Pistol — Light Counterweight + Heel Flat

Squat · reps · unilateral Counterweight cut to a token — the torso and back take over the balancing.

The movement

The full pistol with only a light counterweight (~1–2 kg). With most of the external help gone, the body balances through its own leverage: the torso leans further forward, the arms reach further, the back works harder. The mechanics are close to the free pistol now, with a small assist remaining.

Set-up — and what each part is for

  • Foot flat; free leg forward, off the floor.
  • Light counterweight ~1–2 kg, arms extended forward (a 1.5 L bottle, a thick book, a small weight). → feel how little it gives — the balance is now mostly you.
  • Torso upright to start.

The rep — rehearse it before you do it

  • Descend in 2–3 s: knee bends, hips back, torso leans forward more than with the heavy weight to stay over the foot; arms reach out. → feel the back and torso doing the counterbalancing the heavy weight used to do.
  • Bottom: hamstring near/on calf, 1 s, heel planted.
  • Drive up through the whole foot.
  • Switch sides after all reps on one side.

Breathing

Inhale on the descent, exhale on the drive up; brief brace at the bottom is fine.

Watch for

  • Trying to stay too upright → with a light weight, an upright torso tips you backward; the deeper forward lean is intended.
  • Falling backward at the bottom → not enough forward lean, or still balancing as if the weight were heavy.
  • Forward collapse → too much lean / depth beyond current control.
  • Heel lifting → ankle range; drop back to level 7 if it recurs.

Within the level

  • Harder: drop the weight entirely (arms only — the next level); slower descent; pause.
  • Easier: a bit more counterweight (toward level 7); a fingertip for balance.

Dose

Test a clean max per side, then practice at half of the weaker side rounded down, capped at 5 reps per set, same count both sides, weaker side first, spread through the day. Expect this to feel harder than the small weight change suggests — losing the heavy weight’s balancing effect is the real step.