Split squat exercise: build strength and improve form, guide and video
Certain exercises help you build muscle mass. Others improve your balance or coordination. And some can increase your stamina, making your blood pump and your heart race.
But what if there was a movement that did all of this? It turns out there is: the split squat exercise.
Split squats are like a secret weapon in your workout arsenal. They are effective for working several muscle groups, quick to master and quite simple to do in the gym or at home.
Ready to learn how to do them correctly? Keep reading.
What is a Split Squat?
Split squats are a unilateral (one-sided) exercise designed to build lower body strength and promote balance. The split squat achieves these goals by targeting the following muscles:
- Quads
- Hamstrings
- Calves
- Glutes
- Abs (core)
The benefits of split squats
In addition to building lower body and core strength, split squats are great for:
- Improve balance – Adding split squats to your workout routine can increase your sense of balance. That’s because the exercise targets your adductors, the muscles in your mid-thigh that stabilize your pelvis and keep you balanced while you walk.
- Correct muscle imbalances – Since split squats work you one leg at a time, it’s easier to identify and manage strength differences between your right and left sides. If one leg seems weaker, you can isolate that side until both legs are equal.
- Improve sports performance – For anyone who plays sports, split squats offer the ultimate cross-training opportunity. After all, many sports movements, including running and jumping, are unilateral. By strengthening both legs, developing stability and increasing mobility, the split squat exercise prepares you for any activity.
- Increased stamina – Like many exercises, split squats get your heart pumping. Doing several sets of these unilateral squats can improve your overall fitness, helping you tackle other workouts without feeling out of breath.
How to do the Split Squat exercise
Because you don’t need specialized equipment for split squats, you can do them anywhere. Here’s how.
Step 1: Position your body
First, find a space in the gym and stand with your feet hip-width apart, facing forward. Take a big step forward by planting your heel on the ground and straightening your front leg. Leave the back leg slightly bent.
From here, stand straight with your arms at your sides and your chest facing forward.
Step 2: Get down to the ground
When you feel stable, begin to bend both legs until your back knee almost reaches the floor.
At your lowest point, your front shin should be straight up and down with your knee aligned above it. Your back knee will rest just behind your hip; you should feel a stretch in your hip flexor.
Step 3: Get up
To complete your first repetition, press up from the floor by driving your front heel into the floor. Returning to your starting point, straighten your front leg while maintaining a slight bend in the back leg.
Step 4: Switch sides
After completing a set of split squats on one side (we suggest 10-20 reps per set), work on the other side. Bring your back leg forward, send your front leg back, and repeat the exercise on the opposite side.
Tips and Tricks for Split Squats
Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, these tips from our fitness experts should help you stay safe and train at a high level when doing split squats:
- Use a stable surface for balance – Split squats are as much about balance as they are about strength, so performing the exercise with control can be a challenge for beginners. If you need help standing, you can hold on to a chair, counter, or other sturdy surface for support. As your strength and coordination improve, you will be able to perform your split squats without assistance.
- Stand as straight as possible – You may feel a natural tendency to lean forward as you lower yourself to the ground, but do your best to combat this tendency. By keeping your back straight, you can reap all the benefits of each split squat. And reduce the risk of spinal injuries.
- Keep your back knee lifted – For best results, do not let your back knee touch the ground. Keeping your knee raised ensures that there is no “rest period” during your set, allowing you to get the most out of your workout. However, if you must rest your knee on the floor between reps, you may find it more comfortable to place a small cushion or towel on the floor.
Split Squat Variations to Try
For more of a challenge, experiment with these variations of the split squat exercise.
Weighted split squats
Weighted split increases the difficulty of the standard version by adding weights to the mix.
To perform this variation, follow the steps above, but hold a dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand. Be sure to keep your arms straight as you raise and lower your body.
As always, we recommend starting with lighter weights before moving on to heavier equipment.
Bulgarian split squats
To increase the difficulty even more, try the Bulgarian split squat. In this exercise, you will do your back foot squats on an elevated surface, such as a weight bench or yoga block. Simply place the top of your back foot on a solid surface and perform a set of squats as usual.
If the standard Bulgarian split squat still isn’t enough for you, you can also do it with weights.
It’s time to do split squats and more
There may be no perfect exercise, but split squats come pretty close. By incorporating the split squat exercise into your workout routine, you can simultaneously increase your stability, endurance, and lower body strength.
Now all you need is a friendly, organized place to work out. Chuze Fitness delivers on its promises. With convenient locations across the country, we have everything you need to perform any variation of the split squat, as well as any other exercise you can think of.
To get started, explore our membership options, then find the Chuze Fitness location that’s right for you.
Sources:
National Center for Biotechnology Information. Anatomy, bony pelvis and lower limb: adductor major muscle of the thigh.
Very well fitted. How to Do a Bulgarian Split Squat: Proper Form, Variations, and Common Mistakes.
Reviewed by:
Ani is the Vice President of Fitness at Chuze Fitness and oversees the group fitness and team training departments. She has had a career spanning over 25 years in club management, personal training, group exercise and instructor training. Ani lives with her husband and son in San Diego, California and loves hot yoga, snowboarding, and all things wellness.
