bwwm Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Recently up'd the weight on my pistols to 53#'s. I don't do very many of these because they do put the lumbar vertebrae in flexion which is not good for the discs. If I go heavier for the Beast Tamer challenge, I'll need to work a much reduced range of motion (hip below knee). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demarcoa Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 That's pretty impressive for a big dude. If you're gonna decrease ROM maybe just do low box pistols, cut out the lowest 6'' or so... that seems to be where you lose a bit of control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwwm Posted April 15, 2012 Author Share Posted April 15, 2012 (edited) Thanks for the kudos and feedback! I agree 100%. For the 'beast tamer challenge', they only have to be below parallel. So I was thinking of making up a box a little bit lower than that. I think the key thing will be holding the heavier bells out far enough so I don't have to flex my back as much. Edited April 15, 2012 by bwwm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted April 15, 2012 Share Posted April 15, 2012 Nice strength/balance/flexibility on display there! I want to train pistols as part of my rehab from an ankle break, but i find that at the bottom of the movement my non-standing leg swings across my body and unbalances me. Did you suffer from this to begin with? I'm guessing that it's just a strength and core issue, but if you experienced it too perhaps you could lend me some advice Best of luck with your training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwwm Posted April 15, 2012 Author Share Posted April 15, 2012 I started training for pistols about a year and a half ago. I didn't have a problem with my non-standing leg. The biggest problem I had at first was glute strength. I thought I tore a glute or hamstring the first time I tried to do one The two things that enabled me to do them was 1.) a box progression - just sitting down and standing back up on one leg. Then working down to lower chairs, foot stools, etc. 2.) single leg deadlifts - these can be done with any weight, and it really builds up the hamstrings and glutes. It also creates a lot of stability in the foot, ankle and calf. I never did a lot of sets at at time, just did grease the groove over many months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chosenone7 Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Great work! Pistol is a very hard bodyweight exercise for legs,then adding the kettlebell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 I started training for pistols about a year and a half ago. I didn't have a problem with my non-standing leg. The biggest problem I had at first was glute strength. I thought I tore a glute or hamstring the first time I tried to do one The two things that enabled me to do them was 1.) a box progression - just sitting down and standing back up on one leg. Then working down to lower chairs, foot stools, etc. 2.) single leg deadlifts - these can be done with any weight, and it really builds up the hamstrings and glutes. It also creates a lot of stability in the foot, ankle and calf. I never did a lot of sets at at time, just did grease the groove over many months. Thanks for the advice, the single leg deadlifts sound like a great idea for the stabilisers - i'll give them a go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demarcoa Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Thanks for the kudos and feedback! I agree 100%. For the 'beast tamer challenge', they only have to be below parallel. So I was thinking of making up a box a little bit lower than that. I think the key thing will be holding the heavier bells out far enough so I don't have to flex my back as much. I've actually found that the closer you hold the bell to your torso, the less you have to flex your back/counterbalance. When the bell is racked I can do a pistol with very little back rounding except for the bottom... that is just me though and I am very light (140lb) with a short body and long legs so my center of gravity and leverages might be different. Either way, holding a 100lb bell out at arm's length like that for any period of time would be a feat by itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwwm Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 Actually, the good thing with the heavier weights is it takes less distance to balance oneself. So theoretically, the heavier you go, the less distance you have to hold it away from the body. It can also enable one to have less back flexion as well, because then one can potentially sit back a little more for the same distance for example. Will find out for sure over the next year or so . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demarcoa Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Oh right, that would explain it--24kg is a larger percentage of my own weight so I could hold it closer in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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