Да ли си спреман/спремна да се промениш?

I've been going to the gym four to five times a week since I was 14. I've been through all the workouts, both trendy and timeless. And despite that, there is one exercise that has always alluded me, sent shivers down my spine at the thought and downright befuddled me: the Bulgarian split squat.

Why is that? Well, they’re universally humbling... The Bulgarian split squat may look simple, but anyone who’s tried it knows it combines several already challenging movements into one. A single-leg squat? Hard. Add serious stabilisation? Tricky. Then layer in constant tension throughout the leg? Yikes.

But, the benefits I have heard surrounding this controversial movement have certainly piqued my interest enough to realise I need to get out of my comfort zone and get into the nit and gritty of the exercise. Not one to do things by half, I decided to challenge myself with 28 straight days of Bulgarian squats to see what happened.

The Bulgarian split squat is essentially a single-leg squat with the back foot elevated on a box, bar or bench. It's an intermediate level move, as it requires some stability in the knees, core and of course quads.

'It’s one of those love–hate exercises that earns a place in most leg days because it’s so effective – not just for building strength, but for supporting everyday movement and activities like running,' PT and Women's Health Deputy Social Manager, Issy Shury, explains.

'Part of what makes it so effective is also exactly why people dread it. It isolates one leg at a time, so there’s nowhere to hide. You can’t compensate with your stronger side, your balance is constantly challenged, and the time under tension builds quickly – meaning your muscles fatigue fast and the burn kicks in early.'

It's classified as a dynamic stretch and strength exercise, meaning it takes your muscles through a full range of motion under load, improving both flexibility and power at the same time. Specifically, it's a unilateral compound movement, working one side of the body independently, which makes it brilliant for correcting muscle imbalances between your left and right sides.

The Bulgarian split squat primarily works the glutes and quadriceps - ie. the front of the thighs, but you'll also notice engagement in your hamstrings, calves and adductors. 'You’ll feel it most in the quads, especially as you push up out of the bottom position, along with the glutes as you extend through the hip,' Shury says.

As you lower into the movement, your hip flexors get a deep active stretch, particularly in the rear leg, which is one of the reasons this exercise is so valuable for anyone who spends a lot of time sitting, i.e. me. The added depth of the movement makes it a great mobility exercise, and performing it regularly can even help improve hip flexor flexibility.

However, the often forgotten burn is in the core. You'll need to keep it engaged in order to stay balanced on that working leg. Because you're dealing with an asymmetric load and a narrower base of support than your traditional squat, your stabilising muscles including the obliques and deep core are working overtime. According to Shury, 'It takes a good mix of balance, stability and mobility to perform well. As you lower your back knee towards the floor and drive back up, your stabilising muscles – particularly around the hips and core – have to work hard to keep you steady.' Essentially, it's kind of a complete all rounder.

I know I've said it's tricky, but in reality once you get the hang of a Bulgarian split squat they're actually fairly simple.

1/ Set up your equipment

'You’ll need a bench or platform to elevate your back foot. Bulgarian split squats can be done bodyweight, with dumbbells (a pair, or a single dumbbell held on the opposite side to your working leg), or with a barbell on your back,' explains Shury. 'My personal preference is two dumbbells - one in each hand - as I find it the most stable.'

I took a page out of the experts' book and opted for the same.

2/ Find your stance

Once you've got your setup organised, you want to ensure you've found a stable position to ensure you're working all the right muscles. 'A simple way to get your distance right is to sit on the bench, extend one leg out, and place your front foot where your heel lands,' says Shury. 'From there, bring your back foot up onto the bench with the laces facing down. Your feet should stay roughly hip-width apart – not in a tight line, as this will make balancing harder.'

Take the other leg onto the end of the bench; it's best to relax the foot and ensure the ankle won't be restricted when you start to lower.

3/ Take the squat

'From the top, bend both knees and lower slowly into the eccentric phase, keeping the movement controlled. Your back knee should travel down towards the floor until it is hovering just above the ground.

At the same time, your front knee should bend naturally and track in line with your toes, while your front heel stays planted. '

Keep the weight over that supporting leg, avoiding leaning on the box/bench/bar too much. There are two positions you can strive for that either focus on the glute or the quad.

Quad-focused split squats

As I mentioned above, there are actually two different positions you can take that change where you feel the burn in a Bulgarian split squat. If you want to focus on the quad, keep your torso upright but take that knee slightly over the toe - not so much that it's uncomfortable, but just enough that you can't see it when you look down. This position keeps the load more directly over the front leg, forcing the quadriceps to work harder to control and drive the movement.

