Do this exercise if you want your heart to pop out lol. I hate this workout because it's so damn good. It makes me cry everytime I do it specially when I switch from one leg to another realizing that I have to do same number of reps again after almost killing myself on the first leg set.
I'm glad I read that comment. I wondered if I was having some "off" days when i started adding these in. Didnt know why my heart was pounding after each set.
@@nick_t7467 yeah this really gasses me.. gets my heart pounding like kickbacks for some reason.. i go heavy and close to failure doing 8-12 reps depending on how i'm feeling..
Split squats and I still aren't on speaking terms atm. The lock down last March really took a toll on our relationship. We just spent too much time together, and we're kind of on a trial separation. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, hopefully.
Hands down one of the best exercises that should be in everyone’s leg day! I started doing these years ago after I herniated 2 discs in my lumbar spine.
That reminds me , can u make a video on preventing herniated discs . The only vid on utube of the respective topic is from Jeff Cavalier ( I don't trust him )
@@user-zk4dv2nx8k Good topic, but it’s somewhat difficult to do as most people develop herniated discs from normal everyday life activities and may never even know they have it. With regards to lifting weights and herniated discs, it mostly comes down to doing safe exercises, using proper form, and building a strong core that you actively engage when performing most exercises. I could make a video about that though, just have to figure out the best way to cover it.
Best gains ever with BSS. Years ago I back squats 100kg for reps and my legs are OK.. But now with BSS alone, my legs blown away!! Glutes and quads! Great content man 💪🙌
I love Bulgarian split squats. Such a good exercise! I prefer the long stride, because it works the glutes and hamstrings better. I think many people like to skip these, because they require some practising and they make your legs really sore.
B.S.S. are awesome. I recommend to lean forward enough and stay in that position. Not only to shift the weight mostly on the one leg you are working, but also because the more you lean forward the greater the stretch in the hams, which stabilizes the knee(s). I have cartilage damage in my left knee and that way I can split squat without pain. Besides using dumbbells or just bodyweight there is also the option to use resistance bands. Just stand on the center of the band, grab the band with both hands to the left and right of the foot like the bar on a deadlift and there you go.
Happy to report that I'm watching this video with enournous soreness in my legs after doing BULGARIAN SPLIT SQUATS yesterday. Holy hell on Earth, Mars and beyond! 🦵
These help tremendously with imbalances left over from an injury that had my right leg paralyzed for about a year. They strengthen foot arch. I progress the balance training by loading goblet-style, then overhead with a medicine ball. The load is non-lethal but the long lever arm multiplies its effect. It's helped with overhead barbell squats and everything that puts a barbell overhead.
Bulgarian split squats: My favorite for sports performance, which of course includes great balance. Often put my front foot on a balance pad or BOSU trainer to amp-up the balance component and theoretically injury prevention. Great to bang out a few sets when you are waiting around somewhere and have no equipment (rear foot on chair, table, window sill, bed, etc.) Get to it, no excuses! 🙂
Love me some Bulgarian Split Squats, now that I’m training at home they’re a go to exercise to make use of my light weights. I remember you saying on Quora that squats are more of a core exercise than a leg exercise, but split squats aren’t, and you’re absolutely right.
split squats are the best IMO. they hit everything so well and also build up and strengthen each leg individually making both legs stronger for exercises like squats and deadlifts.
I persisted with the barbell squat for years but it caused me nothing but problems due to leg length discrepancy and uneven hips. So I decided to just get strong af on the BSS. I have built up to using 48kg dumbbells plus a chain on my back. BSS is not a true unilateral exercise, you will use both legs whether you like it or not. Something to try is ‘floating BSS’ where you rest your rear leg on a band spread across a rack, that’s as close to unilateral as your going to get.
finally knuckled down and decided to do these instead of only doing the same 3 quad exercises. I love how intense the exercise is for how little weight I'm doing, and I felt the burn way way more than I would on any type of bilateral movement. Quads are insanely sore, and also my glute medius is specifically sore. Quads are a weak point for me so this is a real good addition for me.
I used to hate Bulgarian split squats, but I knew they were good for me and now I don't hate them so much. I like doing a drop set on my last set. I've also started doing front-loaded sandbag split squats (on a different day). That hip flexor stretch is for real with both of these.
I came to this video not because I needed convincing to use bulgarian split squats but because I wanted to mention the glute gains have been noticed heavily in all your other videos haha.
I've recently only been doing bulgarian split squats for my legs (HIT training), I am able to do 16 full rom reps per leg with 60 kg added weight(dumbbells) at 90 kg bodyweight with less than 2 years of training experience, they really make your legs blow up. My thighs are currently 66/67 cm
I started doing these few weeks ago. Kinda dreadful and make walking lunges like a trip to Disneyland. However, I know I am running better due to this exercise. I can feel the difference once I am fatigued , the hips don't lie, or drop in this case.
@@GVS now that you mentioned it, I've never seen anybody but myself do RDLs in the many gyms I've been to... Even i started incorporating them very recently as I thought for many years they were bullshit.
