Bulgarian Split Squats sound like traditional training techniques, right? Well, this is tough but anyone can learn. You can think of it as a powerful lunge but with a twist.
Now, let’s imagine that you are making a lunge; instead of your back foot being on the ground, it’s resting on a bench or a raised surface. That’s the basic idea. This position throws a lot of pressure onto your front leg, making it harder to stabilize and push you up.
This makes it much tougher and more effective for building leg strength and balance. It makes your front leg say “ Oh man, this is hard!”.
What are Bulgarian Split Squats good for?
⦁ Leg strength: This exercise hits your quads, glutes, and hamstrings like a champ. As you are working one leg at a time, it can help you to build strength and muscle in each leg individually.
⦁ Balancing and stability: If you are holding that split stance, it will require serious balance. Through this, you can improve your core stability and coordination, which will help you to do various kinds of activities in your daily life.
⦁ Fixing muscle imbalance: It will help out by forcing each leg to work independently.
⦁ Improved hip mobility: Bulgarian split squat helps you loosen up your hips. Think of your hip flexors like rubber bands that can get tight from sitting a lot. When you do a deep lunge in this exercise, you’re stretching those bands out. This stretch opens up your hips, it will help to make it more flexible.
⦁ Less Back Strain: If you compare to back squats, Bulgarian split squats put less stress on your lower back. This happened because you were not loading a barbell on your spine.
⦁ Versatility: You can do this on any raised surface or with a bench. You can also add weights like dumbbells or kettlebells to increase the challenge. It will be beneficial for increasing your muscle strength.
Why are Bulgarian squats so hard?
Generally, Bulgarian split squats are tough. They are not the same as your average leg day. This is quite different from this. So, what is the main reason for feeling like your legs are being personally challenged?
In this case, all the work is going around a single leg. That means all work is done by the one leg but in other regular squats, both the legs are involved. In regular squats, both legs share the load, here, only one leg is the star of the show. So, this is also known as single-leg exercise.
Then, there comes a balance factor. First of all, you are in an unstable position as your back foot is being elevated. Your body has to work overtime to keep you from wobbling all over the place. This involves engaging a lot of smaller, stabilizing muscles that you might not even know you had. This extra effort adds to the overall difficulty. It’s like standing on a tightrope; your whole body is trying to balance with the help of one leg.
Bulgarian split squats are difficult as this is the combination of flexibility, strength and balance into one challenging movement.
These squats required more effort than other basic regular leg exercises. They force your body to work harder; it will help you to make them highly effective but also a highly demanding workout. They are like friends, who push you to do your best even when it hurts a little.
Should your knee touch the floor in Bulgarian split squats?
This is commonly asked by everyone and the answer is not only limited to yes or no. It depends on your flexibility, your comfort level, and your goal.
Here, you want to lower your back knee as close to the ground as you comfortably can. This deep range of motion gives you the full benefit of the exercise, stretching your hip flexors and maximizing muscle engagement.
Everyone has the same flexibility to bring their knees down. If you are a beginner or in the new stage, then you may feel a little bit difficult. If you have tight hip flexors, trying to force your knee to the floor can lead to discomfort or even injury. It is important to focus on good form and controlled movement rather than on achieving maxing depth.
The key is to listen to your body. If you feel any difficulty or sharp pain then you should stop immediately. The most important thing is doing the exercise effectively and safely.
How to do a Bulgarian split squat as a beginner?
So you want to try Bulgarian split squats and you are in a beginner stage? No problem. First, you need to find a spot to put your back foot on. You can simply choose a bench, a sturdy chair or even a low step will work. You should make sure that it is in a stable mode.
Get set up slowly
- Start facing away from your bench or chair.
- Gently place the top of one foot on the bench behind you.
- Step your front foot out a good distance in front of you. You want enough space so that when you bend your knees, your front knee doesn’t go way past your toes.
- This is the tricky part. Wiggle around a bit until you feel stable. You might need to adjust your front foot forward or backward.
Start with body weight only
You should forget about your weight, and you can simply use your own body.
Lowering motion
- Firstly, you should bend your front knee and lower your back knee straight down towards the ground. Imagine you’re trying to drop your back knee straight down, not forward or backward.
- Then you should keep your chest up and your back straight. You should not lean too far forward.
- You should try to go slow and controlled. You want to feel the muscles working.
- Lower your back knee as close to the ground as you comfortably can. You never try to exercise with force. If it does not touch then you don’t have to worry about it.
Pushing Up motion
- Push back up to the starting position by pressing through your front heel.
- Again, you shouldn’t rush about it. Slow and steady steps can be beneficial to you.
Repeat and switch
- Start with small steps: You can simply start by doing 5 to 8 reps on one leg.
- Switch sides: Then you switch your leg side and do the same number of reps on the other side.
- Rest: Continuously reps can be problematic. You can take short breaks or rest between sets.
Conclusion
The Bulgarian split squat makes your front leg work super hard, which makes it stronger. It also helps you balance better.
The Bulgarian split squat stands as a powerful tool for lower body development, offering a multitude of benefits ranging from enhanced strength and balance to improved flexibility and core stability.
By focusing on proper form and technique, incorporating it into various training programs, and understanding its long-term advantages, individuals can unlock their full potential, leading to a stronger, more balanced, and healthier physique.
So, give Bulgarian Split Squats a try. Start slow, focus on good form, and you’ll be feeling the burn in no time. They are a great tool for building strong legs and a stable core.