CalisthenicsIn review

Box Pistol Squat

A one-leg squat to a bench or box, standing back up on the same leg.

This page is a working draft. A coach has not reviewed it, so read it as a starting point, not as checked instruction.

Pattern: Squat
Modality: Calisthenics
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mechanic: Unknown
Force: Unknown
Laterality: Unilateral
Impact: Low
Trains where: Gym, Home
At home: Yes

How to do it

Set up

Stand on one leg with your back to a bench or box, about one foot length in front of it.
Lift the other leg forward and reach the arms forward.

Do the rep

Sit the hips back and down on the standing leg, under control.
Touch the box lightly with the hips, without resting on it.
Lean forward a little and push through the whole foot to stand up on the same leg.

What counts as a rep

A rep counts when the hips touch the box under control and you stand up on the same leg without the free foot touching the floor.

One rep starts standing on one leg with the other leg forward, sits back until the hips touch the box, and ends at a full stand on the same leg; count each side.

Breathing

Breathe in as you lower; exhale as you stand.

Cues

Sit back slowly.
Arms forward for balance.
Use a lower box when the reps get easy.

Common mistakes

Dropping onto the box
What you seeThe hips fall onto the box at the end of the descent.
FixLower more slowly or use a higher box.
A controlled descent trains the leg and protects the back.
Rocking to stand
What you seeThe body rocks back and swings forward to get off the box.
FixLean forward before you push, and use a higher box.
A rep that uses a swing does not train the standing leg through the full range.

Stop the set if

Stop if you feel sharp pain in the knee or hip.
Stop if the box moves.
End the set when you cannot stand up on one leg without rocking or putting the free foot down.

General educational content, not individual coaching or medical advice.

Muscles worked

Prime movers

Quadriceps · moderate confidence
Glutes · moderate confidence

Assisting

Hamstrings · moderate confidence
Adductors · moderate confidence
Deep core / trunk stabilizers · moderate confidence

Equipment

Bodyweight + Bench or Box step

Use a stable bench or box that will not slide. Start with a box at about knee height and use a lower one over time.

In the app

You log this by hand. The camera coach does not watch this movement yet.

Tracking: Camera candidate

How this page was checked

Draft. A coach reviewer has not signed this off yet.

Draft text is original copy for Wave 2 batch 4, written from the blueprint CSV row and the Wave 2 rules page of 2026-10-12. No human review is complete.
Technique, cues, rep standard, breathing, stop cues, and error corrections need independent sources and the assigned review tier (blueprint two-source rule).
Programming roles, skill tier, failure cost, timed use, goal fit, and equipment follow the rules page; the switch-on PR must confirm them.
Anatomy uses the CSV planning hints; the assigned review tier must confirm it.
Legacy relations and engine edges stay empty until the progression ladder lane and S2-CAT-005.
Timed use and goal fit copy ex_bulgarian_split_squat, the closest Wave 1 record.
The CSV says bilateral. One leg does the work, so the record counts each side (rule 1).
Rule 2 gives one-leg squat rows single_leg and secondary_lower, as the Wave 1 lunges.
Skill tier intermediate: the box makes the pistol squat (advanced, rule 3) easier, so the record treats it as an assisted variant, one tier lower. The CSV says beginner. Failure cost moderate: the user must control the stop on one leg (rule 3).
Exception to rule 1: the CSV lists a box-step as optional. The movement needs a raised support, so the record requires a bench or a box-step. Home stays yes, because a bench is a home item.

All instruction and editorial text in this record is original draft copy written for Allena. Planning metadata comes from the internal Wave-2 blueprint CSV.

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