@@theblackreaper4395 i don't know about the RDL but I would guess yes. The BSS originates from Bulgaria. It was first used in the 70s by our weightlifting teams and the coach Angel Spasov popularized it.
1:42 THAT'S SO TRUE! My leg training consisted of squats and barbell lunges. One day I had a small pain on the lower back, thus I had to stop squatting for that week and I decided to just do only barbell lunges, doing more sets of those to compensate the volume I previously had from squats and in a matter of just a week I felt my legs and ass much fuller and big like never before. For everyone out there, don't idolize squats too much, they are good but there are better exercise for quads and glutes to try.
great video, this has been my main leg movement ever since I started having back issues and I honestly think it's superior to the Barbell squat. the one real negative is your going to be spending twice as long because you need to rest after each leg (otherwise whichever leg goes 2nd is going to get cheated)
Wow! those are some great reasons to include bulgarian split squats in a workout. I have always neglected bulgarian split squat because the barbell squats are said as the king of exercises for the lower body and also as its a compound exercise,but looks like i have to include the split squats too!
I fear these to the point of nausea. My heart feels like it’s gonna explode every time I do them. That said “nothing “ pumps your legs like a high rep set of these! Humbling, intense, worthwhile & down right disgusting!
I had a slight herinated disc 10 days ago, i recovered well and today was the first day back in the gym, I couldnt do any of the usual leg workouts as they all overload the lower back especially since I injured myself during leg press 🤦 so all i did was machine extensions and leg curl, this looks like a good workout to add on this week
Absolutely great video! It’s a really good exercise for the quads and glutes. I use a deficit with these to increase the range of motion. The DOMS I get after doing them in my quads and glutes is always truly incredible. This exercise also offers a really good SFR so it’s a good addition to most programs and also an amazing way to add more volume for quads with less fatigue. Thanks for the awesome videos! 💪
Started doing unilateral movements as accessories since I became a dad and was very tired to go heavy all the session. I've been getting better results both in strength and hypertrophy now. I feel I can go heavier in the primary exercise and still have a great workout with these accessories without getting completely annihilated which in turns promotes better recovery for the next training session.
Holy crap. I started using these recently after tweaking my back with squats. I'm so sad I didn't start using these sooner. They blow up my quads like almost nothing I've felt before. But yeah, they are pure torture. 3 sets of anything from 10-20 and I'm toasted. Absolutely dread them. Absolutely love them.
Love-Hate Relationship is a common phrasing when you search for Bulgarian-Split-Squats. I used to do 3-4 sets of BSS using a barbell, the general feeling afterward was between fainting and an increased desire to die. A new 'variation' I do now is using Hex/Trap bar instead of a barbell, that way I can easily go to near failure / rest-pause safely, without the need to move dumbells around the gym.
These might be a good exercise to fill in the gap. The leg press at my gym hits the quads great after squats, but its built crappy and is causing sciatic nerve pain as the weights go up. I'm not at all rounding, so it's not cause of that. I guess I'll go front squat, hack squat, Bulgarian split squat for quads.
I also hate these, but I have noticed a 2cm increase in thigh size (flexed) in 2 months since I started doing them. The burn in 15 rep sets is crazy but they really do work!
Hey Geoffrey, I couldn’t agree with you more about the value of incorporating BSSs into lower your body routine, providing that the BSS is programmed as an accessory, or assistance lift to the squat, and not a replacement for it.
Great video as always Geoff. I did a lot of Bulgarian split squats a few months ago but had issues with knee pain on the back leg, so had to stop doing them. Now the gym is closed I would really like to get back to them. Do you have any tips on fixing the knee issue in terms of leg placement, depth or anything like that?
@@GVS Yeah I figured it might be, thanks for the response. Think I'll try playing around with it with some light weights and see if I can find something comfortable.
I tried doing Bulgarian split squats a few months ago and I hated them because of how hard they were. But last month I added assisted pistol squats to my workout regime(I haven’t continued them due to shin pain) but After seeing this video I started doing Bulgarian split squats and they are much easier now that I have more unilateral control from the assisted pistols
My knees absolutely do not tolerate any squats, not even bodyweight. But split squats are fine for some reason. I can even do 25kg dumbbells per hand ( which or me, feels very heavy ) and see some decent growth.
I did these today for the first time instead of back squats because my back was hurting a bit. Needless to say my ego is now injured and has to take a rest week
According to Bulgarian weightlifting coach Angel Spassov and those instructed by him, there is a definitive way to perform this exercise. First, choose a platform no higher than 6 inches, with 4 to 6 inches being the ideal range depending on your body structure. Go no higher than this. using a standard bench of about 12 inches should only be done for athletes specializing in sports such as ice skating or dancing.
