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Old Forum Bulgarian Split Squats and single leg training

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Siemen

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Hi everyone,
A few weeks ago, I discovered Bulgarian Split Squats in an article by Dan John on T-Nation. I had never seen them before and found some information about it in articles written by Ben Bruno etc. He made a strong point for single leg training, it actually attracts me. Since then, I got very interested in Bulgarian Split Squats (besides my current goal of getting my press and pull-up numbers up).
How do you feel about single leg training? And how about Bulgarian Split Squats? I do them on variety days and I love them. I’ve never been this sore after a training because of the greater overload and I’ve never felt so good and relieved about my training. I have gotten thin, weak legs since a couple of years and that bothers me. It feels like my base is weakened by it.
Will they get my legs bigger and stronger? And how would you program them for strength and some hypertrophy? This is for in 5 weeks, after a 6-week period of pressing and pull-ups.
 
I thought it was six weeks, doenst' Easy Strength say that? In that case, I'll be doing it 12 weeks no problem.
 
I dont know mate, if thats the length of the program fairplay Comrade!

Be honest I have no desire to ever do a Squat again so Im not really the one to give you advice on this thread!
 
I thought I had read something about changing your program after about six weeks or something for the sake of variety, could be wrong though.
 
Unless the program specifies a period you may stick to a program as long as you want. But at least a 12 week cycle is good for most to get results.

I mean a swing, its just sexy, swinging a kettlebell from the groin then tensing the glutes. Its like making love to a women. :)
 
bulgarian splits squats are not true single leg training, but single leg emphasis. the back leg plays a role in stability AND in lifting the weight. if you're going to employ single leg training, pistols, airborne squats (weight in zercher position or rack) and single leg deads (bb, db kbell, dumbell, whatever) are better exercises. and for the record, i don't have to say IMO, or IMHO or anything like that. You know it's my opinion. How? i said (or typed) it.
 
I think 8-12 weeks is probably about right; 6 weeks is a bit short for most cycles for most people in my opinion. If you want bigger and stronger legs, barbell squats are the ticket (back or front). Single leg stuff is good too, and certainly there are people who will make a case for them being better (Mike Boyle famously did this; Ben Bruno seems similarly inclined), but if there's no reason you absolutely can't squat then you're selling yourself short. I like single leg stuff as accessory work though - bulgarian (a.k.a. rear-foot elevated) split squats, lunges, and single leg RDLs are all good. Pistols aren't too bad either if you can do them.
 
Hello Siemen,

Will they get my legs bigger and stronger? And how would you program them for strength and some hypertrophy?
Click to expand...

Of course they will. I've tried them for a period of time and wasn't as impressed as some internet writers are - I favor other (bilateral) squats and pistols. I'm sure you can make them work for you though.

How to program? That would be completely dependent on your background and the rest of the program!

Good luck.
 
Simen, I have been used Bulgarian or Rear-foot elevated (RFE) Squats the last couple months and it has improved my pistol and back/front squats.

I only get about 30 minutes a day to train, and it is usually in the parking lot at work. RFE Squats have allowed me to work "heavy" squats without dragging a bunch of gear around. I am on a more or less linear progression of sets of 5 or 3, adding 5 lbs every week or so. I use a different combination of KB to increment weight, or you can tie a 2.5/5/10 lb plate to the handle since you aren't swining it.

I couple that with some 5 x 5 barbell squats on the weekend and have been able to make steady but gradual progress. I am 35 wiht 15-ish years of training, so sometimes gains are hard to come by.

You might also consider pistol style squats on a box. The unsupported leg can drop below the top of the box which allows you to work on strength as you work to develop a pistol.
 
Siemen, apologize for misspelling your name.  Edited twice and still didn't get it right.
 
Siemen, this exercise and others may have a point—but not before you get serious about real squats.

No distractions.
 
Oh, it's a fine exercise, but read my reasoning. I beg people NOT to just read one of my articles and apply things willy nilly to their training. To train with me, we would go through a fairly in depth process of some evaluation, some assessment, LOADS of teaching, lots of movements, a bunch of workouts and far too many laughs.

Pulling on one string is fine, but you unweave the tapestry of training. BSS are fine and, there you go, it might help you. It might ruin you.  (I doubt that) But, you have to keep the big picture BIG and the little steps...and the BSS is about as little as you can get...in the right order.

Hope this helps.
 
thank you all for helping me out! This was really helpfull and I learned from it, so I'm good to go.

Would you say that one-legged training, like pistols, are a good option if you don't have access to a barbell? Or do you have any other substitute for that?

Little question on the side: I'm doing cleans and presses with my DB now in ladder-style. Can I add a snatch for the pull, since my pull-ups aren't up to that many reps? I can't do that many pull-ups.
 
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