Okay, so Bulgarian Split Squats have been a challenge for me so far. I have a few different problems, but involve my non weight bearing leg.
- I have trouble extending my leg backwards very far, especially when at the bottom of the squat. Tight hip flexors?
- My ankles get angry when I put the laces of my shoe on the bench if any weight gets applied. Maybe that's ankle flexibility, or maybe I shouldn't be applying weight in the first place.
- I tend to fall back on a closer stance, but this feels like it pitches my body forward at the bottom of the squat, which is also frowned upon, right?
I get the idea that I should work on hip and ankle flexibility, but I have two other questions:
- how high should the bench be relative to, say, my knees or hips?
- it seems more comfortable if, instead of planting my shoelaces on the bench, if I instead plant the ball of my foot on the bench (imagine a regular lunge stance, with a massively elevated rear foot). As a side effect this seems to make my rear leg more involved in the left. How bad is this?
I had the same problems/questions when I started the BSSs. I'll usually just put the front third of my foot on the bench to alleviate the pain the int he foot and ankle but make sure not to lean back ont he non-weight bearing foot. I found my body tendied to lean back because it was less stable with less foot on the bench. As far a sbench height, I just went witht he normal height of the flat benches at my gym and it seemed to work fine. I also found that my rear leg got a really good stretch usingt his form as well as some additional work. I still hate these but I love the feeling I get when I finish them.
I love the feeling I get when I finish most of the exercises in NROL...
Thanks majerome, I may play with foot placement.
I actually stumbled into two things this morning which I may try this evening.
- One was the idea of placing a foam roller on top of the bench, and ankle on top of that. Maybe it would avoid any ankle discomfort while also preventing any real loads?
- Another was a good hip flexor stretch that I had missed in Eric Cressey's Maximum Strength. It's called an 'RTFL' or something stretch, I don't have the book in front of me. But basically, imagine a bulgarian split squat, where you allow yourself to drop your rear knee all the way to the ground. Keep the rear leg hooked on the bench, then drive the hip forward a bit and hold. It even works with a coffee table instead of a bench Seemed to do a better job of a stretch than the 'traditional' hip flexor stretch where both knee and foot are on the ground. I will work on these for a while.
you shouldn't be placing force on your back foot. If you need to, (ie, can't do bw reps unless doing so) then go onto your toes. (This also implies that you should reduce the weight if you could do it bw but not with weight.) If you aren't putting any weight on the back leg and it still bothers you then something under then ankle can help as you work on ankle flexibility. Remember this is supposed to be similar in ways to a 1leg squat without needing all that balance (or having to also lift the back leg) and so make it as much about the one leg as possible.
the stance width doesn't really matter, some people are wider or narrower, but it should be a relatively vertical motion, so if you're leaning too far forward, fix that.
A normal bench is fine. If you seriously have issues, I've seen recommendations of people starting with aerobic steps and the like, moving up to a bench. But usually this isn't necessary, I don't think most people have that much limitation or other issues.
I did the stretch a few times yesterday and it already helped some.
In the gym I had the 'pleasure' of working with my BSS's, and learned that basically all of the factors come into play:
- My balance is just plain bad. This sometimes causes me to put a lot of weight on my back foot, which can hurt. Also had some pauses where I just had to fight to stay upright.
- The stretching helped some, but I still don't know if i'm getting my back leg far enough back.
- There are still some issues with the height and angle of the rear foot. A foam roller on top of the bench helped some.
- Weight exacerbates everything. Things were better, but not pretty, when I dropped to bodyweight only.
- I think simply holding any dumbbell exerbates difficulty.
Maybe this is one of those remedial things that I should consider practicing much more frequently (off days, etc) with no weight.
if you can manage to do them near something to touch… not hold onto, but touch, you can start working on balance. Having something simply to touch will greatly help, without actually getting any real balance assistance.
also, where you look helps as well. A mirror gives you more bodily feedback and helps, although I'd actually recommend against it as you're trying to improve your balance. Gazing at a point not too close and not too far away helps. As you bring your gaze closer to the body, it gets harder.
Arm/hand placement will help as well. Use them to either center you or counterbalance you.
For working on balance, try balancing on one leg. Work on progressively bending the knee more and more. You can try lunging (but not touching down) with your opposite leg, back, side, and angles. Traveling lunges can help. Work on your ankle and hip prehab, they seem to be lettin ya down here. Be sure to do some glute activation work. Some yoga poses like the warrior series can also get you in the general position and make you work the balance of the stance.
It'll take time, and the extra weight will definitely have to wait, but remember the goal is improvement… sometimes that's not about higher weight or more reps but simply the ability to get your body in better working order or not fall on your ass.
back leg in bulgarian split squats?
Seemed to do a better job of a stretch than the 'traditional' hip flexor stretch where both knee and foot are on the ground. I will work on these for a while.
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