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The Bulgarian split squat stands as one of the most effective yet underutilised exercises in strength training. This single-leg movement pattern challenges your lower body in ways that traditional bilateral exercises simply cannot match, developing unilateral strength, balance, and muscular development that translates directly to athletic performance and functional movement.
Unlike conventional squats where both feet remain planted on the ground, the Bulgarian split squat elevates your rear foot, creating a split stance that places significant demand on your front leg whilst simultaneously improving hip flexibility, ankle mobility, and core stability. This unique positioning makes it an invaluable tool for addressing strength imbalances, enhancing athletic performance, and building resilient, injury-resistant legs.
Whether you're a competitive athlete seeking to improve power output, a fitness enthusiast looking to build stronger legs, or someone recovering from injury and working to restore balanced movement patterns, the Bulgarian split squat offers scalable benefits that few exercises can rival.
To truly master the Bulgarian split squat, it's essential to understand which muscles are working and how the exercise challenges your body's systems. This knowledge not only improves your technique but also helps you appreciate why this movement is so effective.
Quadriceps: The front thigh muscles bear the brunt of the work during the Bulgarian split squat, particularly the vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius, and rectus femoris. As you descend into the bottom position, your quadriceps work eccentrically to control the movement, then concentrically to drive you back to the starting position.
Glutes: Your gluteus maximus plays a crucial role in hip extension, especially as you drive through your front heel to return to standing. The deeper you descend, the greater the glute activation, making this exercise exceptional for developing powerful, well-developed hips.
Hamstrings: Whilst not the primary movers, your hamstrings assist with hip extension and help stabilise your knee joint throughout the movement, contributing to overall posterior chain development.
Hip Adductors: The inner thigh muscles work to stabilise your pelvis and prevent your knee from collapsing inward during the movement, developing crucial frontal plane stability.
Core Musculature: Your abdominals, obliques, and erector spinae must work continuously to maintain an upright torso position and prevent rotation, making this an excellent core stability exercise disguised as a leg movement.
Ankle Stabilisers: The muscles surrounding your ankle joint, including the tibialis anterior and calf muscles, work to maintain balance and control throughout the exercise, improving ankle stability and proprioception.
Mastering the Bulgarian split squat requires attention to detail and a methodical approach to setup and execution. Follow these comprehensive steps to ensure optimal form and maximum benefit.
Step 1: Position Your Bench or Platform
Select a stable bench, box, or platform approximately 40-50cm in height. The exact height may vary based on your leg length and mobility, but this range works well for most individuals. Ensure the surface is stable and won't shift during the exercise.
Step 2: Find Your Stance Width
Stand facing away from the bench and place the top of your rear foot on the platform. Your front foot should be positioned far enough forward that when you descend into the bottom position, your front shin remains relatively vertical and your knee doesn't travel excessively past your toes. This typically means your front foot will be 60-90cm from the bench, though individual proportions vary.
Step 3: Establish Your Base
Your front foot should point straight ahead with your weight distributed across your entire foot. Avoid rising onto your toes or allowing your heel to lift. Your rear foot rests on the bench with either the top of your foot or your toes in contact with the surface—experiment to find which feels more stable and comfortable.
Step 4: Initiate the Movement
Begin by taking a deep breath and bracing your core as if preparing for someone to punch you in the stomach. Maintain an upright torso with your chest proud and shoulders back. Begin descending by bending both your front knee and rear knee simultaneously, lowering your body under control.
Step 5: Control the Descent
Lower yourself until your rear knee hovers just above the ground, typically 2-5cm from contact. Your front thigh should reach approximately parallel to the ground, though depth may vary based on mobility and comfort. Throughout the descent, maintain a vertical shin angle on your front leg and keep your torso upright—avoid excessive forward lean.
Step 6: Monitor Your Alignment
As you descend, ensure your front knee tracks in line with your toes, neither collapsing inward nor bowing outward. Your hips should remain level, not rotating or tilting to one side. This requires significant core engagement and hip stability.
Step 7: Drive Through Your Front Heel
From the bottom position, drive forcefully through your entire front foot, particularly your heel, to return to the starting position. Think about pushing the floor away from you rather than simply standing up. This cue helps maintain proper weight distribution and maximises glute activation.
Step 8: Maintain Tension
As you rise, keep your core braced and your torso upright. Avoid the temptation to push off significantly with your rear leg—whilst it will provide some assistance, the vast majority of the work should come from your front leg.
Step 9: Complete the Repetition
Return to the starting position with your front leg nearly straight but not locked out. Maintain tension in your muscles rather than resting completely between repetitions. This continuous tension maximises muscle engagement and training effect.
Even experienced lifters often make technical errors with Bulgarian split squats. Identifying and correcting these mistakes will dramatically improve your results and reduce injury risk.
The Problem: Leaning too far forward shifts emphasis away from your quadriceps and glutes, placing excessive stress on your lower back and reducing the exercise's effectiveness.
