Training guide
A split squat is a lunge without the step: you stand in a long stride with your back heel up, lower straight down until your back knee nearly touches the floor, and drive back up through your front foot with both feet staying put. It trains one leg at a time, mostly the front leg's quads and glutes, and it's the first rung of our lunge ladder.
The research is small lab studies. They show that a stance of about a leg's length suits strength training, that the front knee passing your toes is normal, and that the glutes work as hard as the quads.
This guide covers the steps on the 3D figure, stance length, the knees, split squats against lunges and Bulgarian split squats, dumbbell, barbell, Smith machine and deficit versions, how many, and what to do with sore knees.
Stand in a long stride, one foot forward and your back heel lifted, feet hip-width apart side to side. Lower straight down until your back knee nearly brushes the floor, your front knee bending over the middle of your foot, then drive up through your whole front foot without moving your feet. The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) teaches it as a lunge-pattern exercise.
NASM progresses from the split squat to the walking lunge, and a National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) table puts the "split squat (lunge in place)" in its simplest tier, with loaded and back-foot-raised versions after it. No step means no braking and no balancing on a moving base.
In 20 men, lengthening the stance from half to 1.2 leg lengths raised the hip's share of the work by about 15% and cut the knee's by about 10%, with more glute activity. One leg's length suited strength training; longer stances added nothing and made feet slip.
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In a barbell squat, stopping the knees going forward cut the knee's load by about a fifth but raised the hip's about tenfold. A more forward-leaning front shin does load the front knee more, which is fine for healthy knees and a reason for a slightly longer stance with sore kneecaps.
Models of muscle force put the front leg's gluteus maximus among the most loaded muscles in split squats, and a loaded split squat was in the top tier for glute force in 14 female footballers. At the same relative effort, glute and outer-quad activity matched the Bulgarian split squat and the single-leg squat.
2 sets of 8 each leg with a 3-second lowering while you learn (our lunge progression workout), then 3 sets of 8 to 12 each leg, stopping 2 or 3 reps short, with 90 seconds to 2 minutes' rest (our lower body workout at home and lunge guide), two or three times a week. The NHS asks adults to do strengthening activities on at least 2 days a week.
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A split stance, one foot forward and one back with the back heel up, lowering and rising with both feet planted. NASM teaches it first in its lunge progression and the NSCA calls it a "lunge in place". Unlike a lunge there's no step, so there's no braking landing and no push back to standing, as our lunge guide explains.
The front leg's quads and glutes do most of the work, with the hamstrings helping; the back leg balances, and the front of its hip and thigh is stretched. By joint load the split squat leans towards the hip: in 20 men the hip's peak load was about twice the knee's. Models put the front leg's gluteus maximus and hamstrings, and the back leg's rectus femoris (the quad that crosses the hip), among the most loaded muscles.
Most of the work is the front leg's. Changing the shin angle or the stance shifted the share between the legs by less than a quarter in 11 adults. Raising the back foot (the Bulgarian split squat) puts about 84% of the force through the front foot, as our Bulgarian guide reports.
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Comfortable standing balance in a split stance, which is the move page's prerequisite, and lowering a knee towards the floor without pain.
Leg length sets the stance: about one leg's length, hip to ankle, suits most people, and taller people need a longer stance. Stiff ankles push the front heel up, and the shortest stance bent the ankle most, so a slightly longer stance helps. People with sensitive kneecaps usually find a longer stance and a shorter range kinder, as our lunge guide says.
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The lab studies had 7 to 28 adults, most of them young and trained, and the training trials 18 to 24 young athletes. Nobody has run a training trial of the plain split squat for muscle growth, and we say so where a point rests on these studies.
From the move page, our lunge guide and the stance study (Song 2023). Starting with your weaker side is editorial.
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The movement on the figure: Split squat
From the move page. The starting weight follows our plans' rule. Move on to dumbbells once 3 sets of 10 to 12 each leg without support feel easy, as our lunge guide says.
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The movement on the figure: Split squat with dumbbells
In 20 men at their 10-rep maximum, stances of 50, 70, 100 and 120% of leg length raised the hip's peak moment (its turning load) from 1.56 to 1.80 N·m/kg, about 15%, while the knee's fell from 0.86 to 0.77, about 10%. Knee bend fell from 104 to 95 degrees and glute and hamstring activity rose. The authors judged one leg's length best for strength training; at 120% feet tended to slip.
