These New Calisthenics Leg Exercises Might Provide

More Benefits than the Back Squat and Upper-Body

Workouts
Research article author: Xprince Durante
Date of publish: April 30, 2024
Initial site of publish: Academia.edu
Reference permission: Allowed

WHAT’S THE PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH ARTICLE?

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives, it is
the one that is most adaptable to change”, Charles Darwin once taught to us [1]. So, the
purpose of this research is to solve the problems of the limitations of our physical body when
it comes to exercising. Unilateral squats or one-leg squats are just some of the examples that
can make it very challenging for us humans to move freely. Especially when doing a one-leg
squat, balance and strength are very much involved and can affect the variables drastically.
Balance (as proprioception) and strength (as dynamic force) are the main variables in this
research that determine the effectivity of the new physical exercises, or in short, new
variations of a one-leg squat. Since these new squats, which I invented while I was developing
the idea of XSAMEC, may not currently be as commonly practiced as the regular squats, push-
ups, or even a planche, only this research alone is the very first scientific study ever of the
movements I invented. The methods and data for this research are solely based on pre-
existing unilateral squats (pistol and split squat). After all, both pistol squat and my squats fall
into the category of unilateral leg exercises, but the required amount of balance and flexibility
intensifies for my squats, so we can logically assume that the strength and balance needed for
these new exercises can be improved better than with pistol squat and back squat. The only
difference will lie in how much force and what physical structure pistol squat and my squats
deviate from each other. However, to perform my squats is to perform a pistol squat 10x
harder. That’s right, because pistol squat is (for an advanced calisthenics athlete like me) only
one of the basic leg movements out there [2] apart from lunge, shrimp squat, figure-4 squat,
and even the hard dragon squat. The trend of calisthenics legs is beginning to showcase its
talents on the internet when it comes to mobility, flexibility, and balance.
 WHAT ARE THE NEW EXERCISES FOR?
As mentioned above, these new calisthenics leg exercises are very difficult to achieve
compared to back squats or even a pistol squat (except the Xprince1 squat). I got a list of
about 10 calisthenics leg movements, and only some of them can be executed with success,
and some of them are highly dangerous, and therefore, not recommended due to safety
concerns. Calisthenics legs is a branch of the school of calisthenics itself [3]. It has been around
for a long time and even illustrated in an exercise book published by the United States War
Department [4]. Since we got many athletes from different disciplines (bodybuilding, cross-fit,
power-lifting, weightlifting, etc….) that complain about my fellow calisthenics athletes having
skinny upper-body build or even low-body build, the time has come for calisthenics to show
how much strength and muscular build it can generate for someone who practices it. The list
of my invented squats is as follows: Xprince1 squat, PH-US Balikatan Squat, Xprince3 squat,
Xprince4 squat, Xprince5 squat, Xprince6 squat, Xprince7 squat, Xprince’s Unliftable Nike,
MICHAW squat, and the last impossible one is Xprince’s one-toe squat (not executable yet).
The interesting thing about creating variations for exercise is putting more pressure on specific
muscle groups in our body. For example, doing a back squat which is compound, recruit many
different regions of muscles, but it doesn’t focus on balance unlike when doing a pistol squat.
Variations make the effect and benefits of an exercise more diverse and flexible. Most fitness
trainers would actually tell you to not just focus on a single exercise, but rather combine many
different exercises to achieve the best result because factors like balance, coordination,
strength, explosivity, and flexibility matter, and they’re even connected to each other. I think
the quality of athleticism still entails a perfect combination of different types of workouts that
target specific goals. I’m don’t want to put up a debate with powerlifters, but sometimes they
neglect other aspects of strength (relative strength, explosive strength, endurance strength,
etc...) as they think that absolute strength is the only way to achieve a 500-pound deadlift.
Although, it’s scientifically true that absolute strength or making your body bulky is the fastest
approach out there, the aftermaths usually outweigh its long-term benefits to your healthy
lifestyle. So, instead of training for a heavy-squat feat, why not train for a more diverse and
beneficial feat? Instead of focusing on a heavy back squat, why not add weights to your
unilateral squats which can give more benefits like stability, flexibility, focus, strength,
diversity, coordination, and also isolated muscular activity. The research evidence below
shows what specific muscle group the unilateral squat (Rear-Leg Elevated Split Squat) targets
more than the back squat do.
EFFECTIVITY OF XPRINCE’S SQUATS COMPARED TO
BACK SQUAT
A good amount of source suggests that single-leg squats are possibly better than the back
squats when it comes to targeting specific lower-body muscle groups. One of them is this
research study published to NIH [5], a participant list of nine healthy men performed both
back squats and single-leg squats (rear-leg elevated split squat & split squat), and the result
from the electromyography showed an insight on how the rear-leg elevated split squat
outscored the double-leg squat with respect to muscular electric activity on the biceps femoris
(one responsible for leg flexibility). Basing on statistical analysis below, performing an Xprince4
squat (which is 20x harder than a rear-leg elevated split squat) can beat a back squat not just
in strength but in balance, probably because the force is isolated on just one foot producing
GRF (Ground Reaction Force) mainly from the balance requirement. More research studies are
ought to be done to strengthen this fact however.

