Exercise library

How to do the Kettlebell Pistol Squat

A expert compound exercise using kettlebell, working the quadriceps.

Primary musclesQuadriceps
Secondary musclesCalves, Glutes, Hamstrings, Shoulders
EquipmentKettlebell
LevelExpert
TypeCompound
ForcePush

Steps

  1. Pick up a kettlebell with two hands and hold it by the horns. Hold one leg off of the floor and squat down on the other.
  2. Squat down by flexing the knee and sitting back with the hips, holding the kettlebell up in front of you.
  3. Hold the bottom position for a second and then reverse the motion, driving through the heel and keeping your head and chest up.
  4. Lower yourself again and repeat.

Tracking it in OneRep

Add the kettlebell pistol squat to a routine and your previous weight and reps sit beside every set, so the decision to add load is made by what is already on the screen rather than by memory. Exercise history and volume trends are one tap away, and logging works offline for the gyms where signal does not reach.

Because OneRep tracks food on the same timeline, a stall on this lift can be read against what you were actually eating that month — which is the difference between a programming problem and an eating one. More on that in tracking progressive overload without a spreadsheet.

Where the instructions come from

The steps above come from free-exercise-db, a public-domain exercise dataset. They are general guidance, not coaching for your body: if a movement hurts, stop and get someone qualified to look at it.