Exercise Guide
Bulgarian Split Squat
A split squat with the rear foot up on a bench. Puts nearly all the load on the front leg and reaches a deeper stretch than any two-legged squat.
IntermediateStrengthPushCompound
Form
Start
Mid
End
Illustrations by Bryl Lim for Workout Guide, after Everkinetic. Used unchanged under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Details
Primary Muscle
Quads
Equipment
Dumbbell
Difficulty
Intermediate
Category
Strength
Force
Push
Mechanic
Compound
Secondary Muscles
GlutesCore
How to Perform
- 1
Stand a stride in front of a bench and rest the top of one foot on it behind you.
- 2
Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides and set your front foot far enough forward that your knee stays over your mid-foot.
- 3
Lower until your front thigh is roughly parallel to the floor and your back knee is close to the ground.
- 4
Drive through your front foot to stand back up.
Tips
- ★If your front knee travels far past your toes, take a longer stride.
- ★Lean the torso slightly forward to bias the glute, stay upright to bias the quad.