Bulgarian Split Squat
Rear-foot-elevated split squat that punishes one leg at a time — the most effective single-leg exercise in any program.
How to do it
- Stand a stride's length in front of a bench and rest the top of your back foot on the bench behind you.
- Square your hips forward and brace your core, hands on your hips or at your chest.
- Lower the back knee straight down toward the floor, keeping the front shin close to vertical.
- Descend until the back knee hovers just above the floor and the front thigh is roughly parallel to it.
- Keep your weight in the front heel and your chest up throughout the descent.
- Drive through the front heel to stand up, finishing with the front glute squeezed.
Key technique cue
Stand far enough from the bench, knee over the foot — drive through the front heel.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Standing too close to the bench, which pushes the front knee too far forward and stresses the joint.
- ✕ Letting the front knee cave inward instead of tracking over the foot.
- ✕ Pushing off the back foot instead of driving through the front heel — takes the load off the front leg.
- ✕ Twisting the hips to make up for poor balance instead of keeping them square — kills the single-leg training effect.
Benefits
- ✓ Builds single-leg strength in the glutes and quads.
- ✓ Exposes and corrects left-to-right strength imbalances.
- ✓ Improves hip stability and balance under load.
Progression: from easier to harder
-
Step 1 -
Step 2 You are here - Bulgarian Split Squat
- Dumbbell Goblet Split Squat
- Kettlebell Assisted Bulgarian Split Squat
-
Step 3 -
Step 4
About the exercise
The Bulgarian split squat is the most effective single-leg exercise in lower-body training. With the back foot up on a bench and a deep drop into a split stance, it loads the front-leg glute and quad through a full range and exposes the balance and hip-stability gaps that bilateral squats hide. It's brutal, honest and irreplaceable. It is essential in any serious leg program — strength, hypertrophy, athletic or rehab. It bridges bilateral squats and true single-leg work, and it scales from bodyweight to heavy dumbbells or a barbell.
Updated
Similar exercises
A week of training and meals built for you
Workoutify plans workouts around your days, time and equipment — and a menu for your goal and macros.