Pistol squat imbalance

[Raw Power]

I am currently training pistol squats while the gyms are closed. I can do 10 clean reps with my left leg but only 3 or 4 wobbly reps with my right leg. I have no idea why this is the case. I'm not aware of any injuries in my right leg. However, my right knee was starting to bother me when I hit parallel on high bar squats. That was about 3 weeks ago. I don't currently have any pain but I'm concerned about the imbalance, especially since I was already training barbell squats for 8 weeks. Should I focus on training only my right leg until it catches up to my left? Or should I try another exercise?

[Nick D'Agostino]

Do not be concerned about the imbalance. A skill deficit is most likely a significant contributor to this. Especially if you are a righty when you do a pistol with your left leg, you can make small adjustments with your right leg to stay in balance and not fall over. You are probably less coordinated in your left leg and less able to make the precise center of mass adjustments to stay inbalance and not fall over when your right leg is on the floor.

[Raw Power]

You're right. I think it's more of a balance issue than a strength issue. My left leg is my jumping leg. My right leg has better foot-eye coordination for kicking but I never use it for jumping or support. I'm doing the pistols without holding onto anything because I want to really strengthen my ankles as well. By watching my knee, concentrating on controlling the eccentric, and not going too deep below parallel, I managed to get 7 reps on the right leg for the second set. I then decided to match that with my left leg. I think that's how I'll proceed training this exercise. Hopefully in combination with weighted good mornings and weighted lateral lunges, I'll be able to maintain my barbell squat somewhat.

[Nick D'Agostino]

Sounds like a plan! You will still have some detraining and will benefit from doing a short LP when you get back to the barbell but finding some way to continue to exercise will reduce the rate of decline as you already noted.