Lockdown Training Tips - Bulgarian Split Squats

If you have been training away at home during lockdown there's a good chance that one of the exercises you will have utilised is the Bulgarian Split Squat. If you haven't they may very well make an excellent addition to your training.

Here's some tips to make sure you are doing them right and ways you can tweak the movement to make the position more comfortable and shift the emphasis of it!

Push through the heel of the front foot

A common mistake when it comes to Bulgarian Split Squats is pushing through the front of the foot and letting the heel come off the ground.

The key is focusing on pushing through the heel of the front foot to ensure you maintain a good position and contact with the ground. This in turn makes for the most efficient way to transfer force up through your body as you drive out of the bottom position and ultimately lets you get the most out of the movement.

Adjust back foot for comfort

The importance of the back foot is not to be overlooked when doing Bulgarian Split Squats, it's your key anchor point to the bench (or whatever object you are pivoting off of) and is central to your stability and comfort through the movement.

There are two distinct ways you can position your back foot depending on what you feel is the most comfortable:

🔹Pivot off of the top of the foot - think laces of your shoe flat on the surface.

🔹Pivot off of the ball of the foot - think toes up on the bench.

Examples of both can be seen in the graphic attached. Most people tend to prefer pivoting off the top of the foot but we would encourage you to experiment with both to find which suits you best.

Different position, different emphasis

The Bulgarian Split Squat is a very versatile exercise in that we can change the position of your body when doing it to emphasise different areas.

🔹More quads - a more upright torso combined with a shorter step away from the bench puts greater emphasis on the quads.

🔹More glutes - a longer stride with more of a forward lean in your torso means more emphasis on the glutes.

Again examples of both techniques can be seen in the graphic attached.

Get more help working towards your goals

If you have found these tips helpful and would like further guidance on how to go about training towards your goals, take a look at our Online Personal Training page and drop us a message!