Are you getting bored of your curent leg routine? We all know that squats are the king of lower body leg exercises and this is true. They should remain in your program for 80% of the time in some form whether it be front squats, back squats or box squats. However there is huge benefits to be gained from alternatig other exercises within a session. These secondary exercises are known as auxillary lifts / movements.
One exercise I have been doing a lot of lately is split squats. I have experimented with front foot elevated split squats, heel elevated split squats and also used various pieces of kit such as; dumbells, kettlebells and a bar.
My favourite style of split squat is undoubtedly the ‘Statue of Liberty Bulgarian Split Squat’. It’s a superb exercise as it strengthens single leg strength and really opens up the hip. It provides a strength, stabilisation and severe stretch through the hips in one movement. Also the fact that the DB is held overhead engadges the core far greater than a tradiotional split squat and requires stabilisation from the lats and shoulder complex.
Use this exercise with a light dumbell as part of your warm up routine or with a heavier DB to provide added intensity.
You can see SOS Athletic Excellence director Sam O’Sullivan demonstrating the exercise in the video below.