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In 11 adults with a barbell of a quarter of their body weight, a more upright front shin reduced the front knee's range and load. In 26 men doing lunges, the knee's load was higher with the shin at 60 degrees to the ground than at 90.
In 7 men doing barbell squats, blocking the knees from passing the toes cut the load at the knee by about a fifth but raised the load at the hip about tenfold. Keep your front knee over your middle toes rather than forcing it back.
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In 15 trained men, lunging with the feet in one line raised side-to-side sway of the front foot (19.4 against 14.8 cm) with similar muscle activity. Keep your feet hip-width apart side to side.
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Leaning the trunk forward in a lunge raised the hip's work and glute and outer hamstring activity in 10 adults. A slight lean gives more glutes; stay tall if your back complains.
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About a leg's length for most people; a little longer for more hip work or with sensitive kneecaps; a little shorter, with the front knee further forward, for more quad work if your knees are happy (our reading of the studies above).
In models of 11 adults, split squats loaded the front leg's gluteus maximus up to 25 N/kg, and in 8 women holding a quarter of their body weight, above 20 N/kg, with the hamstrings the most loaded muscles of the front leg. In 14 female footballers, a loaded split squat was in the top tier for gluteus maximus force, with the single-leg Romanian deadlift and single-leg hip thrust.
In 9 men with up to three quarters of their body mass added, glute, quad and hamstring forces rose with load, often more steeply in split squats and step-ups than in squats.
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A review of muscle activity studies classed the split squat among exercises with very high glute activity. But the barbell hip thrust drew more peak glute activity than the split squat and back squat in 12 athletes, and two sprint drills drew more than the split squat in 24 athletes.
In 28 adults, a dumbbell on the same side as the front leg didn't raise side-hip activity in split squats. In forward lunges, weights at your sides loaded the kneecap and its tendon more than the same weight held in front.
Muscle activity in one session isn't a validated predictor of growth, so these figures show where the effort goes, not what each muscle will build.
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The same stance without the step. In 20 adults, lunges with a stride drew more glute activity than lunging up and down in place, and in 18 adults forward lunges with a stride loaded the kneecap more near the top of each rep. No study has measured the split squat's own kneecap load: that it's gentler on the kneecap than stepping lunges is our extrapolation from those forward-lunge studies. Our lunge guide covers the forward lunge.
Across 35 exercises and daily activities in 20 healthy adults, peak kneecap load was about 1.7 times body weight in a low step-up, 4.7 in a Bulgarian split squat, 5.1 in a lunge and 5.4 running. Lunge-pattern exercises sit in the moderate middle.
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At a 6 to 8-rep maximum, glute and outer-quad activity didn't differ between the split squat, the single-leg squat and the Bulgarian split squat, which drew more hamstring activity (76 against 62% of maximum). Raising the back foot puts more of the load through your front leg; our Bulgarian split squat guide covers it.
Across 24 trials, single-leg and two-leg training built similar muscle; single-leg work built more single-leg strength and two-leg work more two-leg strength. Squats and split squats do different jobs, and both count towards your leg sets, as our step-up guide says.
In 18 academy rugby players, 5 weeks of back-foot-raised split squats matched back squats for gains in strength, 40 m sprint and agility. In 24 footballers, 4 weeks of flywheel squats with forward or side split squats improved jumping, change of direction and squat strength, the split squat type making no difference. In 18 academy footballers, 6 weeks of held (isometric) or moving split squats, mid-thigh pulls and hip thrusts improved strength, jumping and speed equally.
Across 24 trials, and 9 studies in another review, muscle growth didn't differ between single-leg and two-leg training. The trials were small.
We found no trial of the plain split squat for muscle growth, no study of the front-foot-raised (deficit) split squat, no trial comparing split squat and Bulgarian split squat training, and no injury data.
Single-leg stand, 2 holds of 30 seconds each leg next to a support; split squat, 2 sets of 8 each leg with a 3-second lowering, fingertips on a wall (our lunge progression workout), then 3 sets of 8 to 12 each leg, 90 seconds' rest, 2 or 3 reps short (our lower body workout at home); dumbbell split squat, 2 sets of 8 to 12 each side (our dumbbell leg workout); Smith machine split squat, 2 sets of 8 each leg, 90 seconds' rest (our Smith machine workout); reverse lunge, 3 sets of 6 to 8 each leg, and Bulgarian split squat, 2 sets of 6 each leg holding a support (both from our lunge progression workout); suspended split squat, 2 sets of 6 to 8 each leg (editorial); ATG split squat, the deepest, 2 sets of 5 each side, slow, holding a support (our splits stretching routine), and not with kneecap pain. No demo yet: the barbell split squat (the Smith machine demo shows the position; learn it with dumbbells first), the goblet hold, the front-foot-raised (deficit) version and the kneeling start, all taught over the split squat demo. The 'Shallow split jumps' move is a jump, not a split squat.
