Liftworthy
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Liftworthy

Every exercise ranked by research, by lifters and by results. Find what’s S-tier for your goal, then train it.

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Explore/Glutes

Bulgarian Split Squat

DumbbellCompoundTakes some practiceOne side at a time
Front
Back
Primary Secondary

Works

Quads, Glutes

Also adductors, hamstrings

You need

Dumbbells, Bench

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
1Start
2Bottom
Main musclesAlso working
  1. 1Rear foot on a bench, laces down
  2. 2Drop the back knee straight down
  3. 3Lean forward slightly for more glute, stay upright for more quad

Most common mistake

Front foot too close, so the heel lifts.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Ranked #1 for basketball, #1 for skiing and #1 for cycling
  • Loads the muscle while it’s stretched
  • Carries straight over to basketball

Compare with

vs Step-Upvs Reverse Lungevs Walking Lunge
A
For cycling
#1 of 16
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Research
79
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 79
TransferExcellent
Injury protectionGood
PracticalityStrong

One leg at a time, like each pedal stroke, through a deep knee bend.

Research behind these criteria

  • Transfer: Seitz et al., 2014 · Markovic, 2007 · Blagrove et al., 2018 · Rønnestad & Mujika, 2014
  • Injury protection: Lauersen et al., 2014 · van Dyk et al., 2019 · Harøy et al., 2019 · Webster & Hewett, 2018
How scores work

Machine taken? Swap to

  • AHack SquatMachine
  • ALeg PressMachine
  • ATrap Bar DeadliftBarbell
  • AStep-UpDumbbell

Takes

None yet
needed to post
280