Split Squat Exercise: Build Strength and Improve Form Guide and Video
Some exercises help you develop muscle mass. Others improve your balance or coordination. And some can increase your stamina, setting your blood pumping and your heart racing.
But what if there was a movement that did it all? As it turns out, there is: the split squat exercise.
Split squats are like a secret weapon in your training arsenal. They’re efficient at working several muscle groups, quick to master, and simple enough to do in the gym or at home.
Ready to learn how to do them properly? Read on.
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
Along with building strength in your lower body and core, split squats are excellent for:
- Improving 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 the middle of your thigh that stabilize your pelvis and keep you balanced while you walk.
- Correcting muscle imbalances – Since split squats have you work one leg at a time, it’s easier to identify and address strength differences between your right and left sides. If one leg feels weaker, you can isolate that side until both legs are equal.
- Enhancing athletic performance – For anyone who plays sports, split squats offer the ultimate cross-training opportunity. After all, many athletic 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.
- Increasing stamina – Like many exercises, split squats get your heart pumping. Doing several sets of these one-sided 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 the front. Take a big step forward, planting your heel on the ground and straightening your front leg. Leave the back leg slightly bent.
From there, stand up tall, with your arms by your side and your chest facing forward.
Step 2: Lower to the Ground
When you feel steady, start to bend both legs until your back knee almost reaches the ground.
At your lowest point, your front shin should be straight up and down with your knee aligned overtop. Your back knee, meanwhile, will rest just behind the hip; you should feel a stretch in your hip flexor.
Step 3: Rise Up
To complete your first rep, press up from the ground, driving the front heel into the floor. As you return to your starting point, straighten your front leg while keeping a slight bend in the back leg.
Step 4: Switch Sides
After you finish 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, this guidance 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 strength, so executing the exercise with control can be challenging for first-timers. If you need help staying upright, you can hold onto a chair, counter, or other solid surface for support. As your strength and coordination improves, you’ll be able to complete your split squats without assistance.
- Stand as straight as possible – You may feel a natural inclination to lean forward as you lower yourself to the ground, but try your best to fight against it. By maintaining a straight back, you can enjoy the full benefits of each split squat and reduce the risk of spinal injuries.
- Keep the back knee lifted – For the best results, don’t let your back knee touch the ground. Keeping the knee lifted ensures there’s no “rest period” during your set, allowing you to make the most of your workout. However, if you need to rest your knee on the ground between repetitions, you may find it more comfortable to place a small pad or towel on the floor.
Split Squat Variations to Try
For more of a challenge, experiment with these variations on the split squat exercise.
Weighted Split Squats
Weighted split squats up the difficulty of the standard version by adding weights to the mix.
To execute this variation, follow the above steps, 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 progressing to heavier equipment.
Bulgarian Split Squats
To crank up the difficulty even more, try the Bulgarian split squat. In this exercise, you’ll do your squats with the back foot on a raised surface, such as a weight bench or yoga block. Simply rest the top of your back foot on a sturdy surface and complete a set of squats as normal.
If the standard Bulgarian split squat still isn’t enough for you, you can also do it with weights.
It’s Time for Split Squats and So Much More
There may be no such thing as a perfect exercise, but split squats come pretty close. By incorporating the split squat exercise into your workout routine, you can simultaneously increase your stability, stamina, and lower-body strength.
Now, all you need is a friendly, organized place to work out. Chuze Fitness delivers. With convenient locations across the country, we have everything you need to execute any variation of split squat—plus any other exercise you can think of.
To get started, explore our membership options, then find the Chuze Fitness facility that works for you.
Sources:
National Center for Biotechnology Information. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb: Thigh Adductor Magnus Muscle. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534842/
Verywell Fit. How to Do a Bulgarian Split Squat: Proper Form, Variations, and Common Mistakes. https://www.verywellfit.com/how-to-do-a-bulgarian-split-squat-4589307
Reviewed By:
Ani is the Vice President of Fitness at Chuze Fitness and oversees the group fitness and team training departments. She’s had a 25+ year career in club management, personal training, group exercise and instructor training. Ani lives with her husband and son in San Diego, CA and loves hot yoga, snowboarding and all things wellness.
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