Bulgarian split squat
One leg at a time, rear foot on a bench. Needs only dumbbells or body weight, and matched the back squat for strength.
Why it's here
The Bulgarian split squat trains one leg at a time with the rear foot raised, so it loads each leg on its own and needs nothing heavier than a pair of dumbbells — or just your body weight to start. In a five-week trial, it improved strength, sprint speed and agility as much as the back squat [1].
The evidence
- Training study Eighteen academy rugby players trained twice a week for five weeks with either the rear-foot- elevated split squat or the back squat. Both groups improved squat and split-squat strength, 40-metre sprint time and agility, with no difference between them. The trial measured strength and performance, not muscle size, in young athletes [1].
How to do it
- Stand about a stride in front of a knee-high bench and rest the top of your back foot on it.
- Lower straight down until your front thigh is roughly parallel to the floor, keeping your front heel down.
- Push back up through your front foot. Finish all reps on one side, then switch.
- Once body weight is easy, hold a dumbbell in each hand.
Stop an exercise that causes significant or unusual pain and have it assessed. This page describes the movement; it is not rehabilitation advice.
Making it harder over time
This is a moderate compound exercise in the Progressive Overload Calculator, which adds weight in steps of 2.5%–5% once every set reaches the top of your rep range, and adds reps until then.
Alternatives
- Barbell back squat — The classic lower-body lift. Squatting deeper grew the glutes and adductors more, and the quadriceps just as well.
- Leg press — Heavy quadriceps work with nothing to balance, so sets can go close to failure and the load can rise in small steps.
References
- Speirs DE, Bennett MA, Finn CV, Turner AP. Unilateral vs. bilateral squat training for strength, sprints, and agility in academy rugby players. J Strength Cond Res, 2016;30(2):386-392. doi.org
How we reviewed this page
Every claim is cited to research we opened and read, and labelled with the kind of evidence behind it. Training studies, which measure muscle or strength over weeks, carry the most weight; an exercise is listed only if at least one training study or review supports it. Studies of muscle activation (EMG) can add detail but are never the reason an exercise is here. Sources were last checked on October 6, 2026.
These are five well-supported choices we list for this muscle group, not a ranked "top five" — the research rarely supports one.
Drafted with AI assistance, then edited and fact-checked by a human.
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General information only. This is not medical advice.