The squat and deadlift have a problem that nobody likes to talk about. Once you get technically proficient at them, they let you lift a lot of weight — and a lot of weight means a lot of compressive force on the spine. The lumbar curve, which has to stay neutral under load to keep the passive spinal structures safe, is usually the first thing to go when the bar gets heavy. Even elite lifters lose it. Watch enough powerlifting footage and you’ll see it everywhere.
This isn’t an argument against squatting or deadlifting. Both are essential. But there’s a smarter way to programme your lower body training that reduces the risk of spinal loading while still building serious leg strength — and it involves doing Bulgarian split squats before you touch the barbell.
By pre-fatiguing the legs with split squats, your lower body is temporarily weakened by the time you squat or deadlift — which means you’ll need less weight to achieve the same training effect, with significantly less spinal stress. It’s not a compromise. It’s a smarter training strategy.
What Are Bulgarian Split Squats?
The Bulgarian split squat — technically a rear-foot elevated split squat — is essentially a single-leg squat performed with your back foot elevated on a bench behind you. The name comes from the Bulgarian weightlifting system, which popularized the movement when a Bulgarian coach visited the United States in the late 1980s.
Because you’re working one leg at a time, you can’t load the exercise anywhere near as heavily as a bilateral squat. That’s the point. The spinal loading is dramatically reduced, the torso stays more upright which protects the lumbar curve, and each leg has to work independently — eliminating the side-to-side strength imbalances that bilateral squatting can mask for years.
Many progressive strength and conditioning coaches have shifted toward split squat variations as their primary lower body strength exercise for exactly these reasons. Less injury risk, more targeted stimulus, more honest development.
What Muscles Do Bulgarian Split Squats Work?
The split squat is primarily a quad-dominant exercise, but it’s far from a single-muscle movement.
Primary movers:
- Quadriceps — the front thigh muscles that extend the knee. The lead leg quads do the majority of the work during the pushing phase
- Gluteus maximus — heavily loaded during the descent, drives hip extension on the way up
- Gluteus medius — works hard to stabilize the hips and prevent the knee from collapsing inward throughout the movement
Secondary muscles:
- Hamstrings — assist the glutes in hip extension and stabilize the knee
- Adductor magnus — the inner thigh muscle that contributes to hip extension at the bottom of the movement
- Hip flexors (rear leg) — the elevated rear foot stretches the hip flexors of the back leg, providing a mobility benefit alongside the strength work
- Core and spinal erectors — working continuously to keep the torso upright and stable under load
- Calves — contribute to balance and ankle stability throughout
The single-leg nature of the exercise means every stabilising muscle has to work harder than it would during a bilateral squat. That’s why people with excellent squat numbers often find Bulgarian split squats humbling when they first try them.
Benefits of Bulgarian Split Squats
Reduced spinal loading. Working one leg at a time means you use significantly less total weight than a bilateral squat, which dramatically reduces compressive force on the intervertebral discs. The more upright torso position also preserves the lumbar curve more effectively than a barbell back squat.
Corrects strength imbalances. Every bilateral exercise allows the stronger side to compensate for the weaker one. Split squats force each leg to do its own work, which surfaces imbalances and forces the weaker leg to catch up. For athletes especially, this has significant injury-prevention value.
Improved hip mobility. The rear foot elevation creates a deep stretch in the hip flexors of the back leg at the bottom of every rep. Over time, consistent split squat training meaningfully improves hip mobility — which also carries over to better squat and deadlift mechanics.
Better balance and proprioception. Single-leg training challenges balance systems in a way bilateral work doesn’t. The initial wobbliness most people experience when they start split squats is their nervous system adapting to single-leg force production — and that adaptation transfers to every other athletic movement.
A safer way to train heavy legs. For people with lower back issues or disc problems, the split squat often allows productive heavy leg training that regular squatting can’t. The mechanics are simply more spine-friendly under load.