Photo source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4831851/

ANOTHER EVIDENCE THAT CAN MAKE XPRINCE’S
SQUATS DOMINATE BACK SQUATS
Although the suggestion that a 2x-bodyweight back squat is equivalent to doing a pistol squat
50-60 percent of your bodyweight hasn’t undergone a methodological research analysis, quite
a few articles mathematically explained why it’s possible and accurate to equalize the intensity
of both barbell back squats and a weight-loaded pistol squat [6 & 7]. And since an Xprince4
squat or other Xprince’s squats are significantly harder than all unilateral squat variations, let’s
assume that the percentage of your bodyweight it needs to match the 2x-the-bodyweight back
squat is only probably around 10 percent which is in fact lower compared to that percentage
of the weight-loaded pistol squat (50-60%). Another factor to consider here is the body’s
ability to balance in motion, or the proprioception in scientific sense if you may. So, the
constructive question is why focus on a back squat, which gives you little balance requirement
actually, instead of a harder variation that can pay off your strength and proprioception both
simultaneously in the long term. I mean I understand people saying it’s quite amazing to
perform heavy lifts in the gym and maybe show it off on the internet, right?, but calisthenics
moves are also hell of an impressive feat if you can think about it. In fact, the calisthenics
community has been gaining so much attention on the internet since the beginning of the
Covid-19 pandemic [8]. Also, in terms of safety, it’s reasonable enough for the unilateral
squats to win because you don’t even have to have a whole bunch of heavy equipment to
perform the exercise. You won’t get injured by the heavy weights on your back if you ever
flop. That is to say, performing an Xprince4 squat is safer than a back squat because
mathematically, a 2x-the-bodyweight back squat is equivalent to a 50-percent-of-the-
bodyweight pistol squat. The balance required for the Xprince4 squat is also harder than a
pistol squat, and that means more strength in quads and calves is needed, and just like what I
theoretically calculated, doing Xprince4 ten percent of your bodyweight might be equivalent
to a loaded pistol squat (50-60% of bodyweight) considering the difference between the two
exercises when it comes to strength and balance. Although, Xprince4 is literally harder to
achieve than a 2x-the-bodyweight back squat (because many can do it), the chance of getting
a heart attack or a blood clot in the brain is relatively higher for the back squat [9]. The world
has seen enough jeopardy that the back squat brings to anyone who attempts to do more than
what their body is capable of lifting (famously referred to as EGO LIFTING). But with the
Xprince4 squat, how can you do such ego-lifting if you haven’t even learned the movement
yet? People ego-lift because the two-legged squat is too easy, and they just want to go further.
 CALISTHENICS LEGS VS CALISTHENICS BODY
Even though the two are of the same branch of calisthenics, there are still undeniable
differences when it comes to ripping off the benefits. So, when it comes to who the king really
is, who do you think takes the crown? Who gives the most athletic and muscular benefits? If
you’re unfamiliar how the worldwide fitness industry regards squat as, then you’ll know right
here, right now that squat is called the “king of all exercises” [10]. But why is that? For so
many reasons, squat is viewed as the exercise that targets almost all the muscle groups
throughout our body. For example, if you do a back squat, it’s not only your quads, glutes,
hamstrings, calves, and toes that are recruited but also your upper-body muscles (biceps,
chest, abs, triceps, hip, back spine, and even your neck). Unlike a back squat, a push-up would
only use your upper-body muscle groups not your lower body. You can’t grow muscles in
quadriceps and calves with just push-ups, but kinematically, back squats can directly target
your chest and bicep muscles and even grow them(not just in a way push-ups do) by squatting
heavy [11]. Although there’s no alternative to push-ups for desirably growing your upper-body
build, the squat is undeniably helpful for recruiting the upper-body muscles more than the
push-ups do for the lower-body muscles with the exception of doing a push-up while there are
a number of plates resting on your hamstrings. In that case though, you’re gonna look like a
showoff in the gym HAHAHAHAHA. Seriously though, even with the exception, still, the gravity
is not with you, but why? Because growing your lower body more efficiently (quads, calves,
hamstrings etc..) requires you to be vertical not horizontal. Do you get what I mean? Sure
there’s an optimal muscular contraction that can happen in your quads while doing a push-up,
but that’s for proper posture, not for an actual gravitational pull for your lower-body muscles.
It’s because your feet are physiologically connected all the way to your quads. Without the
gravity and the ground going against your feet’s sole, you’d just be flexing it voluntarily,
without the help of the gravity dragging your body down to the ground in a vertical position. I
guess that’s the physics of it! Anyways, comparing a back squat to a push-up is like comparing
an Xprince4 squat to a planche, both are very challenging calisthenics moves indeed. But who
drives more benefits, an Xprince4 squat or a planche? There’s no guarantee, but I’m a hundred
percent sure that it depends on your goal. If you your goal is to build upper-body aesthetics
and strength, then go for the planche, but if you wanna train your lower body for balance,
dynamic force, and become aesthetically like Tom Platz, then I recommend my squats to you,
got it?? In realistic cases however, unilateral squats induce more proprioception and ground
reaction force compared to a planche which is literally a full-package static movement. The
ROM (Range of Motion) is also suppressed with the planche while with a one-leg squat like the
pistol squat, the body’s unstable movement for balance creates an accumulating pressure on
the ground. Even if this is just a mere assumption, considering I have no research reference to
back this up, I do follow the logic of Newton’s second law of motion (ACCELERATION) in that
force is always equal to the mass times the acceleration [12]. Since there’s little range of
motion for the planche, which is static and is therefore low on acceleration, the force may not
increase gradually like that in the case of doing a pistol squat (with depth). Although, with
some consideration however, the required amount of strength for the planche is very
demanding and enormous, still we’re talking about the force that’s induced on the ground
during a motion (GRF) not the muscular contraction that happens inside your myofibers during
a planche. Some also say there’s balance requirement for planche, but it’s the mere strength
that’s needed to support your own bodyweight while your lower-body part is floating in the
air. Unlike the planche, the pistol squat is the real test of balance and proprioception because
there’s a dynamic force that occurs for each phase of motion (concentric and eccentric).
Another reason why the planche doesn’t much induce ground reaction force is that it only
uses the upper-body part unlike the pistol that requires the whole body’s weight to rely on it
for balance and strength. We can scientifically and mathematically understand this through
the equation of pressure [13] like: P = Force / Area. The area for pistol squats is very limited
(using only one leg), and the force factor also contributes to the amount of pressure as there’s
more ROM for the pistol than for the planche, and the whole body’s vertical weight is an
addition to that. One last factor is the strength that’s used for balance (it’s different from the
strength used for stability like with the planche). A very detailed research needs to be
published and examined to conclude that calisthenics legs provides more muscular strength
and build than calisthenics body, but one thing is for sure, Xprince4 squat, based on physics, is
definitely the champion for proprioception and dynamic force compared to planche. This
should be included into the reasons why SQUATS are really the KING OF ALL EXERCISES!!
 DECRYPTING THE PHYSICS OF XPRINCE’S SQUATS