Glute-focused split squats

However, if you're really trying to get the glute burning, keep your knee directly over that bottom foot when you hit the lowest point and hinge your hips a touch more forward to engage the booty. 'This helps keep the load in the working leg and can create more glute involvement. It only needs to be subtle, enough to stay stacked over the front leg without collapsing the chest,' explains Shury.

This subtle forward lean shifts the load back onto the glutes and hip extensors, making them work harder to drive you back up to standing.

4/ Engage the core

Make sure to focus on engaging that core as much as possible during the squat. Maintain an upright torso, slightly hinging at the hip flexor. Pretend you're bracing for a punch in the stomach to keep that core engaged and breathe in while descending to breathe out when coming back up.

5/ Drive through the heel

'From the bottom of the rep, push firmly through the front foot to begin the concentric phase. Think about driving through the heel and midfoot as you straighten the front leg and return to standing. This is where you’ll really feel the quads working, alongside the glutes powering the hip back into extension. The front leg should be doing the majority of the work, while the back leg acts more as support,' says Shury.

As I was doing this exercise every day for 28 days, I wanted to at least mix it up a little. I would usually do:

• 8x reps right leg
• 8x reps left leg
• 1 minute break

I did this with a gradual progression of weight over three sets. I often started just with bodyweight before grabbing a 6-10kg set of dumbbells.

To mix things up and ensure I was getting a balanced workout, I would alternate days between the more glute or quad-focused position.

The first thing I noticed within a week was a constant burning in both my quads and my glutes, duh. However what I noticed most was just how uneven my stability was in each leg.

As it's a single-leg squat, stability comes into play a lot — and when I took my right leg as the supporting foot I felt far more stable and in control. My left leg, however, wobbled all over the place. That's not surprising considering most people have a 'good' and 'bad' leg when it comes to certain movements, but it made me realise I perhaps hadn't been working on that instability as much as I should have. I tore my left achilles at 16 years old, and the ramifications of that injury have been lifelong in terms of stability - but by the end of the 28 days I noticed significant improvements in both my ankle and knee stability! Alongside this, my core strength while performing the exercise definitely improved over the month, by the last day my body instinctively engaged all the right muscles and kept me stable and engaged. Who doesn't love an ab burn too.

Another benefit came when I was doing a very rare (I am not a runner, I'm a sprinter) run on the treadmill, I felt noticeably stronger in my strides. No surprise there, as the exercise itself mimics the movement and helps to strengthen those quads.

Lastly, and perhaps surprisingly, I definitely noticed improved hip mobility and flexibility. As a result of years struggling with hip flexor pain and tightness I wasn't expecting much — but I did notice real improvements in my hip flexibility and a noticeable strengthening of the hip flexors overall, thanks to that deep stride position.

Over the 28 days, here are some tips I learnt to improve the effects and make it a touch easier!

The right footwear matters

Footwear is worth thinking about with this one - and it's more important than you might expect. As it's a single leg squat, your foot needs to be able to engage the right muscles freely, rather than compensating for an unstable or cushioned sole. Training shoes with a flat, stable base are ideal for this reason. That said, you're also perfectly fine going barefoot or in socks, which can actually help you focus in on form and really feel the movement working.

Film yourself

Especially at the start, I never really knew if I was actually doing the exercise correctly... so I tried filming myself. It was super helpful for checking my form, but also for spotting instability in that supporting leg that I simply couldn't feel in the moment. Seeing my ankle wobbling around on camera made it easy to identify weaknesses and focus on correcting them the next session.

Mix up the different forms

This was another big one, before I set out on the challenge I didn't realise that such a subtle change in body positioning could change the feeling of the squat. Keep this in mind so you can make sure you're engaging the muscles you're keen to work on when doing the Bulgarian Split Squat.

Watch out for the signs of poor form

The last thing you want to do is get injured, make sure to keep an eye out for any signs of pain that might indicate you don't have the right form (that filming I mentioned comes in handy here). Some of these may be:

• Front knee pain: this could mean your front foot is too close to the bench which might cause some wobbliness in the knee. Take it out a touch farther and try again. It could also indicate pushing too much through the front of the foot as opposed to driving through the heel.
• Back leg pain: you might be dropping it a touch too low. Make sure you're only going as far as that front leg can support you, you want to avoid putting too much weight on the back leg as it kind of defeats the purpose and can lead to strain.
• Lower back pain: if you're like me and feel lower back pain in a regular split squat, Bulgarian's can be a great alternative. However if you're still feeling it here, it might be a sign you're not engaging your core enough and instead overcompensating my using the back to return to standing.

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