How Was The Bulgarian Split Squat Invented?

According to YPSI, Ivan Abadjiev, the head coach of the Bulgarian Weightlifting National Team and the mastermind of the Bulgarian Weightlifting System, revealed that the Bulgarians never used split squats or step-ups in their training.

In fact, their training mainly included 6 exercises, including:

• Clean and Jerk
• Front squats
• Power clean 
• Back squats
• The snatch
• Power snatch

Spassov sold a false narrative: that Bulgarian training secrets included split squats and step-ups. It’s just a fairy tale told to US.

Though it’s not the Bulgarians’ training secret for outshining in the competition, it is a highly effective compound exercise for building overall leg strength and offers multiple benefits.

Benefits of Bulgarian Split Squat

According to Men’s Health, the Bulgarian Split Squat has multiple benefits, such as:

• Helps train several muscles at once: The Bulgarian Split Squat targets the quads, glutes, calves, and hamstrings simultaneously. Research published in the International Journal of Exercise Science suggested that this exercise “activates the lower body musculature similar to bilateral back squats while using half the load”
• Helps in building core strength: The owner of No. 17 Personal Training and personal trainer John Belton said, “This is challenging from a stability point of view, and engages most of the 35 muscles that make up your core, specifically the small stabilizers around the hips and waistline.” In this way, it helps solidify core strength and build structural balance.
• Help in addressing strength disparities: The Bulgarian Split Squat is a unilateral exercise that helps correct strength imbalances between limbs. A personal trainer, Luke Worthington, said, “Unilateral exercises are essential for reducing imbalances and asymmetries that can occur between the two sides of the body.”

He further added that these exercises are important in all sports, from running to football to badminton, because in these sports, one foot must be on the ground at a time. 

The Bulgarian Split Squat is an important compound exercise for those seeking to build leg strength and leg muscle hypertrophy.