Legs · Bodyweight
Pistol Squat to Box
How to do the pistol squat to box, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Logged as
- Reps
- Movement
- Squat
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand on one leg in front of a box or bench with the other leg extended out in front of you. Push your hips back and lower under control on the standing leg until your glutes lightly touch the box, then drive through your heel to stand back up without losing balance.
- 1The standing leg's quad and glute controlling the descent
- 2Core braced and the free leg held out for balance
- 3A drive through the heel to stand after lightly touching the box
Common mistakes
- Dropping or plopping onto the box; use it as a depth guide
- Letting the standing knee cave inward
- Losing tension at the bottom; stay engaged to stand back up
Muscles worked
The pistol squat to box mainly works the quads and glutes, with the hamstrings, lower back, upper abs, lower abs, calves, adductors, and hip flexors assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- HamstringsSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- AdductorsSupport
- Hip FlexorsSupport
- ObliquesMinor
- Tibialis AnteriorMinor
Kovo programs the pistol squat to box for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More quads exercises
- How to do the resistance band squat
- How to do the resistance band squat to press
- How to do the resistance band thruster
- How to do the resistance band squat walk
- How to do the barbell squat
- How to do the barbell bulgarian split squat
Last reviewed June 2026.