Haha, I just found this video after I finished my BG split squat session :D (I haven't seen it yet, but I will in a minute!) For me this is the only exercise I do every week even on my free/regeneration weeks that come once in a blue moon. Since it 1) keeps my heart in condition as long as I do the lighter weight long sets (e.g. 20-30 reps, 4 sets with an adequate weight) ... it's like a very very intense HIIT cardio session, I have rest pauses even between the right and the left leg 2) it has really built my glutes, much more noticeably than squats ever did (though I still consider them the core of my lower body exercises) 3) I think it gives quite a good pump for the quads (since with squats I always go rather heavy) - at least the way I do them (high reps... almost the German training volume rep-wise, hahahaha :D)
Anyway, you make great points! (about squatting racks: my only way of squatting right now even for heavy squats is my Steinborn rockover squat - I got really good in it, but I wouldn't recommend that to advanced athletes who've never done it, that is, without spending a long time first training with baby weights before they can work up to their usual, it's QUITE technical... but also a brutal core/oblique workout ;) ). Anyway, I have to give this to the Jeff Fake-Weights Cavalier: he's otherwise quite ridiculous (just like the clip you played), but it was from him I originally got the idea to focus on the BG split squats and program them into my training from. Well, as they say, even the broken clock is right twice a day! :D
Would you recommend programming these alongside squats? Or would they be redundant after squats? Do you think, in other words, that Bulgarian split squats deserve full attention as a main lift?
I've been doing these on and off since mid-2020 and more regularly for the past few months, and personally I've found that my single-leg balance has improved significantly. In the beginning I could barely stay balanced even when holding onto a chair, and now I can do them holding dumbbells with no extra support (though it takes a lot of focus). I think they're a good tradeoff between requiring stabilization yet still being stable enough that I can actually push my leg muscles, as opposed to something like a single-leg deadlift where I'm totally focused on the balancing component. I also feel them a lot more in my quads and glutes than the back squat (which is heavily dominated by my adductors) and the strength curve seems more constant. One question though - would you say there's a meaningful difference between placing the bottom of the toes or the top of the back foot on the bench? I do the latter and the training footage shows you doing both, but most other videos seem to do the former instead. I figure that would allow you to push with the back leg a bit more.
For me holding the dumbbells for bbs is the most limiting factor in terms of increasing the weights on this excersise. Especially on later sets. And i also noticed my forearms are quite fatigued, weich limits my pulling strength on the next day. Is there anything I can do to help this?
After a lower back injury was traced to my right leg I started doing these and found that my left leg had been compensating for my right for some time now, I was able to do twice the reps on my left than my right plus my right was very unstable as well. Definitely had to address the imbalance.
What would you say is a suitable replacement for split squats? I’ve tried them every which way and reduced loading but they give me low back pain no matter what I try
doing these with a weighted vest feels pretty good because you can stabilize against something with your free hand. adding a dumbell in one hand and can add some load but feels odd. id really like to try an SSB for these, but i feel like people would be pissed im doing BSS in the rack lol...
I have been doing split squats like crazy for a few weeks now and my legs have simply exploded in size. So these are definitely great for hypertrophy. Luckily, my current gym has a Hammer Strength split squat machine which has enticed me to finally try this exercise seriusly. Previously I avoided this exercise like plague because I have naturally very poor sense of balance and I was for this reason afraid of injuries to my ankles. Sprained ankle has been an actual issue for me before this with exercises that require balance and strength at the same time and it takes easily weeks to recover and it absolutely sucks. However this machine eliminates completely the problematic balance issue because the handles are of course attached to the machine so you can't lose your balance no matter how much plates you wish to load on the bars.
Yeah, I think so. My default running speed has definitely improved at least. I think I need to include also tibialis raises to program too, because the tibiali seem to be my new weak spot.
Do BSS have any sorta carryover to Pistol squats?? Does training unilaterally with this movement or leg press enhance the strength to perform a pistol?
I prefer to do my BSS using a Smith machine for loading to take out the instability and just focus on stimulating the muscles with more weight. Spinal loading is still rather low. I hate to miss a rep due to balance issues or "twisting" to keep balance before my quads or glutes give out. Any thoughts on this?
I have a confusion.....how should the back foot be placed on the bench? Should it be like in 0:32 or 5:59 ?? How does the placement affect the muscles being worked? Or does it not matter?
Free tip for others who find keeping the back foot stretched uncomfortable, use the smith machine with a barbell pad on the bar to rest your back foot on, no one is using that thing anyway.
Yeah but what if I’m using the least annoying variation the smith machine split squat? I do them as a third movement after front squats and good mornings. I don’t hate them as much if I’m not always falling over but that back ankle feels pretty bad honestly
I love this because I don't have a sqaut rack at home. Do you have advice on deadlift also because I don't have a barbell...And feels like I'm missing something
Do you do them with a barbell also or do you recommend starting with dumbbells until you get fairly proficient before trying barbell or you just recommend dumbells?