In this section, I’m gonna provide a tutorial-like and in-depth physics of my squats (also called
‘Xprince’s Squats’). The list of these 10 new calisthenics leg exercises is explained below.

1. Xprince1 squat – This movement is done by placing your feet aligned with each other,
but one foot has to be behind the other foot (preparation for motion). This exercise is
like a go-to calisthenics starting point towards the harder variations like pistol squat,
dragon squat, Xprince4 squat, Xprince5 squat, etc…However, this is absolutely harder
than the basic squat or even crab squat as the concentric motion leads to requiring you
to kneel down and go back up without your feet changing its own positions.

Photo source: screenshot of an original digital drawing

 2. PH-US Balikatan squat – You may wonder why the hell the name is like this HAHAHAHAHA.
With the territory tension between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea or
West Philippines Sea (whatever the monkeys call it HAHA), I kind of wanted to improve how
the Philippines and the U.S could improve the physical training (especially in squat) for the
soldiers. Let’s just hope that a war won’t happen of course! Anyways, this movement is done
by lifting your other leg and twisting it till’ your underfoot is facing sideward. This, for me, is
only a little harder than the pistol squat for the fact that the amount of force needed to twist
your leg sideways is significantly greater than that of pistol squat when extending the leg
forward. In spite of that, some may have more difficulty extending their leg straightly in pistol
squat. So, it depends on your fitness experience. When I first did the PH-US Balikatan squat,
the first muscular activity I sensed, by touch, was on the semitendinosus. I think the eccentric
phase of this exercise is harder than the concentric phase but not the concentric part of pistol
squat. With PH-US Balikatan squat, going down is easier, but it’s difficult to get up with your
other leg twisted sideways if you know what I mean. The two images below show you how it
looks and what muscles may be involved in motion.

Photo source: screenshot of an original digital drawing

Photo source: https://teachmeanatomy.info/lower-limb/muscles/thigh/hamstrings/

3. Xprince3 squat – If you’re a Yoga enthusiast, you may be familiar with the setup of this
exercise. Are you now? It’s a tree pose (Vrikshasana) except that you have to go down which is
very hard for some people. This exercise is also a precursor towards Xprince4 and more
challenging ones. So, you won’t be able to do this without learning how to do the tree pose
first!

Photo source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-iuJYHY40w

4. Xprince4 squat – This move is probably one of my most popular calisthenics leg exercises.
But don’t mind the television HAHA. Its original form doesn’t really have a tele, so it’s just how
I wanted to train it. One of the key reasons why this squat is so difficult to achieve is because
of the way the other foot is rested and structured throughout the motion. That’s why we got
so many progressions for this (pistol squat, dragon squat, Xprince3 squat, etc….)

(SIDE VIEW)
Photo source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkNfhRwbaFca
Notice from the picture above that only the toe supports the bodyweight during the lowest
part. The heel is raised by a few inches. It’s not a choice but an involuntary action of the foot
to change its skeletal structure to fit the need for the body to go down while the non-used leg
is also raised under the supporting leg. Think of our body as a network of connected elastic
bands, since I stretched the non-used leg by compressing it under my lap, the working foot is
affected by the reaction of the myofibers within the contorted leg. I’ve already tried contorting
my non-used leg without lifting my heel, but it felt structurally not possible.

