Rear foot elevated split squats (often called “Bulgarian Split Squats”) are a time-tested and resourceful exercise that are pure gold for building strong legs.
If you’ve got a stable surface roughly 18” high to prop your rear foot onto for support, you’re good to go.
Rear foot elevated split squats are more difficult (compared to bilateral squats) for two simple reasons:
- The front leg is pushing against more weight.
- Stability is decreased.
Back leg (rear foot) helps to stabilize, front leg pushes.
Rear foot elevated split squats are a supported squat, whereas pistol squats are an unsupported squat.
Both supported and unsupported single leg squat variations have their place in a workout program.
Rear foot elevated split squats (RFE-SS) are effective for improving single leg squat strength without requiring access to a bunch of weights or a gym, and while sparing the back.
Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat Technique
The Set-Up
Here’s how to get into a good start position for the rear foot elevated split squat.
TOP of the foot rests on the rear surface, not the ball of the foot.
Hot tips on technique:
- Front leg does the work (not the back leg)
- Back leg provides as little assistance as possible.
- Lower down until the front leg (femur bone) is parallel to the floor.
- “Kiss” the rear leg knee cap to the floor.
- Drive through the heel/midfoot and EXPLODE back to the top
- Head up, gaze 6-8 feet out in front of the working leg.
- Inhale and pressurize before descending, exhale driving back to the top.
How many reps/sets/days per week?
3-5 sets of 3-6 repetitions using a challenging weight will provide a great stimulus.
Train this exercise 2 days per week to start, with 1-2 days of rest between each training day.
Put in the work, rest, recover, come back in a few days and attack it again.
Progressive Loading for Rear Foot Elevated Split Squats
Beginners can start with assisted or bodyweight only RFE-SS to acclimate to the demands of loading, balancing and stabilization required to train using a single leg.
Progressing forward from assisted and full bodyweight variations, just add weight.
Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or advanced, adding weight progressively is the path to making gains.
Adding weight to rear foot elevated split squats using tiny increments is my preferred way to get the most out of the exercise.
It’s hard to argue with the effectiveness and simplicity of progressive loading.
Select a weight that you can control.
A lot of people make the mistake of going too heavy, and technique suffers. Reps should be quality, smooth and free of any compensations.
Start with light weight, perform a few reps. If you need to increase the weight, do it. If not, stay there and execute the reps and sets for the workout.
If you have access to weight equipment, here are a couple of ways to vary the exercise.
Adjust the position of the weight. Weight can be held in the suitcase position, front rack, bearhug, overhead, etc. The suitcase position is straightforward and best for beginners. The higher the weight goes (chest level, over head, etc) the more difficult it becomes to hold position.
Holding a dumbbell or kettlebell goblet style works great!
A front racked barbell is also a brutal variation. Start light here.
Asymmetrical Loading. Only have 1 dumbbell or kettlebell? Perfect, use it. Hold it on the inside of your foot, outside, front racked position or overhead.
Get creative. Life is one big asymmetric party. Balance is for the birds.
No Equipment to Add Weight?
Beyond adding weight, there are other ways to modify the exercise to increase the challenge.
For people who are training at home or don’t have access to weight equipment, the following tweaks can be made to boost the difficulty.
Vary the tempo (slow down, fast up). Spend 5 seconds lowering to the bottom, pause for 1-2 seconds, explode back up.
Increase the range of motion by elevating the front foot. Even elevating a few inches will increase the range of motion on each repetition. Be careful to avoid elevating the front foot beyond the rear leg/hip flexors capacity to stretch on the way down.
Instability. Place front foot on an unstable surface. A pillow folded in half, BOSU ball, uneven surfaces, etc. Unstable training is not the end all be all, but our bodies should be conditioned to handle uneven terrain in the real world.
Add volume. Adding extra reps and sets is always an option. At some point, additional load will be necessary to keep making strength progress. Keep that in mind.
If you have resistance bands, you can loop the band underneath the front foot and around the shoulders to add resistance to the exercise.
Single Leg Training is Suffering
Single leg work sets are LONG.
Both legs must complete the designated number of reps in each set, the amount of time spent working is TWICE as long.
Finish 6 reps on the right side, switch legs and do 6 more reps on the left side. The work sets are extended.
You’re holding the weights for a lengthy amount of time, grip training is a nice byproduct.
Pure suffering.
The ability to get comfortable suffering is an added benefit to this style of training.
I’m careful not to come across with too aggressive of a hard ass tone on this blog, but holy cow, conditioning your body and mind to embrace discomfort during a workout is a CHARACTER BUILDER that will spill over to other areas of life.
Less Weight and Spare the Lower Back
By the numbers, you can get the same training stimulus with RFE-SS using half the weight as a bilateral squat.
If a person can barbell back squat with 300lbs, a RFE-SS can be loaded with a pair of 75lb dumbbells and achieve nearly the exact same training effect.
For those with cranky lower backs, RFE-SS is lower back friendly, assuming you hold weight at the side of the body and avoid going into excessive lumbar extension at the bottom.
I’m not suggesting you avoid stressing the lower back forever, but for those who have previously dealt with cranky back issues, this variation is a nice alternative to build lower body strength while minimizing the chance of re-injury.
“I don’t have access to a bench.”
You don’t need a bench.
What do you have laying around that can be used to set the top of your foot on?
The only reason so many videos exist of people performing rear foot elevated split squats using benches as the support surface, is because most of these videos are being shot inside of gyms.
Benches are a common piece of equipment in gyms and the top surface of a bench is rather soft so it won’t dig into the foot with or without shoes.
I’m big on training without shoes when it makes sense, foot directly in contact with the floor.
For people who exercise at home, the following items can be substituted if a bench isn’t an option:
- Chair
- Staircase
- Sofa
- Coffee Table
- Suspension Trainer/gymnastics rings
- Low plyo box
- Toilet
- Bar racked at a knee height
- Tree stump or log
Literally anything that’s roughly 18 inches high and reasonably stable will work just fine.
The rear foot will, at times, need to apply pressure into surface it’s resting on to help maintain balance throughout the work set.
M(eaux)tion Fitness 