Never understood why people smug at the concept of single legged workout and say "but muh squats tho". Its actually the same crew who say strenght standards do not make sense for hypertrophy (and i fully agree) yet they refuse to acknowledge that you CAN build massive tree trunk legs only with legged/staggered/split squats and lunges. Im doumbfounded by how simple this is and the fact that there are so many example to illustrate this but yet they just cling to this thought as if there was no alternative. "Oh you know split squats have a maximum load feasibility" ok bro, then proceed to a barbell varition on a squat rack with safety pins "but muh stability" ok bro then do it on a smith machine jeeeesust christ dude. There is nothing magical about a squat per se. Its just a knee bilateral flexion movement pattern. Get over it, single legged work can be just as effective if not more, with the added benefit that you know youll be hammering your adductor magnus like there is no tomorrow+ glute medius... Relax people BSS suck, yes, but you can progress them ad infinitum. Put some straps and pick the heavy dumbells if you like, no need to do them in the 20-30 rep range. The can be treated as a primary movement...😊
Is this a good exercise for hip flexor rehabilitation? I had injury 6 months ago and every time i try to go back squatting the pain just shoots up. I can see him do the exercise and it looks like he stretched the hip flexor. Im wondering if its a good movement when you have injury already? Or it can get me more in pain.
@@GVS lol tried this yesterday with 10 lbs dumbbells on both my arms.. I’m sore as hell butI didn’t feel much pain on hips. Also my form compare to yours is so bad I’m having trouble balancing on one foot.
They are incredible. However (pun intended), for some reason it make me hurt the knee that's not being used in the exercise. It causes some inflamation. My knees suck, I know. So for me, I have to replace them with something similar. Lunges work for me.
This exercise, like no other, make me physical sick. It doesn't take much, a couple of sets to failure, crazy burn and barely able to stand, I'm feeling dizzy and need some time to recover. It's crazy. I've done plenty of squatting, deadlifting and leg pressing and its never taxed me this much. One observation though. My legs have grown better with this than any other leg exercise and while I loath doing them, I do them because they work. The mind muscle connection I get on this is nuts and it hurts to sit down on the toilet days afterwards. Recommended if you love/hate yourself.
Should they replace squats (I do Hacksquats) completely or are they more of an addition? I do 3-4 sets of HS, should I add 1-2 of BSS or do one leg day with HS and the other with BSS? Considering I also do RDLs.
Do this exercise if you want your heart to pop out lol. I hate this workout because it's so damn good. It makes me cry everytime I do it specially when I switch from one leg to another realizing that I have to do same number of reps again after almost killing myself on the first leg set.
Lmao I know this feeling too well lol
I'm glad I read that comment. I wondered if I was having some "off" days when i started adding these in. Didnt know why my heart was pounding after each set.
I totally agree. I thought maybe I was crushing some vital organ as I was getting dizzy from pushing these to failure but its just a brutal exercise.
Take one min rest between legs
@@nick_t7467 yeah this really gasses me.. gets my heart pounding like kickbacks for some reason.. i go heavy and close to failure doing 8-12 reps depending on how i'm feeling..
As much as I love this exercise, it can easily humble any dude who thinks he’s strong 😅
My regular squat is bad enough. These things are murderous.
@@steelmongoose4956 I second that! I only have a 225lbs squats and these bring me to my knees 😂
True…It’s bewildering even to talk about high reps in the bulgarian split squat…
@Lucas Louzada 10 reps can wipe me out
I'm doing them with 100's in each hand
Split squats and I still aren't on speaking terms atm. The lock down last March really took a toll on our relationship. We just spent too much time together, and we're kind of on a trial separation. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, hopefully.
😂😂
Lol
Hands down one of the best exercises that should be in everyone’s leg day! I started doing these years ago after I herniated 2 discs in my lumbar spine.
That reminds me , can u make a video on preventing herniated discs .
The only vid on utube of the respective topic is from Jeff Cavalier ( I don't trust him )
@@user-zk4dv2nx8k Good topic, but it’s somewhat difficult to do as most people develop herniated discs from normal everyday life activities and may never even know they have it.
With regards to lifting weights and herniated discs, it mostly comes down to doing safe exercises, using proper form, and building a strong core that you actively engage when performing most exercises. I could make a video about that though, just have to figure out the best way to cover it.
@@FitLabb gotcha 👍
Thnx for replying btw 🙏
@@user-zk4dv2nx8k Always happy to help you out, and will always get back to you 👍
@@FitLabb appreciate that man , btw did u check out Nathanael Morton's channel ?
I have a love/hate relationship with Bulgarian Split Squats. They are so horrifically good.
Haha yea that about sums it up for me as well.
I've been doing them since the lockdown...I cry every Monday before doing them...tomorrow is Monday....
Jezus , find a girl
G-gym
I- in
R- brrrr
l- i didnt think that thru
Best gains ever with BSS. Years ago I back squats 100kg for reps and my legs are OK.. But now with BSS alone, my legs blown away!! Glutes and quads! Great content man 💪🙌
Well 100kg really isn't much
@@war_josh1550 hey no need to be negative, it's not bad.
@@GVS Sorry I didn't mean to come across as hurtful, I meant that you cant just squat 100kg for reps and expect to have huge legs and great results
@@war_josh1550 fair enough :)
I love Bulgarian split squats. Such a good exercise! I prefer the long stride, because it works the glutes and hamstrings better. I think many people like to skip these, because they require some practising and they make your legs really sore.
Yup, plus they are just tough to do, and you have to do twice as many working sets. Worth it though!