3D demoSingle-leg standBeginner · A wall
3D demoSplit squatIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoSplit squat with dumbbellsIntermediate · A dumbbell
3D demoSmith machine split squatIntermediate · Strength machine
3D demoReverse lungeIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoRear-foot-elevated split squat (Bulgarian split squat)Intermediate · A bench or box
3D demoSuspended split squatAdvanced · Other / check instructions
3D demoATG split squatAdvanced · No equipmentThe easiest way to load it. In forward lunges, weights at your sides loaded the kneecap more than the same weight held in front, so a goblet hold suits sensitive knees (our reading).
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Works the trunk on the other side, as our lunge guide says; carrying it on the same side didn't raise side-hip activity in 28 adults.
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In 19 adults, a suspension strap under the back foot drew more overall and glute activity than resting it on a 41 cm bench. It also wobbles, so it comes late.
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Pause the split squat at the bottom. In one small trial, held versions of split squats and other lifts built strength and speed like moving reps; the trial's dose isn't in its abstract, so 3 holds of 20 to 30 seconds each leg with 60 to 90 seconds' rest is our editorial starting point, from coaching practice. Breathe throughout.
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Your front foot on a low, stable platform for a deeper range. We found no study of it, and the extra depth bends the knee further, so add it once the floor version is easy and pain-free (editorial).
Begin from the bottom with your back knee on a pad and stand up. It's a way to learn the bottom position if lowering is shaky (editorial).
More sway with no extra muscle work. Keep your feet hip-width apart side to side.
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The knee shoots forward and the ankle bends most. Lengthen the stance.
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Feet slip and you lose balance, with no extra benefit past a leg's length. Shorten it.
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Keep it over your middle toes. Shorten the range or hold a support until it stays there.
Drive up through your whole front foot, as the move page says; the back leg balances.
Lower under control and stop a few centimetres above the floor, as our lunge guide says. Put a pad down while you learn.
Lean on purpose, and only a little, with a long spine.
2 sets of 8 each leg with a 3-second lowering, fingertips on a wall, 90 seconds' rest, keeping it easy while balance comes first (our lunge progression workout).
3 sets of 8 to 12 each leg, stopping 2 or 3 reps short (2 or 3 reps in reserve: how many more you could have done), with 90 seconds to 2 minutes' rest. That's the dose in our lower body workout at home and our lunge guide.
2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 each leg, stopping 2 or 3 reps short (our dumbbell leg workout).
2 sets of 8 each leg with 90 seconds' rest (our Smith machine workout). Set the safety stops.
Two or three times a week as part of your leg work, as our lunge guide suggests. The NHS asks adults to do strengthening activities on at least 2 days a week.
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Count split squats towards about 10 or more hard sets a week for your legs, as our plans say: more weekly sets built more muscle, with diminishing returns.
Add reps up to 12 each leg, then lower more slowly, then hold dumbbells, then move on to reverse lunges or the Bulgarian split squat. Move on at 3 sets of 10 to 12 each leg without support, as our lunge guide says. Adding reps and adding load both worked as progression in 43 trained people.
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For a front heel that lifts, knee-to-wall ankle rocks, 10 slow rocks each side (the move page's dose); standing hip CARs (controlled circles), 3 slow circles each way on each leg (the move page's editorial starting point); the half-kneeling hip flexor stretch for the back leg's hip, 30 seconds each side (our lunge progression workout); the standing quad stretch, 20 to 30 seconds, 2 to 4 times each side (the move page's editorial starting point); step-ups, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 10 each side, a lower kneecap load (our lower body workout at home); and glute bridges, 12 reps, glute work without knee bend (our beginner bodyweight workout).
Knee pain of 0 to 2 out of 10 during exercise is safe, and up to 5 is acceptable if it's back to its usual level by the next morning; keep tendon pain to about 3. Sharp, catching or giving-way pain or new swelling means stop, as our knee guides say.
A longer stance cut the knee's load in 20 men, and in forward lunges a short step loaded the kneecap more at the bottom of the rep. Start with a longer stance and lower only as far as stays within the rule, then deepen over weeks.