(FRONT VIEW)
Photo source: screenshot of an original
footage
This movement has a lot of benefits, and don’t ask why it’s pretty hard because it greatly pays
off in the end. Since the non-working leg is rested under the lap of the other leg, the muscle
groups in the quads are activated, also with the help of pressure from the lifted leg.

Photo source: https://salecinask.live/product_details/829580.html

There’s actually a way to make this squat less hard than it already is. For those who are just
starting to learn this calisthenics movement, read this very carefully. By reducing the force you
apply to your non-working leg under your lap, you can also mitigate the pressure that’s put on
your lap. Nonetheless, you may find it still hard to do so as you’re controlling the natural
gravitational weight your non-working leg carries since it only relies on self-energy not on the
support that the working leg provides. But as explained below through the equations, the
overall pressure boils down to the combined applied force from both legs. The drawing below
is a scientific illustration of how the force works for each of your muscle groups during
Xprince4:

Photo source: screenshot of an original digital drawing

So, the question is, if lifting your non-working leg independent of the working leg’s support is
as easy as putting your leg forward as in the case with pistol squat, why not just do it instead
of resting it on your lap? Following the logic, it takes more force to control your non-working
leg independently throughout the concentric and eccentric phase because of the instability
and posture duration (duration gradually makes your muscles more fatigue and therefore
increases the force applied). If you let your non-working leg rely its weight on the working leg,
you’re gonna have more stability. Put simply, if you segregate two sticks in your hand while
balancing them simultaneously, more dynamic force is needed, and the attention of your
central nervous system is also divided. Another example of a decreased CNS’ response
efficiency is when doing a pistol squat while the non-working leg is floating instead of resting it
on the floor. I see many calisthenics beginners doing it as a prerequisite to an actual pistol
squat (floating non-working leg). So, it’s same with the case of Xprince4, you’re resting your
leg under the lap not to make it harder but to actually make your balance more stable. I also
tried to experiment with it by doing 2 sets of Xprince4. First set is 5 reps of my non-working leg
floating, and the second set is similarly 5 reps of non-working leg but is now resting on my lap.
Even though I was supposed to be tired for the second set, I felt more stability and less fatigue
during the second set. With that being said, I certainly don’t recommend doing an Xprince4
squat while your non-working leg is floating because it’s five times harder than when resting it
on your lap. However, if you’re an expert already, you can try it for more challenge!

5. Xprince5 squat – This next movement is honestly five times harder than Xprince4 squat for
the fact that it combines the limbed skeletal structure of both PH-US Balikatan squat and
Xprince4 (sideward knee but rested on the lap). So, you’re all set if you’re following all the
progressions included in this article. You first have to learn the limb posture of PH-US Balikatan
squat before diving into this move. It doesn’t end there because you need to have the right
amount of strength for the deep part that’s why learning the Xprince4 next is your target. You
can’t skip even one step if you really wanna achieve Xprince5 squat faster. But remember
when I said that the floating non-working leg makes it harder? Why is the limbed posture of
the PH-US Balikatan squat easy then, compared to Xprince5 squat harder with the non-
working leg floating not resting on the lap? In the case with the PH-US Balikatan squat, the
non-working leg is not contorted pretty much and is not close enough to the working leg. If we
follow the logical explanation I provided in the section of Xprince4 squat, I said that you have
to rest your foot on the lap of the working leg to make the balance more stable. If you don’t,
doing an Xprince5 squat with the non-working foot floating without support can make it very,
very difficult for you to get up (I already tried it). It’s so hard unless you’re cheating the form!

Photo source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-iuJYHY40w

6. Xprince6 squat – This movement is quite dangerous (at least I put a caution). Some kids
used to walk on their toe knuckles, right? Well, that’s no unusual ‘cause with this exercise, all
you’re gonna be doing is a lot harder than that. You’re doing it on only one leg and on your toe
knuckles on the ground while your non-working leg is contorted like in the case of the figure-4
squat (but more twisted) except that the knee must touch the ground during the deepest part.
I’m not gonna be explaining so much about this move as it’s highly not recommended by me
for safety purposes. But in the future, maybe many people might take interest in this move as
they’re looking for harder challenges and exercises on the internet (especially on TikTok).

