Single-Leg Box Squat — Chair (~45 cm)

Squat · reps · unilateral Pistol pattern, more depth: the same touch-and-rise to a chair-height surface.

The movement

The single-leg box squat to a chair or bench (~45 cm). Deeper than the high box, the same pattern: free leg forward, sit back to a light touch, stand up on one leg. The chair removes the hardest bottom portion of the full pistol while you train the rest.

Set-up — and what each part is for

• Chair/bench ~45 cm behind you; stand ~5–10 cm in front, working foot flat.
• Free leg forward, just off the floor, knee straight. → feel it balance you forward over the foot.
• Arms forward or crossed; torso upright; no hand on the chair.

The rep — rehearse it before you do it

• Descend in 2–3 s: knee bends, hips back, torso leans forward, free leg stays up. → feel the working quadriceps (front-thigh muscle) and glute (buttock muscle) lower you under control.
• Bottom: buttocks tap the seat (1 s), still under tension — not a seated rest.
• Drive up through the whole foot to standing.
• Switch sides after all reps on one side.

Breathing

Inhale on the descent, exhale on the drive up.

Watch for

• Sitting fully and bouncing → light tap, no weight on the chair.
• Free leg dropping → hip flexor fatigue; mid-set means the set is over.
• Working heel lifting → ankle mobility starting to limit; work ankle drills in parallel, stay at the high box meanwhile.
• Falling backward → more forward torso lean.

Within the level

• Harder: lower the surface toward the low box; slower descent; pause at the bottom.
• Easier: raise the surface (back toward the high box); fingertip on a side support 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.