Bulgarian split squat: form, muscles worked and progressions

What is a Bulgarian split squat?

A Bulgarian split squat is also called a rear-foot-elevated split squat. You stand in a split stance with the rear foot supported above the floor, bend the front knee and hip to lower, then return to standing. The name can make it sound like a one-legged squat, but the rear leg remains in contact with the support.

The front leg nevertheless does most of the work. In a study of 26 trained men completing an incremental five-repetition-maximum protocol, the lead foot supplied an average of 84.36% of total vertical force across 715 repetitions. The researchers found that rear-foot force did not rise meaningfully with exercise intensity and described the movement as a valid unilateral exercise.² This is a laboratory finding from trained men, not a target you need to reproduce at home.

It is more demanding of balance than an ordinary squat because the feet have different jobs and are placed at different heights. If balance is the limiting factor, holding a chair or work surface is a sensible regression. An NHS exercise page gives that option for a floor-level split squat and instructs the user to bend both knees together.⁶ Master that version before elevating the rear foot if you cannot yet control the stance.

How do you do a Bulgarian split squat step by step?

Start by rehearsing the stance without weight. Stand facing away from a low, secure support. Step forwards far enough that you can descend without feeling crowded, then place the rear foot on the support. There is no universal distance that suits every combination of leg length, ankle movement and support height, so do not copy a floor mark measured for somebody else.

Keep the front foot planted. Lower by bending the front hip and knee while allowing the rear knee to travel downwards. Move only through a range that you can control. Reverse the movement by pressing the front foot into the floor and extending the front hip and knee. The back foot is support rather than the main driver, which is consistent with the force-plate findings.²

Use the front foot staying planted and a controlled, comfortable range as practical checks, rather than forcing a particular depth or stance. The NHS advises matching activity and intensity to your fitness, so a shallower bodyweight repetition is a better starting point than a depth or load that you cannot control.¹

Watch one repetition from the front and one from the side, either in a mirror or in a short phone recording. From the front, check whether the foot and knee remain steady. From the side, check whether every repetition reaches a similar controlled depth. This is a form check, not a clinical assessment.

Which muscles does the Bulgarian split squat work?

The main muscles examined in published rear-foot-elevated split squat research include the gluteus maximus, quadriceps and hamstrings. In 20 resistance-trained young women, researchers recorded the gluteus maximus, vastus lateralis and medial and lateral hamstrings while participants performed three repetitions at 80% of their one-repetition maximum.³ That sample and loading protocol matter: the findings should not be treated as an exact activation score for every person.

Activation changed through the repetition. All four muscles had higher activation in the bottom third of the rear-foot-elevated split squat than in its middle and top thirds. Across the whole repetition, vastus lateralis activation was 59.4%, compared with 43.6% during the hip thrust used as the comparison exercise.³ This supports describing the movement as a substantial quadriceps exercise, while also involving the hip extensors.

A separate biomechanical study compared the Bulgarian split squat with the bilateral back squat in 20 resistance-trained men. Hip measures were greater than ankle and knee measures within both squat types, and the authors classified both exercises as hip-dominant.⁴ “Hip-dominant” does not mean “glutes only”. It describes the joint demands observed in that study, while the knee extensors still contribute to the exercise.

How can you use the Bulgarian split squat for glutes?

Use the Bulgarian split squat as a compound leg exercise rather than trying to remove the quadriceps from it. The research shows meaningful demands at both the hip and knee. McCurdy and colleagues recorded gluteus maximus and hamstring activation, with the highest values in the bottom part of the rear-foot-elevated split squat, while Mackey and Riemann classified the exercise as hip-dominant.³⁴

Depth is therefore relevant to what the published activation study observed, but more depth is not automatically better. Descend only as far as you can keep the front foot secure and reverse the movement without bouncing or losing balance. A controlled range that you can repeat is more useful for tracking than a deeper repetition that changes shape each time.

Do not assume that a very long stance or an exaggerated forward lean is required to make the movement “for glutes”. The studies summarised here do not establish a universal stance measurement for that purpose. Instead, select a stance that lets your front hip and knee bend comfortably, then keep it consistent while you judge progress.

If your goal is broader strength development, combine unilateral and bilateral patterns rather than declaring one universally superior. In eight trained male rugby players using each exercise’s respective 10RM load, the rear-foot-elevated split squat produced a hip extension moment 44% greater at the bottom and a peak value 47% greater than the back squat. The absolute load was smaller, and the study followed four months of familiarisation.⁷ The result is specific to that design and does not mean everyone should replace squats.