7. Xprince7 squat – Now, we’re getting to something that’s unimaginable. For example, on
TikTok, a guy is so good at turning his backflip into a pistol squat [14]. It’s probably the hardest
variation you can turn your squat into. But what’s more than that? What else could be there
that’s harder? Well, if you ask me, I know how to do a backflip (mastered it when I was a kid),
and I’ve also achieved a pistol backflip just a few years ago, so I wanted to take on a harder
challenge. A backflip into an Xprince4 squat AKA Xprince7 squat. How about that?? Although,
at this current time of writing this research article, I’m kind of still working on it, so I got no
reference link yet to an actual video of me being able to successfully launch the movement
(maybe in the future). For precautions though, lemme advise you that this movement is only
for professional athletes or calisthenics practitioners, so if you’re only looking for a harder
squat like a pistol squat or Xprince4 squat, then stick to it, and if you don’t know how to
backflip yet, please don’t dare try this calisthenics move. Never skip any progression towards
this one! The first progression is obviously a pistol squat [15], but your journey is still a long,
long, long way. Learning how to backflip [16] (or back-handspring if you don’t know how), is a
must. Before I achieved the pistol backflip, I was having a really hard time balancing on one leg
every time my backflip lands. So, just because you know or already mastered the backflip (no
matter what kind of flip) doesn’t mean you can automatically successfully launch your first
pistol backflip. It just doesn’t work that way you know. Remember that the impact of a flip is
another contributing force factor that can add to the intensity of your pistol squat, and your
body’s ability to balance.
MICHAW squat – This movement is just the same as that of a wall squat, but don’t get too
confident ‘cause MICHAW is not gonna be put on this higher list if it’s easier than the previous
calisthenics leg exercises mentioned above. To perform this very hard exercise, you have to do
it on one leg, with your working foot’s calcaneus touching the bottom wall, and with your non-
working leg simulating the limb structure of the PH-US Balikatan squat that’s why mastering
the PH-US Balikatan squat is one of the progressions for MICHAW squat. You also have to put
your shoulders behind your back throughout the motion. The easier version of this, and also
the closest one, is the natural one-leg press. It’s a pistol squat variation that is done with your
back sliding against the wall [17].

Xprince’s Unliftable Nike – This calisthenics movement is the popular one and my favorite. I
got a friend on TikTok, whom I tagged in the description from the video I uploaded on TikTok
[18], and he was amazed by this exercise, and he did attempt to do it, but he’s still working on
it at this moment. Also, one of the important reasons why I made this article was to provide
helpful insights and advice on how to approach and achieve my squats and improve their
overall strength capability. I know a few friends on YouTube whom I also challenged to do this
movement. They’re very well experienced calisthenics athletes (meaning they can do a decent
form of sissy squat, planche, front lever, and so on), but surprisingly, that’s when I knew that
it’s not just about the experience you had from calisthenics and how much abdominal and
bicep strength you possess. Later on, we’re gonna discuss its hidden scientific secrets and how
it can be achieved faster!

Photo source: https://www.tiktok.com/@xprincedurante/video/7301919861167475975

The picture above is my very first exhibition of Xprince’s Unliftable Nike. It’s the earliest
footage of someone being able to get up with that kind of leg setup. Performing this
movement entails so much experience and also knowledge about the history of flexibility.
Take the yoga poses for example. The eagle pose (Garudasana in Hindu) is your stepping stone
towards achieving this feat [19]. Many fitness athletes nowadays forget about the form
because they simply focus on a just-do-it discipline and inclination. While I’m a big fan of the
Nike’s greatest slogan “Just Do It”, I don’t think I’d advise my calisthenics students to just do
this movement, especially without them knowing what’s going on throughout the entire
motion. I love the slogan, but people sometimes misunderstand it for a decision that they
literally have no idea about. I think the Just-Do-It phrase could imply taking bold actions
without regrets and facing the fearful obstacles that get in your way. With that being said, it’s
more appropriate if we approach this exercise boldly, without fear, but with great study of the
scientific and mathematical mechanism of our action. So, let’s now dive into it!

1
3
2

5
4 7

Photo source: https://www.tiktok.com/@xprincedurante/video/7301919861167475975

The photos above have numbers which illustrate how each phase of the entire eccentric
motion changes. The image 1 is the preparation phase. It’s very important to get a good grasp
of how you should sit in order to have enough muscular strength. By the way, this calisthenics
move doesn’t have a concentric phase if you notice. You might even fall out of balance and
injure yourself if you begin with an eagle pose while standing and trying to sit down on the
floor, so I’d recommend only doing its eccentric motion, but if you ask me if the concentric
phase is possible, then my answer is “YES” as I’d even tried it before mastering it. At first, I
couldn’t do the eccentric motion with my Nike shoes. The degree of difficulty just increases
with shoes, so you’d better try it first barefoot until you can finally do many reps of it, and
then hop on to doing it with shoes. Going back to the number 1 image, it’s not just a
preparation phase, alright? In fact, I even bothered to make my own equation for Xprince’s
Unliftable Nike. The equation below is as follows:

