Bulgarian Split Squats
The Bulgarian Split Squat helps to balance the strength differences between your legs, as each leg is trained individually. Due to the large range of motion, the exercise improves your mobility in the hips, ankles, and knees. It is particularly popular because, unlike Barbell Squats, it does not put a heavy load on the lower back.
Necessary equipment
Bulgarian Split Squats - the correct execution
- Sit on the bench for the correct distance and extend one leg to the floor. Where the foot touches down is the position for the front foot. (Video 2)
- Start standing in back of a bench
- Place the back foot on the bench
- The front foot is evenly loaded
- Bend the front leg and bring the back knee toward the floor
- Bring the front knee forward over the toes
- Keep your upper body upright
- Stretch the front leg and come back to the starting position
The exercise Bulgarian Split Squats is intended to be used as a hypertrophy exercise.
Which muscles are trained by Bulgarian Split Squats?
Primary trained muscles for Bulgarian Split Squats
Quadriceps - The quadriceps femoris is the large muscle at the front of your thigh. It extends your knee.
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Alternative variants of Bulgarian Split Squats:
Bulgarian Split Squats with dumbbells
Once you can do more than 20 repetitions with your own body weight, you can progress by using dumbbells to continue building muscle in your legs and glutes. Alternatively, you can use just one dumbbell or kettlebells for the exercise.
Necessary equipment
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Bulgarian Split Squats with dumbbells - the correct execution
- Sit on the bench for the correct distance and extend one leg to the floor. Where the foot touches down is the position for the front foot. (Video 2)
- Start standing in back of a bench
- Place the back foot on the bench
- The front foot is evenly loaded
- Hold the dumbbells next to your hip with arms extended
- Bend the front leg and bring the front knee toward the floor
- Bring the back knee forward over the toes
- Keep your upper body upright
- Stretch the front leg and come back to the starting position
- The training weight for this exercise is the weight of a single dumbbell. Therefore, train with two dumbbells that weigh the indicated weight.
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