Legs · Tier 1
Split Squat
The split squat is your first true single-leg pattern — a stationary lunge that builds the unilateral strength, balance, and knee control every harder leg skill is stacked on top of.
Also known as: Static Lunge- Difficulty
- 2/10 · Beginner
- Tier
- 01
- Equipment
- none
Track this skill
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The split squat sits at tier 1 of the legs branch — the rep you earn after 20 full-depth bodyweight squats, and your entry point into single-leg training. It splits the load onto one leg without yet demanding the balance of a true elevated or pistol pattern, which makes it the perfect place to build unilateral strength and bulletproof knee tracking. Clear it cleanly and the Bulgarian split squat opens up next, the gateway to shrimp and pistol squats further up the tree.
Train it like a balance skill, not just a strength one. Most people fail split squats with their stance, not their legs — set the gap long and the feet hip-width, and the strength has somewhere honest to go. Chase symmetry between sides; your weak leg sets the standard, not your strong one.
Readiness gates
Clear these measurable conditions before forcing the skill.
20 full-depth reps
Technique, step by step
Four checkpoints for one honest repetition or hold.
- 01Setup
Stake out the stance
Step into a long split: front foot flat, back leg trailing with the heel lifted and weight on the ball of the foot. The gap should be long enough that at the bottom your front shin stays close to vertical and your back knee tracks straight down, not forward. Stack your torso tall over the hips, brace your abs, and pin your gaze on a fixed point ahead so balance has an anchor. Both feet stay roughly hip-width apart side to side — think railroad tracks, not a tightrope.
- 02Lower
Drop straight between the legs
Lower on a 2-3 second count, sinking the back knee straight toward the floor rather than drifting your weight forward. Keep about 60-70% of the load through the front heel and mid-foot; the back leg is a kickstand, not a driver. Descend until the back knee hovers a couple of inches off the ground and the front thigh is at or near parallel. Your front knee can travel past your toes a little — that's normal and healthy if the heel stays down.
- 03Drive
Push the floor away through the front heel
Drive up by pressing the front heel into the floor and squeezing that glute, keeping the torso tall the whole way. Resist the urge to lean forward or push off the back toes — the back foot only stabilizes. Move smoothly with no bounce out of the bottom; the rep is owned, not thrown. Keep the front knee tracking over the second and third toes, never caving inward.
- 04Top
Stand tall and reset
Finish standing fully upright over the front leg with the glute locked and abs still braced — don't sag into the hip. Pause for a beat to kill any wobble and confirm your balance before the next rep. Reset your stance length if it crept short. Finish all reps on one leg, then switch; chase symmetry between sides, not just total reps.
Skill practice guide
Public skill guidance — not your protected personalized eight-week plan.
Build balanced single-leg strength and knee control to a clean set of 12 per leg, then progress to the rear-foot-elevated version.
3-4 sets of 8-12 reps per leg, controlled tempo, no bounce out of the bottom.
2-3×/week with 48h between leg sessions.
Once you hit 3 sets of 12 clean reps each side with even strength, slow every rep to a 3s lower or pause at the bottom before elevating the back foot for Bulgarian split squats.
Common faults
My front knee caves inward during split squats+
Your glute medius isn't holding the knee in line, so it tracks toward the midline under load. Consciously screw the front foot into the floor and push the knee out over your second and third toes every rep. If it still collapses, lighten the depth and add a banded knee-out drill or clamshells to wake up the hip — never grind reps with a caving knee.
I keep losing my balance and tipping to the side+
Your feet are on a tightrope — too narrow side to side — so there's no lateral base. Widen the stance to roughly hip-width like railroad tracks and fix your eyes on one spot ahead. Slow the tempo down and pause at the bottom; balance is a skill that trains fastest when you stop rushing through the wobble.
My back knee or the top of my foot hurts at the bottom+
You're either bottoming out hard onto the kneecap or letting the back foot collapse flat. Keep the heel lifted with weight on the ball of the back foot, and stop the descent a couple of inches above the floor instead of crashing down. A folded mat under the trailing knee gives the joint a soft target while the tissue adapts.
I feel split squats all in my quad and nothing in my glutes+
Your stance is too short, which jams the front knee forward and hands the work to the quad. Lengthen the split so the back knee drops straight down and the front shin stays near vertical, then sit back into the front heel rather than the toes. Squeeze the front glute hard at lockout to teach it to fire.
My front heel lifts off the floor at the bottom+
Tight ankles or a stance that's drifted too short pull the heel up and shift load onto the toes and knee. Shorten the depth to where the heel stays planted, and work ankle mobility so the knee can travel forward freely. Keep cueing 'push through the heel' on the way up — a lifted heel means the rep left the front leg.
Useful setup
Gives the back knee a soft target so you can train full depth without dreading the floor.
Adds resistance once bodyweight reps get easy, so each leg keeps progressing instead of stalling at high reps.
A light fingertip touch keeps you upright while you learn the balance, so you can train the legs before the wobble catches up.
Primary muscles
Quads · Glutes · Balance