How do you do a Bulgarian split squat with dumbbells?

First make the bodyweight set-up repeatable. Then hold a dumbbell in each hand with the arms hanging naturally. Establish your footing before lifting the rear foot, and finish the set by returning both feet to the floor before putting the weights down. If holding two dumbbells makes balance, grip or set-up the limiting factor, use less load or return to bodyweight practice.

A single dumbbell can also be held while the free hand uses a secure support. However, do not assume that choosing the same-side or opposite-side hand creates a large, predictable change in every muscle. A study of conventional split squats and walking lunges, not rear-foot-elevated split squats, tested 14 resistance-trained and 14 untrained participants. It found that ipsilateral loading did not increase gluteus medius or vastus medialis activity in either group.⁸ Because the exercise was different, this is context rather than a rule for the Bulgarian version.

For progression, change one variable at a time. You might first make the stance and depth consistent, then add repetitions within your plan, then add a small amount of resistance. The NHS says strengthening work should reach a point where you need a short rest before repeating it, but it does not prescribe a Bulgarian split squat load.¹ See sets and reps and progressive overload for planning principles.

What are the common Bulgarian split squat mistakes?

The first mistake is treating the back leg as the engine. If you push hard from the elevated foot, the body may shift forwards and the repetition becomes inconsistent. The force-plate study found that the lead foot supplied most vertical force and that rear-foot contribution did not rise with intensity.² Think of the rear foot as a contact point while the front leg performs the main work.

The second is changing the stance every set. A position that is too cramped can make the descent feel blocked; one that is too stretched can make balance dominate. Mark the front-foot position with removable tape once you find a comfortable stance, and write down which support you used. The measurement is personal and is intended to reproduce your set-up, not to create a universal standard.

The third is adding load before you can control the bodyweight version. A wobbling repetition makes it difficult to tell whether your front leg is progressing. Use a chair or work surface for balance if needed, as the NHS split squat page suggests.⁶ Support is a way to practise the leg movement, not a failed repetition.

The fourth is chasing somebody else’s depth. The activation study found the greatest activation at the bottom of the movement, but its participants were trained women working at 80% of one-repetition maximum under study conditions.³ It does not establish a compulsory depth for beginners or for anyone with symptoms.

The fifth is comparing unlike loads. A dumbbell in each hand, a barbell, bodyweight and a cable all change set-up and stability. Record the exact version rather than writing only “Bulgarian split squat”. That keeps your trend readable from one session to the next.

How does a Bulgarian split squat compare with lunges and back squats?

A Bulgarian split squat is stationary and places the rear foot on a raised support. A conventional split squat keeps both feet on the floor. A walking lunge includes a step from one repetition to the next. Stastny and colleagues described walking lunges and split squats as similar exercises with differences in the eccentric phase, then found that training status and dumbbell-carrying position affected some measurements.⁸ Their study did not test the rear-foot-elevated version.

The back squat is bilateral, with both feet on the floor and the load shared between the legs. In Mackey and Riemann’s study, participants used 70% of back-squat 1RM and 35% of back-squat 1RM for the Bulgarian split squat. Both were hip-dominant, while peak knee displacement was lower in the Bulgarian split squat.⁴ That does not make one inherently safer or better. It shows that the mechanical demands differed under that protocol.

How can you measure progress at home?

Measure the set-up before trying to measure performance. Note the support used, front-foot floor mark, footwear and whether you held external resistance. A tape measure can record the distance from the support to the front heel, but the number is useful only for reproducing your own stance. It is not a form target for anyone else.

Next, log each side separately. Record the exercise version, load, completed repetitions and a brief form note. If the right leg used eight controlled repetitions while the left used a chair for balance, preserve that distinction rather than combining both into one total. The rear-foot-elevated split squat is supported as a unilateral exercise by the force-distribution study, so side-specific records fit the movement.²

Look for a trend across comparable sessions, not a verdict from one workout. A useful improvement might be steadier repetitions at the same set-up, the same work with less balance assistance, more repetitions with unchanged form, or a modest load increase. Do not change support height, stance, resistance and depth together, because you will not know what produced the different result.

The wider NHS target is at least two days of strengthening activity each week for all major muscle groups, not two days of Bulgarian split squats specifically.¹ This is one leg exercise within a balanced programme. If you are new to resistance exercise, start with how to start strength training or the strength training at home guide.

Frequently asked questions