Bulgarian splits squats are awesome, no doubt. Makes you feel nauseous sometimes but gainz right
B.S.S. are awesome. I recommend to lean forward enough and stay in that position. Not only to shift the weight mostly on the one leg you are working, but also because the more you lean forward the greater the stretch in the hams, which stabilizes the knee(s). I have cartilage damage in my left knee and that way I can split squat without pain.
Besides using dumbbells or just bodyweight there is also the option to use resistance bands. Just stand on the center of the band, grab the band with both hands to the left and right of the foot like the bar on a deadlift and there you go.
Leaning forward also increases the range of motion for the glute, very good.
Happy to report that I'm watching this video with enournous soreness in my legs after doing BULGARIAN SPLIT SQUATS yesterday. Holy hell on Earth, Mars and beyond! 🦵
These help tremendously with imbalances left over from an injury that had my right leg paralyzed for about a year. They strengthen foot arch.
I progress the balance training by loading goblet-style, then overhead with a medicine ball. The load is non-lethal but the long lever arm multiplies its effect. It's helped with overhead barbell squats and everything that puts a barbell overhead.
Summary is GOLD. Thank you support therapy you are :)
Bulgarian split squats: My favorite for sports performance, which of course includes great balance.
Often put my front foot on a balance pad or BOSU trainer to amp-up the balance component and theoretically injury prevention.
Great to bang out a few sets when you are waiting around somewhere and have no equipment (rear foot on chair, table, window sill, bed, etc.) Get to it, no excuses! 🙂
Love me some Bulgarian Split Squats, now that I’m training at home they’re a go to exercise to make use of my light weights.
I remember you saying on Quora that squats are more of a core exercise than a leg exercise, but split squats aren’t, and you’re absolutely right.
split squats are the best IMO. they hit everything so well and also build up and strengthen each leg individually making both legs stronger for exercises like squats and deadlifts.
I persisted with the barbell squat for years but it caused me nothing but problems due to leg length discrepancy and uneven hips.
So I decided to just get strong af on the BSS. I have built up to using 48kg dumbbells plus a chain on my back.
BSS is not a true unilateral exercise, you will use both legs whether you like it or not. Something to try is ‘floating BSS’ where you rest your rear leg on a band spread across a rack, that’s as close to unilateral as your going to get.
Good tip, thanks! I'm definitely prone to using the back leg too much, even on lunges.
finally knuckled down and decided to do these instead of only doing the same 3 quad exercises. I love how intense the exercise is for how little weight I'm doing, and I felt the burn way way more than I would on any type of bilateral movement. Quads are insanely sore, and also my glute medius is specifically sore. Quads are a weak point for me so this is a real good addition for me.
Since my gym is closed, I've been these at home with a pair of 18kg dumbbells. Can definitely confirm that I've experienced incredible gains.
These are so effective it's wild; not even back/front squats stimulate my cheeks like bss do
Just added these in my latest effort to grow my quads and improve my squats. I do them unweighted and super deep. Humbling for sure
I used to hate Bulgarian split squats, but I knew they were good for me and now I don't hate them so much. I like doing a drop set on my last set. I've also started doing front-loaded sandbag split squats (on a different day). That hip flexor stretch is for real with both of these.
I came to this video not because I needed convincing to use bulgarian split squats but because I wanted to mention the glute gains have been noticed heavily in all your other videos haha.
The reigning world's strongest man is Oleksii Novikov, martin licis was 2019 WSM
Gotcha, thanks. Figured a while had passed.
Been doing these as a secondary squat movement on my deadlift day. Along with reverse hyper, GHR and abs.
I've recently only been doing bulgarian split squats for my legs (HIT training), I am able to do 16 full rom reps per leg with 60 kg added weight(dumbbells) at 90 kg bodyweight with less than 2 years of training experience, they really make your legs blow up. My thighs are currently 66/67 cm
Only found this guy really like his content good quality
I started doing these few weeks ago. Kinda dreadful and make walking lunges like a trip to Disneyland. However, I know I am running better due to this exercise. I can feel the difference once I am fatigued , the hips don't lie, or drop in this case.
I have to include them because of national pride
Do they allow RDLs over there?
@@GVS now that you mentioned it, I've never seen anybody but myself do RDLs in the many gyms I've been to...
Even i started incorporating them very recently as I thought for many years they were bullshit.
So do RDLs and BSSs actually originate from Romania and Bulgaria? Or just a fancy name?
@@theblackreaper4395 i don't know about the RDL but I would guess yes.
The BSS originates from Bulgaria. It was first used in the 70s by our weightlifting teams and the coach Angel Spasov popularized it.
@@BuJammy my bad
1:42 THAT'S SO TRUE! My leg training consisted of squats and barbell lunges. One day I had a small pain on the lower back, thus I had to stop squatting for that week and I decided to just do only barbell lunges, doing more sets of those to compensate the volume I previously had from squats and in a matter of just a week I felt my legs and ass much fuller and big like never before. For everyone out there, don't idolize squats too much, they are good but there are better exercise for quads and glutes to try.
great video, this has been my main leg movement ever since I started having back issues and I honestly think it's superior to the Barbell squat. the one real negative is your going to be spending twice as long because you need to rest after each leg (otherwise whichever leg goes 2nd is going to get cheated)
The Bulgarian peoples have provided excellent insight in this area.