Never
Photo mind
source: the C++
screenshot language
of an compiler
original equation above
for Xprince’s HAHAHAHA.
Unliftable I mean
Nike written I did it on purpose. I wanted
from https://www.programiz.com/cpp-
programming/online-compiler/
we’re not coding so never mind the C++ compiler above HAHAHAHA. I purposely did it to
highlight the words with white color, mathematical operators with green color and numerical
values with red color, so you can’t get confused. Good job, C++ compiler!! The blue circle
includes the writings that you should only focus on (what’s outside doesn’t matter and not
related). Every abbreviation is explained above, but I’m yet to explain how it’s applied to
Xprince’s Unliftable Nike, and how you should train for it more efficiently and achieve it in a
quicker time compared to knowing nothing how it works. So, basically, this movement (I don’t
even know if it can still be called a squat as it doesn’t have a concentric phase) is a compound,
eccentric-phase calisthenics movement. The term COMPOUND, an adjective, means having
the quality of targeting all the muscle groups during an exercise which means that the
Xprince’s Unliftable Nike does so. As you can see from the white words in the picture (starting
with “Glute”), there are percentages, and those stuff approximately tell us how much
muscular activation happens in motion. Although, I haven’t done an eletromyographic analysis
for that supposition, one thing you’ll notice when you’re sitting down with that leg setup is
that you need your butt and abs to rise, right? Your lower-part legs and upper-part muscles
don’t contribute much to the force. It goes to saying that it’s definitely your butt and abs that
have to work your way up the most. The PEME has a total percentage of 100, but since it’s a
compound movement, different muscle parts of your body divide it till’ it shrinks down to the
lowest value (LQ = 2%). If you’re also asking why the whole percentage is termed as Potential
Explosive Muscular Energy (PEME), it’s because the move doesn’t rely on a kinetic force to be
executed. It comes down to your muscles’ explosive strength. Some of you probably know
already what the main different types of strength are. Absolute strength, relative strength,
explosive strength, etc…but we’re just gonna focus on these three types as they’re crucial to
this very hard calisthenics exercise. Absolute strength is your muscles’ capability to generate
the highest force [20] (also called 1-REPITITION MAXIMUM). The relative strength is your
ability to lift your own bodyweight, it’s the strength that relies on how much you can move
something with strength relative to your own bodyweight. For example, if you weigh less, you
can do more pull-ups, but you can only do fewer if you weigh more than what your actual
muscular strength is, that’s why a fat gymnast is rarely seen in Olympics, but you can see so
many big-build powerlifters out there (like Eddie Hall). A simple equation for relative strength
is the amount of weight you can lift divided by your own bodyweight. Your relative strength is
higher than a 200-pound man if you can lift heavier weights than he can considering that you
weigh less than him. On the other hand, the explosive strength is your muscles’ ability to lift
something as quickly as you can, that’s why it’s explosive. Therefore, your explosive strength is
higher than a 200-pound man if you can deadlift 100 kilograms faster than he can. Now, we go
back to the equation above. Keep in mind that the types of strength are needed for this
exercise that’s why I took some time explaining it to you. So, how are those three types of
strength used to train for the movement? I don’t believe in the singularity of explosive
strength. Before you can have explosivity, there must come potential energy (which is in our
muscles), and relative strength does also rely on it too. Basically, it’s the absolute strength that
gives foundation for the two. Just like when training for a full-planche or iron cross, you need
to at least be able to do one rep of push-up or one rep of chest press on rings. Without the
progression exercises, there won’t even be a training-for-something goal. So, don’t even say
that a single rep of pistol squat or sit-up is useless because every rep counts. Biomechanically,
I guess the idea of absolute strength doesn’t just apply to our maximum-intensity lift capacity,
but also to each of our muscle fibers, and myoblasts on a deeper level. It’s always your ability
to do a single rep of something before stepping into a harder move. So, the absolute
strength/maximal strength is the controller for both explosive & relative strength as it kind of
determines your current physical limit, but just because you train your maximal strength or
absolute strength so much doesn’t mean you can finally achieve Xprince’s Unliftable Nike, not
like that. Why do you think Usain Bolt can run so fast despite not being able to squat heavier
than Eddie Hall can? Simple, the former trains for speed while the latter trains for strength. It’s
also the training and muscular adaptation that plays a crucial role in shaping your strength that
fits your goal. It just scientifically happens that adding weights to a single rep you do can
directly influence your speed and easiness when doing the move [21]. In order to do a few
good reps of Xprince’s Unliftable Nike, you must be able to fix your form and start adding
weights to your pistol squat or maybe to your sit-up. On a very good day, I can lift an about 20-
kilogram plate while doing sit-ups. It’s very important for the thrust that’s going to be required
for this hard exercise. Doing a heavy training can also enhance your speed, and speed is the
best recipe for explosivity. Now, speaking of explosivity with respect to time, the variable
“Velocity” in the picture above is something you should also increase, but not in a way like
adding more to the distance because it’s a burden for this exercise. Understand the velocity
equation very carefully, and you’ll know what I mean. The distance (D) is divided by the time it
takes to finish something. Take a look back at the first and second photo above, you’ll see that
I compressed my limbs in as much as I possibly could, and I consciously did it very quick with
so much explosivity. However, the strength limitation happens when you’re making the area
for your legs bigger than the area for your butt, but why is that so? When I told you to study
my equation very carefully, I meant a lot of things there, and one of them is about the area
scope that your butt covers, this is when the percentage matters (it’s not just for strength).
Since B (Butt) has a higher PEME percentage than the RQ and LQ, the force you prepare before
rising, must be saved for the area your butt pays force to, do you get it now? If you still
remember the equation for pressure (Pressure = Force / Area), the area is always the
antagonistic and diminishing factor for your overall force, it also deducts your speed, and since
you’re extending your legs a lot, meaning you’re creating area, you’re most likely giving an
energy debt for your butt to pay during the motion because like I said, your legs don’t
contribute so much to the force in this exercise, so who’ll pay the debt? It’s obviously the glute
and the abs! (See the equation above). So, minimizing the area for your legs saves some force
debt for your glute and abs to pay during the motion. I, therefore, advise you to keep your abs
and glutes as close to your legs and feet as possible to reduce the area because the more the
area, the more the force that’s required. In physics, you’re certainly gonna need so much fuel
to travel 20 kilometers in a quicker time, so you might as well just go to a nearby place where
your fuel is saved up. One last thing I haven’t explained to you is the variable FP (Full Power). It
merely comprises PEME, BW, and V. Another limiting factor here is your bodyweight, but I’ve
already talked about the relative strength, right? So, Xprince Unliftable Nike obviously is just
like the planche that relies mostly on relative strength per se. An average-body guy like me will
definitely have an advantage over those who weigh more than 180 pounds because it’s your
own body that’s lifted throughout the motion of the exercise. So, generally speaking, those
people who weigh less than 180 pounds can learn this movement more easily than those who
weigh more.