If you add weight, a goblet hold was easier on the kneecap and its tendon than dumbbells at your sides.
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Pad the floor and stop a few centimetres up. A warm, red knee that gets more painful and swollen when you kneel needs a GP's opinion, as our lunge guide says.
Pain at the front of the knee is covered in our runner's knee and jumper's knee guides. See a GP if knee pain doesn't improve within a few weeks; in many areas you can refer yourself to NHS physiotherapy.
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The lunge progression workout teaches the split squat as the first rung, 2 sets of 8 each leg with a slow lowering; the lower body workout at home, squat and glute challenges and calisthenics workout use 3 sets of 8 to 12; the dumbbell leg workout and Smith machine workout load it; the knee strengthening workout uses 2 sets of 8.
A 25-minute session from the split squat to the walking lunge: ankle and balance prep, slow split squats, reverse lunges, then walking lunges.
25 minBeginner11 movesA wall, A bench or boxA lower body workout at home: split squats, slider hamstring curls, single-leg bridges, step-ups, band walks and calf raises, with dumbbell options.
30 minIntermediate12 movesA wall, A stepLegs and glutes with dumbbells: goblet squats, Romanian deadlifts, step-ups, split squats and calf raises.
35 minIntermediate10 movesA wall, A dumbbellA 15-minute squat ladder for the 30-day squat challenge: sit-to-stands and chair squats, then split squats, Bulgarian split squats and skater squats.
15 minBeginner12 movesA wall, A bench or boxSession A of the 30-day glute challenge: a bridge-to-hip-thrust ladder, a split squat ladder and side-hip work, at home or in the gym.
20 minBeginner16 movesA wall, A bandA 25-minute session for knees that don't currently hurt: thigh and hamstring strength, single-leg control, then an optional full-range block with knees over toes.
25 minBeginner13 movesA bench or box, A wallA 50-minute full-body workout on one Smith machine: squats, bench presses, rows, Romanian deadlifts, split squats and calf raises, with the stops set for each.
50 minBeginner13 movesCardio machine, A bandA full-body calisthenics workout with a ladder for every move: rows to pull-ups, push-ups, split squats to skater squats, dips, hamstring curls and knee raises.
45 minBeginner11 movesPull-up barThese plans run the workouts above: lower body at home for women over 40, the dumbbell leg workout, the squat and glute challenges, and the calisthenics workout.
A 12-week plan for women over 40: three strength days, impact for bone, cardio and recovery through the perimenopause, in a gym or at home, with a 4-day option.
3 training days45 minBeginner4 days a weekA 4-day dumbbell-only plan for home or gym: two upper and two lower days, every set, rep and rest, and how to keep progressing when the dumbbells max out.
4 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekA free 30-day squat challenge with a chair track and a single-leg track: 3 short sessions a week, optional practice days and a before-and-after test.
3 training days15 minBeginner3 days a weekA free 30-day glute challenge for home or the gym: three 20-minute sessions a week with bridges, split squats, hinges and side-hip work, and rest days.
3 training days20 minBeginner3 days a weekA 12-week calisthenics plan for beginners: three bodyweight sessions a week with push-up, pull-up, squat and dip ladders, and a bar if you have one.
3 training days40 minBeginnerUse a longer stance and a smaller range, and keep to the knee rule. Our runner's knee guide has the plan.
Keep the range and the load where the tendon stays at about 3 out of 10, and follow our jumper's knee guide.
Split squats are usually fine in a range you can control: shorten the depth, hold a support, and keep to the knee rule.
Shorten the stance a little and the depth, and set the range by what your hip allows, as our hip guides explain.
Deep positions squeeze the tendon near your sitting bone, so keep the range shorter early on, as our high hamstring tendinopathy guide explains.
Follow your surgeon's or physiotherapist's stages before split squats.
Hold a rail or a wall throughout; the split squat is the steadiest of the lunge family.
The NHS says strength training is fine if you already do it, and to avoid activities with a risk of falling. Hold a support as your balance changes, and skip split squats or keep them small with pelvic girdle pain, as the move page and our lunge guide say.
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If you haven't exercised for some time or have a medical condition, speak to your GP first, as the NHS advises. Get advice before hard lifting if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, glaucoma or diabetic eye disease, a hernia or recent surgery, as our breathing guide lists. With controlled high blood pressure, breathe out as you push up rather than holding your breath.
