Weighted Squats Are Better Than Pistol Squats

Calisthenics and bodyweight strength training advice for older athletes.
Weighted squats are a better exercise than pistol squats. Pistol squats take you into an awkward position which is pretty hard on your lower back. Normal squats, even ATG squats, don’t put your body in as compromising a position as pistol squats do. And the intensity and rep range can be controlled much more easily by adding weight.
Hashtags:
#OlderAthlete #FitOver50 #AgingWarrier #HealthyAging
#BodyweightStrength #Calisthenics #CalisthenicsVsWeights
#BackPain #BackInjury #LowerBack

[@SABARI95969798]

may be elevating your heels fix rounding of lower back

[@kingly71]

that's a good one.. also thought of a holding a counter weight in front. Of course its more load but the counter weight allows you to keep your back more upright, if you did this and used an elevated heel I think you can really limit the rounded lumbar

[@nathanielpoulter603]

Been watching this channel for a while and I think its really cool. I'm not old but I have been trying to train strength while working a manual labour job and playing another sport so I have had limited work capacity and have been a little more injury prone so this has been helpful. Also I might be old at some point. I've had some serious back problems and despite being quite flexible I used to round my back during the bottom of an ATG squat quite a lot. While I agree that training the rounded back is great, I think it should be done seperatly, at its own weight, with movements that allow you to round the back in a slow and controlled fashion. Rounding the back during squats only rounds the lower back, and the rounding is done under pretty high loads, and often the movement is quite sudden. I fixed this by making my stance a little wider and pointing my toes out quite a bit more. You have your feet quite parralell and close together which is more of a powerlifting thing for squats without much depth. elevating you heels would also stop the back rounding like somebody else said. If you want advice on squating ATG with a striaght back look to olympic weightlifters not power lifters( kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y6SwZpScZ5pna68&ab_channel=CatalystAthletics). Squating with a single leg also has all kinds of functional benifits, because of the balance aspect and because of the postition the pelvis is in. Bulgarians are a great variation that somebody has recomended, and the atg split squat and all the progressions and regression in loading and ROM that the knees over toes guy puts out are all becomeing favorites for me. I agree with you that doing pistol squats on flat ground probably isn't the best because the non-squating leg is doing these weird acrobatics and isn't in position to catch you if you fail, but if you have the strength then doing them while standing on a small step allows for the non-squating foot to be right under you ready to catch you if you fail (although if you can only do 3 reps then you need an easier progression). Compare this to the barbell back squat where if you fail then you have to drop the weight. This also requires less flexibility and might make it easier on your back. I use a step that is about 6 inches high and it has been working great. I did a 70 pound loaded pistol squat yesterday with no back pain. To get the same force output in each leg from a barbell back squat I would have needed 330 pounds (my bw + 2(70)) which would have probably destroyed whats left of my spine. Also I'm poor and I hate gyms so I don't have 330 pounds anyway.

[@The_Aging_Warrior]

Thanks! That's some great information!

[@mathiusq9128]

How old are you Sir? I am 35 and can do 5 pistols on each side, but I do them on a raised platform to cheat the leg raise a little. So maybe they arent really pistols, but I do them as close as I can. I want to protect myself from injuries as I get older and stat fit.

[@The_Aging_Warrior]

Well, now that you've called me Sir, I feel much older :) But - I'm 56 (55 when I made that video). I do think it's smart to do pistols on something raised. Definitely not as hard on your back. And I would still call them pistols.

[@jato5106]

Looking for those people who has been ATG whole life (just for sitting, working near the floor, and resting), we can see most of them with this smooth-natural curve. Of course, I think is not the same case when adding weight, then locking core and flexing hip is a MUST. I love to handle some weight like you grab those plates, cause forces me to go hard on abs, with less weight gets more challenging (and less impressive compared to a barbell full of discs hahaha). Also, I've found that if I elevate heels a bit on an incline surface, I can go better ATG (skipping my lack of mobility I think....). Big hug!

[@jlb7289]

Great video w/ good points. Airborne lunges seem to me a better one leg squat than the pistol.

[@alejomakevids]

Man you're strong!!!

[@autoskp]

What do you think about Bulgarian squats? I damaged my knee doing pistols, so far Bulgarians are harmless for me.

[@The_Aging_Warrior]

That's a good question. I've actually never tried them. But they look like they'd be really good. They look like they're much more stable than pistols. Thanks for bringing those to my attention. I should probably start doing them.

[@The_Aging_Warrior]

I've been doing Bulgarian squats, and so far they're great. They don't seem to hurt my knees, and they don't twist my lower back like pistols. Thanks for suggesting them!

[@autoskp]

@@The_Aging_WarriorThey are my favourites now. There is also a more advanced option: you lower one of your gymnastic rings to your knee, put your feet in and squat. Very hard to stay straight on the beginning, but when I do them I feel like I'm activating my body parts that I've never trained before.

[@autoskp]

@@The_Aging_Warrior You mentioned about your back problems and I know this pain very well. The channel that helped me the most was Liebscher&Bracht. Surely there is an English translation possibility.