Next, I’m gonna explain more about what’s going on with the equation in the picture above.
Those muscle groups in white color don’t just possess numerical values for muscular electric
activity, but they’re also sorted by activation time. I applied the Henneman’s size principle [22]
to this equation, but in this case, the variables are not Type-1 or Type-2 muscle fibers but
rather muscle groups, and just like the size principle, the equation above also tells what
muscles are activated first and activated last. What does it mean? From left to right, we can
see G (Glute) that is activated first, and then to the farthest right, we can see RQ and LQ get
activated last. Another secret to an efficient training for Xprince’s Unliftable Nike is choosing
what muscle groups you should put your time mostly into, for intensity and explosive training.
You already got the combination of the three strength types, yes right, but what’s missing is
your focal point. Those three strength factors are only your instruments, but they need
trajectory. For example, in financial world, you have money (strength in exercise), but it
doesn’t matter how much money you have, where you put your money in the present is what
grows your money in the future. It’s about the long-term investment. And in the end, what
matters the most is your GOAL, why you’re growing your money, and where you put it. So, you
really have to be clear with what you’re doing, and achieving Xprince’s Unliftable Nike is your
final goal here, but you just don’t know where you should put your energy, strength, time, and
money (to buy food for energy recovery) into. So, with respect to scientific practicality, the
temporal order of those muscle groups in white color tells us what our priorities really are. If
we put everything into application, you should put most of your training types (absolute
strength, relative strength & explosive strength) into your gluteus and abdominal muscles
because it’s your butt and abs (and also back spine) that support your bodyweight when sitting
down vertically, it’s not your arms or legs or feet. But what specific progression exercises can I
recommend to you to train for Xprince’s Unliftable Nike? Sit-up, pistol squat, tiger pistol squat,
Russian twist, jumping eagle pose, sit-up to dragon squat (ideal one), and so many more are
beneficial, but you can look up on the internet for more workouts that can strengthen your
glutes, abs, and back [23]. To make your training even more efficient, adding weights to your
sit-up to dragon squat, and making it more explosive is the way to go, and after that, you can
probably go to the harder one. Brian, my friend on TikTok which I was telling you about from
the previous pages, was the second person to train for this seemingly impossible calisthenics
movement.

Photo source: https://www.tiktok.com/@supersaiyan_b/video/7323661521828187438

From the photo above, you can see him sitting in a dragon squat form, but the reason why
he’s using a resistance band is because it’s very hard to get up with that leg setup. This
progression is close to achieving Xprince’s Unliftable Nike, but the closest one is rising without
support which means you’re like repping out a dragon squat with the concentric motion sitting
on the floor and getting back up. At first, you might not be able to do a sitting dragon squat
and automatically get up, but with the help of a support from a resistance band or holding on
to a wall, you can surely speed up your progress!

Xprince’s One-Toe Squat - (Coming in the future!)

