Bulgarian split squats have been having a real moment in the world of fitness, partly because they are torturous and partly because they are incredibly effective at building your legs and glutes when done properly.
There’s a lot of debate around to maximize the return on your glutes or quads, but there’s a BSS with a twist (quite literally) that can build strength and increase mobility, too.
Never one to turn down an exercise with double, or even triple, benefits, I strongly recommend trying this move the next time you want to work your lower body hard. Here’s how to do it, plus the benefits.
How to do it
I’d classify this BSS variation as low impact, but if you experience pain at any time, stop and rest. If you’re working with an injury or health condition, I recommend seeking advice from your physician or a trainer before starting this exercise, especially if you suffer from knee pain.
For many, the knees are an all-too-familiar problem area, but that doesn’t mean you can’t build strong legs and glutes; it just means choosing the exercises that remain low impact while offering high return in building strength and muscle. What works for one person won’t always work for another, so it’s about trial and error in the beginning.
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Stand with your back leg on a chair, box, or bench, top of the foot pressed down.
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Square your hips so that you balance on your front leg, with a soft bend in both knees.
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Hold a weight in both hands or bring your hands to your hips and engage your core.
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Bend your knees to lower toward the ground. As you do, arc your back knee toward the bench behind you rather than moving vertically. Vertical will better load the quads. whereas the arc will emphasize the glutes.
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Hinge forward slightly as you lower, keeping your spine long. This will also help activate your gluteal muscles and load the front leg.
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Pause, then drive upward to stand.
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Rotate to the side away from your front leg, pressing your foot down into the box and drawing your knee outward while leaning into the stretch to open your hips and adductors.
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Complete 6-8 heavy reps, then switch sides.
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If you’d like, add a twist over the front leg at the bottom of the split squat.
Why?
Bulgarian split squats famously build your hips, glutes and legs, strengthen your core, improve balance, stability and coordination and test unilateral ability by emphasizing one side of the body at a time.
It’s a tough move you can load heavily while focusing on single-leg balance and control. The added benefit of the twist at the bottom of the split squat is that torso rotation works the internal and external obliques, which are extremely important core muscles.
The twist at the top of the exercise offers even more benefit for your hips and inner thighs, as you rotate and draw the top knee over the ankle, leaning away from the front leg. It’s a great way to open the lower body through dynamic stretching while gently increasing joint mobility.