lol

A lack of a gym membership and verbose weight training equipment (no squat rack or barbells) has forced me to improvise and use these types of movements.

Did my first sets of pistol squats last Friday, that was an AWESOME leg workout.  Not just for my thighs, but also the muscles under my butt, glutes I think?  Both are still sore today, almost 4 days later.

I was only able to manage 1 full rep with my left leg and 2 full reps with my right, had to use my forklift forks as a bench after that.  We'll see if the next sets go smoothly, waiting until the DOMS is gone before I do another leg workout.

If you lower yourself with both legs and stand with one you can get the concentric trainng effect without the eccentric soreness.

Is there no benefit to eccentric muscle contraction?  I knew from reading in the past that eccentric movements tend to be what really cause DOMS but I figured that it conferred some kind of benefit as far as strength/muscle building goes?

As long as it's myofibrillar hypertrophy, that's what I should be aiming for right?  I still sit at around 130lbs right now, very lacking in the hypertrophy department in general lol and if I understand correctly, hypertrophy = mass?

I haven't really squatted anything significant for quite some time, the soreness is probably less indicative of training effectiveness and more indicative of the fact that my legs needed a kick in the proverbial ass.  These are going to be part of every single workout I do now, I'll superset them with weighted pushups or pull ups, or dips.

Is there any benefit to these pistol squats over ordinary squats with more weight?

The point of pistol squats is that you're putting a larger load (i.e. your bodyweight) onto one leg, hence why a pistol is harder than a normal squat with both legs. They are useful for improving your strength:bodyweight ratio and challenge your balance too! You could argue it takes more skill to do a pistol, but everyone has their own opinion. Once you're proficient with them in whatever rep range you're using, you can start adding weight to them, just like normal squats.

Personally speaking, heavy full ROM squats are far better when it comes to hypertrophy. And if you do heavy squats for strength, there's a good chance you should be able to whip out some pistols if your balance is good! So pick what you prefer.

If your aim is to do pistols, start doing pistols.

Pistol squats come down to not just balance but also core strength as well as hip and hamstring flexibility.
They are, in my opinion, one of the most effective body weight exercises for developing functional lower body strength and coordination.
However, I prefer broader movements like climbing, jumping, and lifting-- Besides the fact they training in this way is so much more fun, and have found that I am able to develop this same kind of strength through physical exploration and experimentation. Plus, by training movements that apply to a broad range of activities and physical pursuits, one is able to better prepare themselves for the physical challenges that life throws our way.

Cheers,

Logan

They get even more interesting in gymnastics - jumping for height and/or distance from the bottom of the squat and landing strictly on one leg!

Check out Steve Cotter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmzRysSj2T4&feature=related