a terrific way to strengthen your legs and increase your heart rate. For the uninitiated, a Hindu Squat starts with your feet about shoulder width apart. Bend your knees, keeping your back straight, and drop down while lifting your heels and rolling up on your toes. As you reach the bottom of the movement, let your knuckles lightly brush the floor and swing your arms out in front of your body. Stand straight up, bringing your arms back to your side and pressing through your heels as they come back in contact with the floor. Start the drop again, repeating the arm motion toward the front of your body, rolling up on your toes, scraping the knuckles, exploding up, pressing through the heels. This is a high rep exercise, and requires a breathing pattern so you don't get lightheaded. Exhale on the way down, as you come up, inhale. It may seem counterintuitive, but if you think about it, your body is compressing on the way down, a perfect position for exhalation, and opening as you stand up, expanding the chest and providing a wonderful chance to breath deeply in to the diaphragm. Try 100 repetitions, if you can, and forget about asking if the hotel has a treadmill.

Pistols. Pistols, the dreaded one-legged squats, can provide the room-bound trainer with a terrific leg developing exercise. If you aren't "all the way there" yet in performing pistols, there's a great way to aid in your progression and make sure you avoid a few of the pitfalls from bad form.

Open a door, preferably an interior door, like the one to your bathroom, and place the door down the center of your body, with one hand on either doorknob handle (see picture 11). Place the leg you want to perform the pistol on against the edge of the door and slowly lower yourself in to a pistol. Do not "hang" off the doorknob (remember picture 7) but instead, lightly place your fingertips on the top of the knob. Doing these two things, placing the leg against the door, and touching the knob will re-enforce two important components of the pistol: first, you'll keep your leg properly aligned with a straight edge, the door, and lightly touching the knob will keep your weight focused forward and remind you to stay tight. Do 5 reps, each leg, 5 sets…and put the sofa down.

Technique

"Elite powerlifters get more neural drive from trying to bend or break the bar while benching. You can apply the same principle for a much stronger kettlebell military press. In fact, it works better with the double press than the single and even better on the eccentric portion of the lift. Here's the how and why: Crush grip the bells—"white knuckles"—on the concentric portion of the lift. This will really enable the body to engage the lats and keep the shoulders sucked into the sockets. On the eccentric, imagine that you are pulling a bar to you and you are trying to bend it around the top of your head. Keep on crushing the kettlebells. This will heavily recruit the lats, and enhance the active negative, creating a stronger concentric action on the next rep. Of course, your total press volume will probably decrease when you first try this new technique. Why? Because you will be using much more muscle to perform your presses. This is good, it means you will get stronger sooner as your body recruits more muscle fibers."

Relax your arms and shoulders and push the kettlebell back between your legs using your "armpit muscles"(the lats and the long heads of the triceps)

Pistol

The pistol is undoubtedly one of the best litmus tests for orthopedic health and functional performance. The ability to stand on one leg, seamlessly lower your body to the ground and then return to the standing position is a feat worthy of discussing. For those of you not familiar with the pistol I recommend getting a copy of Pavel's Naked Warrior book which goes into great detail on how to master the pistol and the one arm push up. If you are RKC certified you will also want to attend the RKC Level II certification as the teaching section on the pistol is outstanding.

The purpose of the article is to teach you how to learn the pistol from the ground up. That means that instead of learning how to lower yourself first, you will learn to get down to the ground with both legs and then once down in the bottom position, coming up with only one leg. With that being said, it is necessary to understand that the pistol may not be appropriate for everyone. If you have a serious orthopedic medical restriction it might be an exercise that carries to great of a risk to safely perform. Use common sense and see your Doctor if you have any concerns at all about performing pistols.

The main principles for learning how to do a pistol from the ground up are:

Principle # 1

Your weight must be distributed equally throughout the entire foot.

Principle # 2

The Tibia (lower leg) must be vertical (it should resemble a post sticking straight out of the ground). The tibia must not bow inward or outwards or look like the leaning tower of Pisa.

Principle # 3

Apply the principle of power breathing when "grinding" each rep from the bottom position.


Let's break it down the steps.

Step # 1

Stand barefoot with your feet together. While squatting into the rock bottom position, squeeze your knees and inner thighs together very forcefully. This will do two things. First, it will help you fire you adductors which will keep your lower leg vertical like a post and will stabilize you better by firing your core muscles. Second, it will force you to keep your entire foot on the ground. According to Pavel, "Think of isometric ally internally rotating the lower leg to keep your foot connected to the ground, while countering it with hip abduction."

A problem that I frequently encountered on my left leg was that every time I descended in the pistol my left big toe would come off the ground. I would disconnect the medial side of my foot from the ground.

After spending some time with Pavel and having him dissect my pistol technique, he informed me that I was losing strength in my legs because of my left big toe issue. When the bottom of you first metatarsal (big toe) isn't connected to the floor you will fail to adequately recruit the quadriceps. This is a serious problem because without the quads helping out you will have a very hard time rising up out of the bottom position. The glutes and hamstrings need to work in concert with the quadriceps for a smooth yet powerful pistol.


Make sure that your weight distribution in the foot is 50/50. On the contrary, if you collapse your foot inwards (pronated) and let the pinky side of your foot come off the ground you will fail to activate the glutes, hamstrings and IT band. That is why it is essential that you keep both sides of the foot well planted and rooted into the floor. A good pistol starts from a balanced foot position and its' connectedness to the ground


The following photo demonstrates the points on the bottom of your foot that you will need connected to the floor.

If you find your big toe leaving the floor revisit this drill as often as needed until you are able to successfully keep those points touching the ground at all times. Most people will need to hold onto a small kettlebell (usually an 8kg or 12kg kettlebell) to act as a counter balance. By all means if you have the mobility to get down into the bottom position without a kettlebell, don't use one. However, if you are like me, you will need a small weight in your hands to act as a counter balance.

Step # 2

Once you are down in the bottom position with your knees squeezed together, extend one leg straight out in front of you. Stay in the bottom position and keep switching back and forth between legs. Which leg feels weaker and less stable? When you are on one leg are you able to keep your weight distributed evenly in the foot? Try your best to not slip back into your compensations. Work the dysfunctional pattern until it becomes automatic!

Step # 3

When you are able to keep the foot balanced on the floor and the tibia resembles a vertical shaft almost like a post sticking in the ground, you can attempt the concentric portion of the pistol. By coming down with two legs and coming up with one leg you eliminating the negative or eccentric portion of the pistol and focusing only on the concentric. For most people this will be the better way to go. Most people's structures and physiology will feel so threatened by the eccentric portion of the pistol that they will resemble a drunken college student trying to walk back to the dorms after a fraternity party. Eliminate this problem by coming down into the pistol with two legs and then coming up on one leg.

Once you groove a couple of perfect concentric reps, the eccentric will be much easier as your nervous system will literally take the "parking brakes" off and allow you to powerfully pull yourself down into the bottom position. Remember that you will need to actively engage your hip flexor on the eccentric portion of the pistol. Proper breathing is essential as you will need to inhale fully through your nose deep into your abdomen. You will also need to use power breathing which means forcefully making a "grunt" or "hissing" sound as you come out of the bottom position.

The above techniques allowed me to achieve a solid pistol on my left leg, something I was never able to do until now. Apply these principles and let me know how they have worked for you!


Descend into the pistol with your palms facing down. The moment you start driving up, extend your wrists and fingers. In other words, tilt your palms back and lift your fingers while pushing forward with your triceps. Do it with tension.

The technique works because the pistol is an exercise in extension and all of your extensor muscles are hooked up to the same loop.