Wow! those are some great reasons to include bulgarian split squats in a workout.
I have always neglected bulgarian split squat because the barbell squats are said as the king of exercises for the lower body and also as its a compound exercise,but looks like i have to include the split squats too!
These exercises are truly magical! Every time I do them, I find myself at the leg press machine for some reason!
Waiting to see Ryan come up with some obscure less effective & more dangerous variations to these......oh wait, I think he already did. 🤦🏻♂️
He did very early on in his youtube career. Dont you worry
I fear these to the point of nausea. My heart feels like it’s gonna explode every time I do them. That said “nothing “ pumps your legs like a high rep set of these!
Humbling, intense, worthwhile & down right disgusting!
I had a slight herinated disc 10 days ago, i recovered well and today was the first day back in the gym, I couldnt do any of the usual leg workouts as they all overload the lower back especially since I injured myself during leg press 🤦 so all i did was machine extensions and leg curl, this looks like a good workout to add on this week
Absolutely great video! It’s a really good exercise for the quads and glutes. I use a deficit with these to increase the range of motion. The DOMS I get after doing them in my quads and glutes is always truly incredible. This exercise also offers a really good SFR so it’s a good addition to most programs and also an amazing way to add more volume for quads with less fatigue. Thanks for the awesome videos! 💪
The deficit is amazing I think everyone should do them with at least a 25 lbs plate elevating there working legs foot
Started doing unilateral movements as accessories since I became a dad and was very tired to go heavy all the session. I've been getting better results both in strength and hypertrophy now. I feel I can go heavier in the primary exercise and still have a great workout with these accessories without getting completely annihilated which in turns promotes better recovery for the next training session.
Need to keep watching videos like this to convince myself to keep doing them
Holy crap. I started using these recently after tweaking my back with squats. I'm so sad I didn't start using these sooner. They blow up my quads like almost nothing I've felt before. But yeah, they are pure torture. 3 sets of anything from 10-20 and I'm toasted. Absolutely dread them. Absolutely love them.
All 10 make perfect sense. Great job!
Love-Hate Relationship is a common phrasing when you search for Bulgarian-Split-Squats.
I used to do 3-4 sets of BSS using a barbell, the general feeling afterward was between fainting and an increased desire to die. A new 'variation' I do now is using Hex/Trap bar instead of a barbell, that way I can easily go to near failure / rest-pause safely, without the need to move dumbells around the gym.
how do you even manage a BSS with a trap bar?
Great video, been enjoying these for sure. Always appreciate when you throw in running tips too
Hey I finally found your bulgarian split squat video! Btw I'm the guy that messaged you on instagram about it.
Enjoy!
These are like doing dumbbell presses for the legs. Definitely quite helpful to perform these exercises to improve balance and mobility.
It’s nice that you can “work” different muscles by changing your focus/ MtMc.. Energy Goes where the Attention (Focus) Flows..
Cheers Geoff. I think informative and education videos like this are your sweet spot 👍
These might be a good exercise to fill in the gap. The leg press at my gym hits the quads great after squats, but its built crappy and is causing sciatic nerve pain as the weights go up. I'm not at all rounding, so it's not cause of that. I guess I'll go front squat, hack squat, Bulgarian split squat for quads.
Dully noted, some BSSs coming in my way in my next exercise session...
I also hate these, but I have noticed a 2cm increase in thigh size (flexed) in 2 months since I started doing them. The burn in 15 rep sets is crazy but they really do work!
Hey Geoffrey, I couldn’t agree with you more about the value of incorporating BSSs into lower your body routine, providing that the BSS is programmed as an accessory, or assistance lift to the squat, and not a replacement for it.
Great video as always Geoff. I did a lot of Bulgarian split squats a few months ago but had issues with knee pain on the back leg, so had to stop doing them. Now the gym is closed I would really like to get back to them. Do you have any tips on fixing the knee issue in terms of leg placement, depth or anything like that?
Hard to say that sounds quite individual.
@@GVS Yeah I figured it might be, thanks for the response. Think I'll try playing around with it with some light weights and see if I can find something comfortable.
Try lower elevation of the rear leg.
Great Scott!
I tried doing Bulgarian split squats a few months ago and I hated them because of how hard they were. But last month I added assisted pistol squats to my workout regime(I haven’t continued them due to shin pain) but After seeing this video I started doing Bulgarian split squats and they are much easier now that I have more unilateral control from the assisted pistols
How do your work up thd balance? I can do 50kg in the smith but once i use dumbells i can only use 15s and my calves cramp and i arch my back alot
My knees absolutely do not tolerate any squats, not even bodyweight. But split squats are fine for some reason. I can even do 25kg dumbbells per hand ( which or me, feels very heavy ) and see some decent growth.
I did these today for the first time instead of back squats because my back was hurting a bit. Needless to say my ego is now injured and has to take a rest week
According to Bulgarian weightlifting coach Angel Spassov and those instructed by him, there is a definitive way to perform this exercise. First, choose a platform no higher than 6 inches, with 4 to 6 inches being the ideal range depending on your body structure. Go no higher than this. using a standard bench of about 12 inches should only be done for athletes specializing in sports such as ice skating or dancing.
