I felt a bit out of my depth in the gym, when I first joined in January. Then I had 6 weeks of small group PT, used a range of different equipment, got taught to deadlift, and saw how she structured workouts. Now I go with a general idea in mind about what part I want to work but can adapt depending on what equipment is free.
Thank you very much Sharkie, V’rap, I’ll not be quite so shy then.
The pistol squat story. First time I saw a pistol I thought “nice trick, but it’s nothing more than that, a circus trick”. I was learning a lot of S&C (mainly with a guy called Sam Dovey, the coach that coached Zoe Smith to her Commonwealth Gold medal in Olympic Lifting) so was really into Olympic Lifting, not going over 5 reps, lifting heavy, and got a bit blinkered. I was high bar back squatting 120kg for 5 off 80kg body weight. A few years later (about 18 months ago) I was on a recovery week & thought I’d try pistols out for a laugh. I can still squat 120kg for 5, got to be easy enough to squat less than body weight on 1 leg, right? Wrong. Oh so wrong. So very, very wrong. The results were less than spectacular, unlike the subsequent tantrum and sulk, which were world class. I shook, shook like a jelly on a trampoline in an earthquake and could get down, maybe 15 degrees, if I’m being generous. My foot stability was non existent which knackered any chance of a decent range of motion. The bite out of my ego and the subsequent bruising were huge. 18 months later I still can’t pistol squat all the way down but foot stability is enormously improved and I can now break parallel. It’s slow progress, sometimes frustratingly, painfully slow but progress non the less…and it’s fun learning the new skill.
When I was trying to learn how to ice skate we used to do ‘shoot the duck’ during the warm up. It’s like a pistol squat, but on skates. I was not good at it (and I’m not good at actual pistol squats either).
Thanks Sharkie and Vrap, agree with Kobo that we don't don't want to spoil the flow/ get in the way.
Pistol is something I'd like to be able to do but not sure I'll ever be dedicated enough to get to the point of being able to. The was a point when I thought it would be useful for getting over an injury that I could do it just about while hold a weight in front of me (helps to stop tipping backwards) and in weightlifting shoes (reducing the ankle flexibility demand).
Using a TRX/ suspension trainer is another way to do it with assistance.
Just caught up with a few days' worth of posts on here.
Pix, if you scroll down that Argos link for the dumb bells, there's another set including barbell for the same price and a weightier one below for £80.
My PT always prefers me to do the arm work separately as the uneven-ness helps to engage the core more.
Those pistol squats look like a killer.
When I did ice skating I think we called that a teapot for some unknown reason.
Always nice to have the comments from SPR and Kodo.
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The Six Pack Revolution
Oct 2023