Demonstration
Watch the Form Demo
Technique
How to Do the Bulgarian Split Squat
- Stand about two feet in front of a bench, facing away from it.
- Place the top of your rear foot on the bench, laces down.
- Hop the front foot into a position where your shin will stay near vertical at the bottom.
- Brace and lower straight down until the back knee approaches the floor.
- Drive through the front heel to stand back up, keeping your torso tall.
- Complete all reps on one leg, then switch.
Anatomy
Muscles Worked
Do This
Form Cues
- Set the back foot on the bench with the laces down, not the toes.
- Find a stance length where the front shin stays near vertical at the bottom.
- Keep the weight in the front heel and drop the back knee straight down.
- Take a breath and settle before the first rep. Rushing the setup is where wobbly sets come from.
Avoid This
Common Mistakes
- Standing too close to the bench, which cramps the front knee.
- Pushing off the back foot instead of loading the front leg.
- Letting the torso rotate toward the working side.
- Loading it heavily before the balance is there. Own bodyweight reps first, then add dumbbells.
More to Explore
Variations & Related Exercises
Variations of this lift
Barbell Split Squat
Front Foot Elevated Split Squat
Dumbbell Lunge
Trains the same muscles
1.5 Rep Barbell Squat
B-Stance Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
Barbell Box Squat
Barbell Deadlift
Barbell Front Squat
Barbell Good Morning
Put It Into Practice
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