The Solution: Focus on maintaining an upright torso throughout the movement. Imagine a string attached to the top of your head pulling you toward the ceiling. If you struggle with this, you may need to adjust your stance width or reduce the load until you develop the necessary strength and mobility.
The Problem: Allowing your front knee to travel excessively past your toes increases shear forces on the knee joint and can lead to discomfort or injury over time.
The Solution: Adjust your stance by moving your front foot further from the bench. Your shin should remain relatively vertical throughout the movement. If this feels awkward, you may need to work on ankle mobility separately.
The Problem: Pushing significantly with your rear leg defeats the purpose of the exercise, which is to develop single-leg strength and address imbalances.
The Solution: Think of your rear leg as a kickstand—it's there for balance, not propulsion. Focus on driving exclusively through your front leg. If you find yourself relying heavily on your rear leg, reduce the weight or perform the exercise without additional load until you develop adequate strength.
The Problem: Allowing your front knee to collapse inward places dangerous stress on your knee joint and indicates weakness in your hip abductors and external rotators.
The Solution: Actively think about pushing your knee outward in line with your toes throughout the movement. You may need to reduce the load and focus on developing hip stability through targeted activation exercises before progressing to heavier weights.
The Problem: Performing shallow repetitions reduces the exercise's effectiveness and limits muscle development and strength gains.
The Solution: Aim to lower your rear knee to within 2-5cm of the ground on each repetition. If mobility limitations prevent this, work on hip flexor and ankle flexibility whilst gradually increasing your range of motion over time.
How you programme the Bulgarian split squat depends on your training goals, experience level, and overall programme design. Here's how to incorporate this exercise effectively.
If your primary goal is building maximum strength, perform 3-5 sets of 4-6 repetitions per leg with heavier loads. Rest 2-3 minutes between sets to allow for adequate recovery. Progress by gradually increasing the weight whilst maintaining perfect form.
To maximise muscle development, perform 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions per leg with moderate loads. Rest 60-90 seconds between sets. Focus on controlled tempo, particularly during the eccentric (lowering) phase, spending 2-3 seconds descending and 1 second ascending.
For endurance development, perform 2-3 sets of 15-20 repetitions per leg with lighter loads. Rest 45-60 seconds between sets. This approach works well for athletes requiring sustained lower body performance or those using the exercise for conditioning purposes.
If you're new to the Bulgarian split squat, begin with bodyweight only for 2-3 sets of 8-10 repetitions per leg. Focus entirely on mastering the movement pattern and developing the necessary stability and coordination. Only add external load once you can perform the exercise with perfect form and without wobbling or losing balance.
Once you've mastered the basic Bulgarian split squat, these variations can provide new challenges and training stimuli.
Most people have a dominant leg that's stronger than the other. Bilateral exercises like traditional squats allow your stronger leg to compensate, perpetuating these imbalances. The Bulgarian split squat forces each leg to work independently, revealing and correcting these discrepancies over time.
Most athletic movements—running, jumping, cutting, kicking—occur on one leg at a time. The Bulgarian split squat develops the single-leg strength, stability, and power that directly transfers to these activities, making you a more capable, resilient athlete.
Whilst the Bulgarian split squat can be performed with minimal equipment, having the right tools enhances comfort, safety, and effectiveness.
The Bulgarian split squat works well in various positions within your training session, depending on your goals and programme structure.
Perform Bulgarian split squats early in your session when you're fresh, allowing you to use heavier loads and maintain optimal form. This approach works well if single-leg strength is a priority or if you're unable to perform heavy bilateral squatting due to injury or equipment limitations.
Programme Bulgarian split squats after your main bilateral exercises (squats, deadlifts) to address imbalances and add training volume. This approach allows you to develop single-leg strength without compromising your ability to handle heavy loads on your primary movements.
Pair Bulgarian split squats with an upper body exercise or a posterior chain movement to create an efficient training session. For example, alternate sets of Bulgarian split squats with sets of pull-ups or Romanian deadlifts.
The Bulgarian split squat represents one of the most effective exercises for developing strong, balanced, resilient legs. Its unique demands challenge your body in ways that bilateral exercises cannot match, developing the single-leg strength, stability, and control that translates directly to improved athletic performance and functional movement capacity.
Success with this exercise requires patience, attention to technical detail, and progressive overload applied intelligently over time. Begin with bodyweight variations, master the movement pattern, then gradually add load whilst maintaining perfect form. Address any mobility limitations that prevent you from achieving adequate depth or maintaining proper positioning.
Whether you're an athlete seeking performance gains, a fitness enthusiast building stronger legs, or someone working to address strength imbalances and movement quality, the Bulgarian split squat deserves a prominent place in your training programme. Commit to mastering this movement, and you'll develop legs that are not only stronger and more muscular but also more balanced, stable, and injury-resistant.