Nice video and totally agree.
"Carbohydrate containing creatures" 😂
One of the best exercises in existence. Do you think having the front foot on a raised platform to increase ROM is any useful?
If you can't get a glute stretch without that, yes.
Haha, I just found this video after I finished my BG split squat session :D (I haven't seen it yet, but I will in a minute!) For me this is the only exercise I do every week even on my free/regeneration weeks that come once in a blue moon. Since it 1) keeps my heart in condition as long as I do the lighter weight long sets (e.g. 20-30 reps, 4 sets with an adequate weight) ... it's like a very very intense HIIT cardio session, I have rest pauses even between the right and the left leg 2) it has really built my glutes, much more noticeably than squats ever did (though I still consider them the core of my lower body exercises) 3) I think it gives quite a good pump for the quads (since with squats I always go rather heavy) - at least the way I do them (high reps... almost the German training volume rep-wise, hahahaha :D)
Anyway, you make great points! (about squatting racks: my only way of squatting right now even for heavy squats is my Steinborn rockover squat - I got really good in it, but I wouldn't recommend that to advanced athletes who've never done it, that is, without spending a long time first training with baby weights before they can work up to their usual, it's QUITE technical... but also a brutal core/oblique workout ;) ).
Anyway, I have to give this to the Jeff Fake-Weights Cavalier: he's otherwise quite ridiculous (just like the clip you played), but it was from him I originally got the idea to focus on the BG split squats and program them into my training from. Well, as they say, even the broken clock is right twice a day! :D
Yea when I didn't have a power rack, I tried to steinborn 60kg I think and nearly shit myself lol. Definitely takes practice!
@@GVS Haha, indeed! Thanks for the videos!
Your channels growing nicely man, some really good content you put out on here as well
You know he means buisness when he says "non-negotiable
Split squats hurt my legs like nothing else. And are very humbling. They good.
LOL 3 times. you had me at reason 3 but I'm glad I stayed for the laughs.
Awesome lift. Not doing them right now because I'm doing squat everyday, but they're coming back into the program the second I run out of weight.
Great vid as always Geoff. 💪
This exercise is so underrated haha
Would you recommend programming these alongside squats? Or would they be redundant after squats? Do you think, in other words, that Bulgarian split squats deserve full attention as a main lift?
Gr8 video bro keep em coming
Will do my best. It's tough, they take 6-8 hours to film and edit. Sometimes longer.
Just an appreciation comment for Geoff.
great video!
I do switch between single ATG and BSQ in the same week . I find it is a sweet spot to not hate the mouvement and still grow slightly the leg 😁
I've been doing these on and off since mid-2020 and more regularly for the past few months, and personally I've found that my single-leg balance has improved significantly. In the beginning I could barely stay balanced even when holding onto a chair, and now I can do them holding dumbbells with no extra support (though it takes a lot of focus). I think they're a good tradeoff between requiring stabilization yet still being stable enough that I can actually push my leg muscles, as opposed to something like a single-leg deadlift where I'm totally focused on the balancing component. I also feel them a lot more in my quads and glutes than the back squat (which is heavily dominated by my adductors) and the strength curve seems more constant.
One question though - would you say there's a meaningful difference between placing the bottom of the toes or the top of the back foot on the bench? I do the latter and the training footage shows you doing both, but most other videos seem to do the former instead. I figure that would allow you to push with the back leg a bit more.
For me holding the dumbbells for bbs is the most limiting factor in terms of increasing the weights on this excersise. Especially on later sets. And i also noticed my forearms are quite fatigued, weich limits my pulling strength on the next day. Is there anything I can do to help this?
Straps. Or can hold the dumbbells askew so that they lean against your wrist a bit, that can make them easier to hold.
After a lower back injury was traced to my right leg I started doing these and found that my left leg had been compensating for my right for some time now, I was able to do twice the reps on my left than my right plus my right was very unstable as well. Definitely had to address the imbalance.
Bro just saw John Meadows video of him doing these...I'm scared to try...but also highly intrigued.
How this channel has so low subs, is something I fail totally to understand. Geoffrey writes amazing quora blogs too.
What would you recommend the set and rep count be.I usually do them with 3x8-12. My goal is hypertrophy.
Sets are individual (volume). Reps anything over around 8
That's the reps and sets I do
What would you say is a suitable replacement for split squats? I’ve tried them every which way and reduced loading but they give me low back pain no matter what I try
doing these with a weighted vest feels pretty good because you can stabilize against something with your free hand. adding a dumbell in one hand and can add some load but feels odd. id really like to try an SSB for these, but i feel like people would be pissed im doing BSS in the rack lol...
I have been doing split squats like crazy for a few weeks now and my legs have simply exploded in size. So these are definitely great for hypertrophy. Luckily, my current gym has a Hammer Strength split squat machine which has enticed me to finally try this exercise seriusly. Previously I avoided this exercise like plague because I have naturally very poor sense of balance and I was for this reason afraid of injuries to my ankles. Sprained ankle has been an actual issue for me before this with exercises that require balance and strength at the same time and it takes easily weeks to recover and it absolutely sucks. However this machine eliminates completely the problematic balance issue because the handles are of course attached to the machine so you can't lose your balance no matter how much plates you wish to load on the bars.
