Another No Gym Muscle Builder

You’ll like this.

Not only is it a highly effective exercise for working both the front and back of the thighs, it’s also great for the glutes. It'll also improve your flexibility and balance.

WARNING: If you've never done it before, then approach with caution. This exercise is almost unrivalled in its ability to generate extreme muscle soreness. If you push it too hard you’ll be limping around for days!

It's called a Bulgarian Split Squat.

You might also see it called a Rear-foot-elevated Split Squat, a Single Leg Split Squat, a Bulgarian Lunge or just a regular Lunge.

I much prefer it to regular lunges that involve alternating legs with each repetition. For one thing it seems a lot easier on the knees. Focusing on one leg at a time also makes the exercise a lot harder and gives you that very satisfying (but painful) “burning” sensation.

What’s more, the Bulgarian Split Squat lets you apply a relatively heavy load to your legs without the large compression forces associated with heavy squatting.

NOTE: Because I wanted to show that you can do this exercise without a gym, I shot the video in my living room, resting my back foot on a leather pouf. Ideally your back foot should be on a solid, steady surface such as a bench, especially if you’re going to use a heavy weight.

Although the Bulgarian Split Squat can be done with a barbell across your shoulders, I prefer using dumbbells as they make it a bit easier to balance. If you don’t have any dumbbells, you can also put some stones or a bag of sand inside a rucksack and wear it on your back.

Place one foot well in front of the other with your rear foot on a bench. You might need to experiment a little to get the stride length just right.  If it's too long, your range of movement will be limited. If it's too short you'll end up putting a lot of stress on your front knee.

Keeping your body upright and your chest up, slowly descend until you feel a stretch in your rear thigh. If the stretch is uncomfortable, try using a lower bench. Make sure that the movement is down rather than forwards.

Return to the start position by straightening your front leg. Focus on pushing upwards through your front heel. Complete all the repetitions on one leg before switching to the other leg.

Once you’ve done an equal number of repetitions on both sides, that counts as one set. If you're using a sufficiently heavy weight, chances are you'll need to take a break between each leg to catch your breath.

Combine the Bulgarian Split Squat with some of the exercises in Four No Gym Muscle Builders, add some cardio, and you have a short but intense workout that you can do in your own home.

Here’s an example of the kind of thing I mean.

1. Leg Exercise (e.g. Bulgarian Split Squat)
2. Upper Body Pulling Exercise (e.g. Inverted Row)
3. Upper Body Pushing Exercise (e.g. Push Up)
4. Core Exercise (e.g. Rollouts)
5. Conditioning (Jump Rope) 5 minutes (30 seconds fast/30 seconds slow)

Rest for 30-60 seconds then repeat the entire workout 2-3 times. You can use a timed circuit and do each exercise for a set period of time (e.g. 30 seconds), or you can aim for a fixed number of repetitions (e.g. 10-15 repetitions).

Quick and simple. But very effective.

About the Author

Christian Finn holds a master's degree in exercise science, is a certified personal trainer and has been featured on BBC TV and radio, as well as in Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Fit Pro, Zest and other popular fitness magazines.

If you want better, faster results from the time you spend in the gym, click here now for instant access to his step-by-step muscle-building and fat-burning workout routines.

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