EASY IS FOR THE PRESENT, HARD IS FOR THE FUTURE!
Even though there’s no found record of Nelson Mandela saying “It always seems impossible
until it’s done”, we can all agree that he did a great job being a South-African leader and
inspiration to many [24]. For me, the quote doesn’t only speak for leadership and
perseverance, but it also motivates someone to think about the future and what there could
be so exciting about it. So, when I invented the squats, I wasn’t looking for an easy movement.
I was desperately obsessed with complexity and diversity. In other words, I want everything to
be unique and not so boring or cyclic. Inexplicably for me, easy things are boring and not much
of importance. Who certainly knows what exercises could emerge from the future, right?
Historically, the back squat has been around for many centuries dating back to the Roman
warriors using it for training, but some scholars, on the other part of the story, say it originated
from Hindu disciplines (Yoga especially), but the most credible guess suggests that it’s
Friedrich Ludwig who popularized the movement, not invented it [25]. If you think about it, for
many centuries, people have been confined with the basic squat. The pistol squat (earliest
term is Russian Prisiadki kick) has also been around since 1800 (19th century) based on the
earliest reference from Wikipedia [26]. So, when I saw calisthenics on YouTube when I was a
kid, I thought of advancing the humans’ physical capability and flexibility. I said to myself
“Come on! It’s the early start of the 21st century”, and I knew I had to create movements that
the present people cannot be able to perform because it’s only the future people I was
envisioning. I only saw the benefits and athletic skills my squats can give to the people from
the future. I don’t want to just confine people with old and easy-to-perform exercises. But like
I said, the quote “It always seems impossible until it’s done” speaks to me differently. Some
people hundreds of years ago may have already thought of doing my squats, but they were
probably unable to. Although, I searched thoroughly on the internet and even used an AI
image recognizer to look for someone who had already done my squats earlier than me but
didn’t see one, inventing something isn’t just about keeping it in your mind but also being able
to execute it successfully in reality. For example, there might have been the oldest drawings
and ideas about the flying planes in the past, but it’s just some drawing and idea, so nobody
could actually ride and fly on it, but because of years of research and development efforts
made by the Wright brothers, we can now travel to another country in no less than a day.
With that being said, when I invented the Xprince’s squats, it took me so many months
training for it and developing the equations that are crucial to my periodization. I turned my
ideas into reality and made my squats possible even though they were not at first.
 REFERENCES
[1] - Megginson, Leon C. "Lessons from Europe for American Business." Southwestern Social
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[2] - Kavadlo, Al. Perfecting The Pistol Squat: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About One-
Legged Squats. Independently Published, 2021, 76 p.

[3] - Old School Calisthenics. "Calisthenics Leg Workout. "

https://oldschoolcalisthenics.com/calisthenics-leg-workout/

[4] - United States. War Department. Manual of Calisthenic Exercises. Chicago, 1892.
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[5] - Oliver, M., et al. (2024). Muscle Activity in Single- vs. Double-Leg Squats. In Advances in
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[6] - Reddit. "A general comparison of pistols to barbell squats." r/bodyweightfitness, June 13,
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[7] - Low, Steven. "Estimates by the math: A general comparison of barbell squats to pistol
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[8] - Trainerize.me. "Calisthenics in the Covid-19 Era and Beyond." Published January 25, 2021.
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[9] - SimpliFaster. "Bilateral vs. Unilateral: The Great Squat Debate." January 10, 2022.
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[10] - Muscular Development. "Why Squats are the King of all Exercises." Published February 4,
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[11] - Gaspari Nutrition. "How Does Squatting Make My Upper Body Bigger?" Gaspari Nutrition
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[14] – “Raphkg doing webster and backflip into pistol squat” January 2, 2024.
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[15] - Billimoria, Nisha. "Use This Simple Progression to Work into a Pistol Squat." Outside
Online, May 21, 2020, https://www.outsideonline.com/health/training-performance/how-do-
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[16] - wikiHow. "How to Do a Backflip: 15 Steps (with Pictures)." wikiHow, Last Updated, April
18, 2024. www.wikihow.com/Do-a-Backflip.

[17] - Natural One Leg PRESS. Uploader: DeUanUIS . (2018, March 26). YouTube.
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[18] - @xprincedurante. (2023). TikTok video. “Xprince’s Unliftable Nike”

https://www.tiktok.com/@xprincedurante/video/7301919861167475975

[19] - Alo Moves. (July 12, 2021). How to Do Eagle Pose - Yoga Tutorial.
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[20] - Rethwill, H. (June 16, 2020). Understanding the 4 Types of Strength - Invictus Fitness.
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[21] - "Absolute Strength Controls All Strength Gains. Analysis of Hill's equation shows that
speed of movement is dependent on absolute muscular strength: v = Ft/m. This can be found
in Fundamentals of Special Strength- Training in Sport (Verkhoshansky, 1986). Thomas Kurz, in
Science of Sports Training, reported many ways to become more explosive, but the simplest is
to increase absolute strength."

[22] - Zajac, F. E., & Faden, J. S. (2005). The size principle: a rule describing the recruitment of
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[25] – The Untold History of the Back Squat by BarBend, written by Dr. Conor Heffernan,
published on July 20, 2023. https://barbend.com/back-squat-history/

[26] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisiadki

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Xprince Durante is an athlete, researcher, musician, entrepreneur, and inventor. He shares his
scientific knowledge and provides helpful information on the internet about different types of
exercises and how they work. During his childhood, he suffered from a brain injury which
caused him to lose balance and rely on a cane support for a few months, but then he
conceived the idea of XSAMEC that has a futuristic and yet practical applications in the real
world. At that time also, he invented Xprince’s squats to recover from the brain injury he had.
He had practiced squats for many months, and fortunately, regained his strength and balance.
He’s never had any balance issues ever since. On these days, one of his scientific works focuses
on the field of Exercise Science and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). In 2018,
he graduated from ACLC (K-12 school in the Philippines) with a degree of ICT. He believes that
exercise science has a lot of potential and applications in the world of information and
communication technology. With many people, having physical disorders and diseases, he
takes physical health as something that can improve our overall lifestyle through technology.