The pistol squat takes balance, flexibility, mobility, and strength. It even helps with vertical explosivity when combined with jumping exercises. Also, quite importantly, it helps even out the imbalances between your legs. People typically have one leg that is stronger than the other and/or one leg that is more flexible than the other—the pistol squat helps to address this imbalance.

Forearm stretches can feel great as well, and Pavel’s book Super Joints is a very good option. It could be as simple as going on your hands and knees and walking your hands to the outside and back until your fingers are pointing at your knees. From here, shift your weight to the rear while keeping the heels of your hands on the floor.

Mistake #4: Pulling With Your Biceps & Not Your Lats!
Mistake #6: Not Stabilizing Your Lower Body

Some readers, who are not familiar with our School of Strength, the system, and the exercises, may not know all the drills, which are mentioned in the chapter. They can of course spend some time trying to find them on YouTube, but what they find may not necessarily be exemplary of what we do in StrongFirst.

To make life easier (regarding searching for info, not practicing), my wife Justyna and I created a short overview video of all the exercises featured in Pavel’s chapter.

The hip joint is one of the most mobile in the body, so why can’t you move yours? Most people I know waste their time with:

Foam rolling
Couch stretching, and
Lounging in pigeon pose

Headstands are great place to begin your journey to a handstand push-up (HSPU). They allow you to get comfortable upside down while building your balance. Headstands might be the end goal for some or a progression to the HSPU for others. Either way, they build your core and your bent-arm strength while also strengthening your shoulder stabilizers.