The Pistol Fight is the fitness challenge of  May 2009.

Join the Pistol Fight!

This is how the challenge goes:

A pistol is a one-legged squat, one legged raised in front of you and kept parallel to the floor while slowly squatting down one your other leg and then pressing up again.
Voila! Easy right?

On the first of May make as many pistols as you can alternating between your left and right leg. Practice like crazy for a month and on May 31st try again. Greatest improvement wins! You challenge yourself here so set a challenging but realistic goal!

Tips for the novice!

If you’re struggling with one pistol start with half-pistols from a chair.

• Sit on the edge of the chair with a straight back, extend one leg and position the other leg on the floor as close to the imaginary vertical line extending from head to butt.
• Extend your arms in front of you to aid balance.
• Toes and heel to the floor (avoid balancing on your toes) slowly press yourself  up to standing and in controlled movement sit back down again.
• Repeat for the other leg.

When you master 10 half-pistols on each leg I suggest you start practicing aided pistols.

The aided pistols are complete pistols but with an aid to keep balance and momentum. They can be done in two ways, start with placing a chair next to you and hold on to the back of the chair through the range of motion, using your hand to push you through the tough parts of the motion and to keep balance. One you complete 10 of these on each leg move to the 2nd type of aided pistols. Fasten the middle of  a rope in front of you in shoulder height, grab both ends of the rope and start your pistol. Use the ropes to pull yourself up to keep momentum and balance.

For more tips on the pistol see this article from Power Athletes Magazine.

One you’ve completed 10 rope aided pistols on each leg it’s time for the real stuff!

Challenge for the intermediate pistoleer

Steve Cotter Weighted Pistols

If 10 pistols per leg is a piece of cake add some weight for a weighted pistol. Grab a kettlebell, hold it close to your chest or in extended arms and get going! Check these videos for some further ideas on how to challenge yourself.

Advanced pistoleers only

Try the jumping pistols to build explosivity. Step one is to explode out of the bottom position to jump as high as you can, land on the same leg again (still the other leg extended) and rebound up to repeat.

When 10 of these on each legs is too easy it’s time to clean the kitchen table….

Start up on the kitchen table (or on any stable table / chair / bench of a height somewhere between your knees and hips). Extend one leg and jump down to the floor, all the way down through the motion of a normal pistol, round with explosivity to jump back onto the table again. As soon as your foot land on the table explode up again to jump off the table to repeat.

Be inspired by Steve Cotter in this video. Steve Cotter’s jumping pistols!

Let me know how you’re progressing!

Use the comments to post your start count, update me on your progress and I

Acemazing Balancing Weighted Pistols

look forward to hear about your results come May 31st!

Enjoy the muscle pain!

Trivia: Pistol is originally a Czech word for pipe or whistle (píšt’ala) and took it’s current meaning from the use of píšt’ala as a slang term for a light harquebus used during the Hussite wars ca. 1420-1434.