How to Do Bulgarian Split Squats
Setup: Stand facing away from a bench, roughly a lunge-length in front of it. Extend your rear leg back and place the top of your foot on the bench. Your front foot should be far enough forward that your shin stays close to vertical when you lower down.
The descent: Bend both legs and lower your rear knee toward the floor. Think about sitting back and down rather than just bending the knee forward. Keep your torso upright throughout — don’t let your chest collapse forward. Lower until your rear knee lightly touches or nearly touches the floor.
The drive: Push through the heel of your front foot and drive back up to the starting position. Squeeze the glute at the top. That’s one rep.
Key points:
- Front shin should stay close to vertical — knee shouldn’t travel significantly past toes
- Keep your weight on the heel and midfoot of the front foot, not the toes
- Hips should stay level throughout — don’t let the hip of the working leg drop
- Keep the core braced throughout the entire set
Common Problems and Fixes
Losing your balance. This is completely normal when starting out, especially if you’ve trained mainly bilateral exercises. Stand sideways next to a wall and rest one hand against it for support. Reduce the assistance gradually as your balance improves. Low-rep practice sets — sets of 5 between other exercises or during warm-up — accelerate the adaptation significantly.
Knee pain. Usually caused by too short a stance — the front shin is angled too far forward, pushing the knee past the toes and loading the joint rather than the muscle. Step your front foot further forward until the shin is close to vertical when you’re at the bottom of the movement. Focus on sitting back into the squat rather than down.
Hip or groin pain. Often the opposite problem — stance is too long, creating too much hip flexor tension. Bring the front foot in slightly. Hip/groin discomfort can also indicate tight hip flexors or quads — reduce the range of motion slightly by placing a folded mat or thick towel under the rear knee and work on flexibility separately.
Can’t get low enough. Tight hip flexors restricting the range of motion. Lower the bench height — even a low step works — until the flexibility improves. Progress to a full bench height over time.
Progressions and Loading Options
Bodyweight is genuinely challenging when you start split squats. Once it becomes manageable, there are plenty of ways to add load:
- Dumbbells at sides (suitcase position) — the most common and practical option
- Single dumbbell or medicine ball at chest — adds load while also challenging core stability
- Barbell across upper back — as with a back squat, maximum loading option
- Barbell in front rack position — more upright torso, increased core demand
- Overhead hold — barbell or dumbbells overhead, extremely challenging for stability and shoulder mobility
- Weighted vest — useful when you want to add load without holding implements
- Jump split squat — drive off the floor into a jump, landing back in the split squat position. Only the front foot should leave the floor. Develops explosive power. Use bodyweight only.
- Single dumbbell held at one side — asymmetric loading challenges the core and balance systems differently than symmetric loading
Sets, Reps, and Programming
For strength: 4–5 sets of 4–6 reps per leg, heavy load, full rest between sets. Use before squatting or deadlifting to pre-fatigue the legs.
For hypertrophy: 3–4 sets of 8–12 reps per leg, moderate load, controlled tempo. 2–3 seconds on the descent.
For beginners: 3 sets of 6–8 reps per leg, bodyweight or very light load. Focus entirely on form and balance before adding weight.
As a pre-fatigue tool (recommended): 3 sets of 8 reps per leg with moderate weight before squatting or deadlifting. Your legs will be fatigued by the time you get to the barbell, which means you’ll use less weight on the compound lifts — reducing spinal loading while still getting a full training stimulus.
Always start with your weaker leg first. Match the reps on the stronger side. The weaker side sets the volume for the session.
The Bottom Line
Bulgarian split squats are not a replacement for squats and deadlifts. They’re a complement — one that makes your overall training more sustainable, more balanced, and less likely to end in injury. The coaches who programme them as a primary lower body exercise aren’t taking the easy route. They’re taking the smart one.
Start with bodyweight. Accept the wobbling. Within a few weeks you’ll be adding load, and within a few months you’ll wonder why you ever skipped them.
