Mobility Needed to Perform Your First Pistol Squat

come on let's do this [Music] are you showing me to perform a pistol squat maybe it's your Mobility let's dive into it [Music] rehab welcome back to the channel Dr Craig Lindell and today let's talk about the mobility you need in order to perform your first pistol squat now if you don't know what the pistol Squad is you are in for a real treat this is a unique single leg squat variation that challenges dynamic balance stability quad strength posterior chain strength and you guessed it your Mobility before we dive into Mobility exercises to perform your first pistol squat let's talk about the areas that you need to be mobile to allow you to perform this challenging movement so start from the bottom and work our way up first area that needs Mobility is going to be the ankle and it needs Mobility into a direction we call ankle dorsiflexion what does this look like as we lower down into that pistol squat the knee has to progress forward over the toes while the heel should stay on the ground this requires adequate motion at the tail curl joint in the front of the ankle without this ankle dorsiflexion motion you're going to have a difficult time performing a pistol squat successfully without compensation or potential pain and discomfort due to putting unnecessary stress and strain on other joints such as the Patel femoral joint AKA your kneecap working up the kinetic chain we have the typical femoral joint as it is responsible for knee flexion the average human being will have about 130 to 140 degrees of knee flexion range of motion with soft tissue structures like the quadriceps or the soft tissue mass of the hamstrings being the common limiting factor for more range unless the knee has an injury history or current pathology with that said the pistol Squad is going to challenge and demand full knee flexion range of motion under weight bearing conditions which can be a challenging feat for your average individual in addition to the tibial femoral joint we will get an appreciation for tibial rotation range of motion in addition to tibial gliding as it relates to the tarot curl joint during the mobility section which we'll cover in a bit without adequate knee flexion and tibial accessory motion the pistol squat is going to be that much harder and likely less enjoyable so stay tuned for some great Mobility exercises to come lastly the ball and socket hip joint as well as appreciating the lumbo pelvic motion that occurs during the pistol squat a full range of motion pistol squat is going to be very demanding in this region specifically the femur is going to have to move through its full range of motion in the acetabulum of the pelvis in addition the hip and core musculature are being asked to help stabilize the pelvis in all three planes of motion as the pelvis and the lumbar spine are going to till posteriorly as well as Flex by the time you're at the bottom of the pistol squat so we need this body region to work in harmony otherwise we won't have a stable base to work with but without a stable base you could trigger compensation down the entire kinetic chain now that we understand a bit more about the specific joints and regions of the body that need mobility in order to perform a pistol squat let's dive into some excellent Mobility exercise options to Target each area if needed ankle dorsiflexion is up first I want you to grab a sturdy chair or a box and follow along as I'll show you a really great exercise to mobilize your ankle specific to Pistol squatting I will be demonstrating an ankle dorsiflexion stretch contract relax exercise using this box get one foot set up on the Box in front of you as it makes it easier to perform this exercise next you're going to move your knee directly over your toes while trying to keep your heel flat on the grounds until you reach a point where you feel some resistance at this point I want you to stop now you're going to focus on pushing your foot into the ground like you're doing a heel raise but we're going to perform this isometrically where nothing is moving we're going to hold this for at least 10 seconds then relax and then repeat the process I'll Progressive your knee over your toes until you feel more resistance then contract then relax I really like to do a set of at least three contracts and relaxes take a break and then repeat with this exercise we're hoping to achieve autogenic inhibition and stress relaxation of the gastroc soleus muscle complex to allow for more ankle dorsiflexion range of motion which is going to make it easier to get your knees over your toes we're just going to make it easier to pistol squat up next knee flexion and tibial accessory motion I want to review two different exercises the first being Mobility focus with less weight-bearing demands the second exercise will be more of a movement progression of how to improve tolerating loaded knee flexion so first up we have the lateral tibia Glide we're back to the Box in a similar setup to the first ankle Mobility exercises that we did this is at first going to feel like another rank exercise which it is to an extent but we're going to be a little bit more Mindful and intentional at the knee joint as well using your hand on the same side as the foot that is on the box you're going to maintain pressure and support in the front as well as the inside of your ankle and make sure it does not lift up or roll over with your hands supporting your foot and ankle you're going to focus on rotating your knee away from your hands so that your knee is outside the lateral aspect of your foot towards your pinky toe from here put as much pressure into the box you can by pushing down through your entire leg this should add pressure to your knee then while maintaining that pressure progress your knee forward and away from your foot as far as you can while maintaining your heel fine on the ground return to the starting position and repeat the lateral tibia Glide exercise is an excellent Mobility option to set you up for success with pistol squatting the second exercise is more so a movement progression like I mentioned how do you begin tolerating loaded knee flexion well a great way to start with this is grab a wedge and follow along Step One is can you even tolerate a goblet squat with your heels elevated on the wedge having the heels elevated gives our ankle joints more slack making it much easier to move our knees over our toes allowing us to load the knee joint I want you to focus on range of motion remember the pistol squat is not a shallow range of motion exercise once you achieve a deep Gauntlet squat on both legs progress them one leg now focus on your balance your eccentric control as you lower down your transition Point can you master holding that position can you hold that position with your other leg in front of you like a true pistol squat working through this progression is part of the building blocks to being able to successfully pistol Squad last but not least let's tackle hip mobility same thing let's review two different exercises one that is less weight-bearing and the other one more first up we have a posterior hip mobilization in that quadruped position on our hands and knees this may not look like it's that much weight bearing but as we shift our way back towards the target hip the posterior lateral structures of that hip including soft tissue and connective tissue are going to take on some load in addition to mobilizing muscles and connective tissue the thought is this exercise is also going to Target and have an influence on the posterior hip capsule the hip in the shoulder share some commonalities if you're dealing with pain in the front of the shoulder we tend to Target the posterior shoulder musculature and soft tissue with strength and Mobility exercises this is true for the hip as well if you're dealing with pain or discomfort in the front of your hip with deep hip flexion like you need to when you're pistol squatting mobilizing the back of the hip can also provide relief the next exercise is going to be a slow eccentric step down strengthen to lengthen concept by performing a slow eccentric muscle contraction working through your full range of motion you're going to improve hip flexion range motion and stability at end ranges which is the best way to ensure long-term Mobility gains talk a lot about this concept in our full body Mobility Program how often should you do these Mobility exercises great question the key to successful Mobility training is consistency just like many other things in life so we recommend trying to complete some version of these Mobility exercises daily to get the most out of them if you're wanting to perform your first pistol squat on top of Mobility you will also need the necessary strength to perform this movement thus I challenge you to join me by signing up for the prehab app and committing to the pistol spot program we've organized a two-week program with daily education and exercise that pairs the best mobility and strengthening exercises together to help you with pistol squatting with injury prevention in mind I'm excited for this program myself because I've recently just completed my first Ironman event it's time to transition to some off-season training and trust me my body is in some desperate need of mobility and strength training to do anything other than just swimming biking and running the best part is this program will be available for a limited time to all app members as well as our premium members long term until next time prehab see ya hey did you like this video if you did you should definitely check out the prehab app it includes all of our programs a brand new workout library and tons more videos like the one you saw today check it out by clicking on this link you get a free trial take control of your health today

Channel: [P]rehab

Views: 2,131

Keywords: theprehabguys, prehab, physicaltherapy, physio, physiotherapy, prehabguys, workout, exercise, stretch, stretching, mobility, rehab, rehabilitation, chiro, chiropractor, physical therapy, therapy, mobilize, stability, movement, pistol squat, how to pistol squat, exercises to pistol squat

Id: 4epmJSYfsW8

Length: 9min 56sec (596 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 08 2023