I need to do BGSS. I would think they would help increase ankle strength and stability over time. Are you finding they help your ankles after all?
Yeah, I think so. My default running speed has definitely improved at least. I think I need to include also tibialis raises to program too, because the tibiali seem to be my new weak spot.
Lets get this jewell again on my leg routine
Do BSS have any sorta carryover to Pistol squats?? Does training unilaterally with this movement or leg press enhance the strength to perform a pistol?
I prefer to do my BSS using a Smith machine for loading to take out the instability and just focus on stimulating the muscles with more weight. Spinal loading is still rather low. I hate to miss a rep due to balance issues or "twisting" to keep balance before my quads or glutes give out. Any thoughts on this?
I have a confusion.....how should the back foot be placed on the bench? Should it be like in 0:32 or 5:59 ?? How does the placement affect the muscles being worked? Or does it not matter?
Whatever is comfortable is OK.
Free tip for others who find keeping the back foot stretched uncomfortable, use the smith machine with a barbell pad on the bar to rest your back foot on, no one is using that thing anyway.
Yeah but what if I’m using the least annoying variation the smith machine split squat? I do them as a third movement after front squats and good mornings. I don’t hate them as much if I’m not always falling over but that back ankle feels pretty bad honestly
I love this because I don't have a sqaut rack at home. Do you have advice on deadlift also because I don't have a barbell...And feels like I'm missing something
Hey man ur channel is really underated👍👍
I will subs to u for a long time... Love from india( btw we hate china, so this means double love)
Can this replace squats? Or is it an accessory to the squat?
Either, depending on goals.
Do you do them with a barbell also or do you recommend starting with dumbbells until you get fairly proficient before trying barbell or you just recommend dumbells?
I want to start these but it was so difficult staying balanced with no weight I just decided to postpone them for a later date 😊
Dumbbells. And they might actually help your balance as they can lower your center of gravity. But yea, overall this movement does take practice.
Never understood why people smug at the concept of single legged workout and say "but muh squats tho". Its actually the same crew who say strenght standards do not make sense for hypertrophy (and i fully agree) yet they refuse to acknowledge that you CAN build massive tree trunk legs only with legged/staggered/split squats and lunges. Im doumbfounded by how simple this is and the fact that there are so many example to illustrate this but yet they just cling to this thought as if there was no alternative. "Oh you know split squats have a maximum load feasibility" ok bro, then proceed to a barbell varition on a squat rack with safety pins "but muh stability" ok bro then do it on a smith machine jeeeesust christ dude. There is nothing magical about a squat per se. Its just a knee bilateral flexion movement pattern. Get over it, single legged work can be just as effective if not more, with the added benefit that you know youll be hammering your adductor magnus like there is no tomorrow+ glute medius... Relax people BSS suck, yes, but you can progress them ad infinitum. Put some straps and pick the heavy dumbells if you like, no need to do them in the 20-30 rep range. The can be treated as a primary movement...😊
Is this a good exercise for hip flexor rehabilitation? I had injury 6 months ago and every time i try to go back squatting the pain just shoots up.
I can see him do the exercise and it looks like he stretched the hip flexor. Im wondering if its a good movement when you have injury already? Or it can get me more in pain.
Best to try it starting with just bodyweight and see how you respond. It's certainly good for mobility, for both the front and back legs.
@@GVS lol tried this yesterday with 10 lbs dumbbells on both my arms.. I’m sore as hell butI didn’t feel much pain on hips. Also my form compare to yours is so bad I’m having trouble balancing on one foot.
@@asdfdg11 can hold onto something to balance
They are incredible. However (pun intended), for some reason it make me hurt the knee that's not being used in the exercise. It causes some inflamation. My knees suck, I know. So for me, I have to replace them with something similar. Lunges work for me.
Someone else said that. Perhaps adjust foot placement or stride length.
This exercise, like no other, make me physical sick. It doesn't take much, a couple of sets to failure, crazy burn and barely able to stand, I'm feeling dizzy and need some time to recover. It's crazy. I've done plenty of squatting, deadlifting and leg pressing and its never taxed me this much. One observation though. My legs have grown better with this than any other leg exercise and while I loath doing them, I do them because they work. The mind muscle connection I get on this is nuts and it hurts to sit down on the toilet days afterwards. Recommended if you love/hate yourself.
In my opinion split squats are king, far superior to leg press, hack squats etc.
What do you think of reverse lunges in comparison to Bulgarian split squats?
Both fine. I prefer BSS, personally.
Should they replace squats (I do Hacksquats) completely or are they more of an addition? I do 3-4 sets of HS, should I add 1-2 of BSS or do one leg day with HS and the other with BSS? Considering I also do RDLs.
Probably best to add them, not replace anything else. Hard to give specific advice without coaching you though.
@@GVS I understand! Thanks for the answer, big G