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Single Greatest Leg Exercise (NO MISTAKE)

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Rating: 4.0; Vote: 1

This is both the single greatest leg exercise and the greatest single leg exercise, and I-m going to show you how to do it step by step. The Bulgarian Split Squat or rear foot elevated squat is one of the best exercises you can do period, let alone for your legs. There are so many benefits to this leg exercise beyond just its ability to build up your leg strength and size without requiring any heavy duty equipment. The additional benefits of balance, direct axial decompression not offered by a traditional back squat, and the functional carryover to sport make this a superior choice when it comes to selecting leg exercises for your leg day workouts. That said, this is one of the most commonly misperformed exercises you can do. The tendency to make a mistake on either the descent of the Bulgarian Split Squat or on the return to standing is common. In fact, many will make mistakes on both portions of the lift, which essentially nullifies the tremendous benefits it can have on helping you to build bigger legs. To start, you may want to try this without holding any dumbbells at all. This will enable you to feel the movement without having your form break down under load. Start by hopping far enough away from the bench with your front foot so that when you drop straight down into the squat, your front knee is bent to 90 degrees. If you don-t get far enough away from the bench you will find that your knee tracks much further forward than the knee on that leg, which will worsen an anterior knee pain problem. From here, you want to simultaneously hinge at the hip while bending the knee. This will set your center of gravity on a downward path to the floor and keep your knee from tracking ahead of your toes. It will also help you to groove the path of the pelvis as it sinks downward and sets up the proper return to standing that you will need to execute if you want to perform this leg exercise properly. Once at the bottom, the rise to the top has to follow the same path as you took to get down there in the first place. This means, that the knee must stay in it-s position as you simply press your body up to the starting position. If your knee significantly tracks backwards, away from the anterior front point, you can be assured that you will likely never reach full hip extension and you will be taking stress off of the quads at the same time. This is not something you want to do if you are trying to build bigger legs. Instead, aim to maximize the stress directed to the quads while minimizing the stress delivered to the lower back, knees and hips. Perform this properly each time you train your legs and be sure to incorporate some single leg training into your leg workouts to be as strong and athletic as you possibly can be. To train like an athlete with me coaching your every move, head to and get the complete ATHLEAN-X Training System. See how much bigger and stronger your legs can be by training them the way they are meant to be trained, like an athlete
Date: 2022-04-22

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Comments and reviews: 10

Ben
These have changed my life.
Im tall with tight tendons, these really help me focus weight on my quads with absolutely no knee pain or tightness or anything!
i still squat, and use kettlebells, but these have been my answer to focusing on quad development (along with going flat/deep-enough on regular squats)
Such a good alternative or complement to squats, they really allow me to just hold heavy weight and complete reps without any weird tension on the knees
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Riki
i have had patellar tendonitis, i have done my rehab and am healthy now. To avoid the same injury to reoccur i want to maintain tendon load tolerance i need to do the leg days on a regular basis. I find the split-squat very convenient and nice and want to ask if its a good way to train the knees having the background i have? I will also ry o add this version. Any other excersises that you can recommend?
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sport
He-s wrong on one thing. sorry. You can tilt the torso quite far forward on the ascent and still maintain a vertical tibia. you-ll just place greater load on on the ham/glutes in that shape then in a vertical torso rise, which will favor the quads. Same principle applies with low bar / high bar squats. Easy to feel in 2 or 3 reps. Both good but the force vector will change. Just try it.
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Sean
Must one essentially stay up straight as possible (ie not or trying not to tilt as you go up and down ) for this exercise for maximisation of effect and movement or for safety? Or is leaning forward/tilting inevitable/expected or even okay depending on how strong you are in the posterior chain and/or while progressing into learning/improving with this exercise?
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Weldon
One thing I wish Jeff would tell people more often is to take very short breaks between sets. Do not sit down. In the first thirty minutes of your workout, you should have twenty sets done. Then you can slow down a bit for your heavier squat exercises. That is the one thing that really shot my T up.
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Brittany
As an athletic trainer ( I am aware this is nowhere near as much education as a PT, does anyone else feel like everything we learn as an AT/PT, etc, is completely different from strength coaches? I disagree with almost every one of my co-workers, especially after watching these videos!
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Reese
Having trouble with these. Firstly, my hips will often go into this off skew, sorta twisted plane instead of being boxed and squared. My other problem is with the leg I place on the bench. My quads seem to work and get tired before the leg I'm working because I'm trying to keep balanced.
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Abilio
I have my both knees pretty damaged. From ACL tear, to medial meniscus passing by femurpatelar condropathy. I recently started to do narrow lunges, forward, as if I was farmer walking but with no weight, for now. Can you tell me what do you think about it, please!
Thanks
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HoneyBadger
Jeff, you look just as young today as you did 3 years ago. I-m putting it down to your fitness level, nutrition, mentality and drive for success (got that from your London Real interview. You-re inspiration to the rest of us. Thank you.
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Cioaca
I dont understand, my knee just goes backward like 10 cms everyime i do it. Its impossible for me to keep my knee in the same position no matter how i try. I guess i'll just ditch the exercise completely. Better than to do it wrong.
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