Kettlebell Pistol Squat

Muscles worked

The prime movers are the quadriceps across the front of the thigh, which straighten the knee and, just as importantly, control it on the way back down.

Because more than one joint is moving, the work does not stay in one place: the calves control the ankle and hold the heel position; the glutes finish hip extension; the hamstrings assist hip extension and slow the knee down.

The shoulders take a share of the work as well.

Every exercise for:QuadricepsCalvesGlutesHamstringsShoulders

How this movement works

The working muscles shorten as they drive the load away from you, and more than one joint changes angle to do it. Load spreads down a chain instead of sitting on one muscle, which is why a compound push handles more weight than any single-joint alternative — and why joint position, not the muscle, is usually what fails first.

It is filed under strength: produce force against resistance for a countable number of repetitions, and progress the resistance over time.

What you need

A kettlebell's mass hangs below and outside the handle, so it pulls away from the grip and the wrist has to stay packed. That offset is why racked and swinging variations feel nothing like the dumbbell version.

Every exercise using:Kettlebell

These train the quadriceps too, using equipment this one does not:

• Lateral Lunge with Bicep Curl with Dumbbelldumbbell
• Leg Extensionsmachine
• Lying Prone Quadricepsbody only
• Narrow Stance Squat with Barbellbarbell
• Quadriceps-SMRfoam roll

Difficulty

Listed at expert level. It asks for range, stability or speed that takes time to build, and it punishes a rushed set-up much harder than an easier movement would.

Of the 173 quadriceps exercises in this database, 18 are listed at expert level.