If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise. The American Heart Association says these need immediate medical evaluation.
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For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a sudden headache that is extremely painful, or comes with numbness or weakness, difficulty speaking or loss of vision. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
If back pain comes with pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs, loss of feeling around your genitals or bottom, or changes in your bladder or bowels.
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For severe hip pain after a fall or injury, if you can't walk or put weight on your leg, or for tingling or loss of feeling in your hip or leg after an injury.
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If your knee is very painful, you can't move it or put any weight on it, it's badly swollen or has changed shape, it locks, gives way or painfully clicks (painless clicking is normal), or you have a very high temperature with redness or heat around the knee. In the US, contact your doctor or urgent care.
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For severe hip pain that started suddenly without a fall, a swollen, hot hip, skin colour changes around it, or hip pain with a high temperature; or a headache triggered or made worse by coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercising.
If knee pain doesn't improve within a few weeks, or hip pain hasn't improved after 2 weeks at home, keeps coming back, stops your normal activities or disturbs your sleep.
They share the stance, but a lunge adds a step. Lunging with a stride drew more glute activity than lunging with the feet planted, and loaded the kneecap more near the top of each rep. The split squat is the steadier first step; lunges add balance and braking.
Blocking the knees in a barbell squat cut the knee's load by about a fifth but raised the hip's about tenfold. A more forward shin does load the front knee more, which is fine for healthy knees and a reason for a longer stance with sore kneecaps.
Both. Models put the front leg's gluteus maximus among the most loaded muscles, the quads straighten the front knee, and stance length shifts the balance between them.
It loads the front leg more and drew more hamstring activity, but glute and outer-quad activity were similar, and single-leg training of any kind built muscle like two-leg training. Use the version you can do well.
Single-leg training built more single-leg strength and jumping, and two-leg training more two-leg strength, with similar muscle growth. We found no study showing split squats prevent injury by evening out your legs.
Muscle activity in one session isn't a validated predictor of growth, so the glute figures here show effort, not results.
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Across 15 studies, training to failure gave a trivial growth advantage at most. Stop 2 or 3 reps short, as our plans say.
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Stand in a long stride, one foot forward and your back heel up, feet hip-width apart. Lower straight down until your back knee nearly touches the floor, then drive up through your whole front foot without moving your feet. Finish one side, then the other.
The front leg's quads and glutes most, with the hamstrings and inner thighs helping. Models of muscle force put the front leg's gluteus maximus among the most loaded muscles, and the back leg's hip and thigh are stretched.
About one leg's length, front to back, and hip-width apart side to side. In 20 men, a stance of one leg's length suited strength training, and longer stances added nothing and made feet slip. If your front heel lifts, step a little longer.
It's fine for healthy knees. Stopping the knee from travelling forward shifts the load to your hips and back, so keep the knee over your middle toes, and take a longer stance if your kneecaps are sore.
In a split squat your feet stay planted; in a lunge you step into the stance and back out. Stepping drew more glute activity and loaded the kneecap more near the top of each rep, so the split squat is the easier first step.
The Bulgarian raises your back foot on a bench, putting more of the load on your front leg; it drew more hamstring activity but similar glute and quad activity at the same effort. Learn the split squat first; our Bulgarian split squat guide covers the raised version.
Yes: a loaded split squat was among the top exercises for glute force in female footballers. A longer stance and a slight forward lean shift more of the work to your glutes.
Not for healthy knees: lunge-pattern exercises are a moderate load for the kneecap. With knee pain, use a longer stance and a smaller range, keeping pain to 2 out of 10, or up to 5 if it settles by the next morning, as our knee guides say.
Start with 2 sets of 8 each leg with a slow lowering, then build to 3 sets of 8 to 12 each leg, stopping 2 or 3 reps short, with about 90 seconds' rest, two or three times a week. Add dumbbells when 3 sets of 12 feel easy.
Usually from dropping it onto a hard floor: lower under control, stop a few centimetres up and put a pad down. A warm, red knee that gets more swollen and painful when you kneel needs a GP's opinion.
They're a fair way to build strength: in one small trial, held versions of split squats and other lifts improved strength and speed as much as moving reps. Try 3 holds of 20 to 30 seconds each leg, our starting point, breathing throughout.
A split squat with your front foot on a low, stable platform, so you can sink deeper. We found no study of it, and the extra depth bends the knee further, so add it once the floor version is easy and pain-free.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
