Learn The Split Squat to Focus on Lower-Extremity Stability

Welcome to day 3 of the Building Blocks progression powered by BridgeAthletic.

BridgeAthletic graphic, 2015 squat series

Check out the third exercise of the squat progression, the split squat. Check out another awesome instructional video below that will help you and your athletes keep progressing!

Exercise 3: Split Squat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWzWJS7RfRk

A great asset in the squat progression, the split squat focuses on lower-extremity stability and strength development. The split squat will target the stabilizers, as well as the major lower-extremity muscle groups.

More Building Blocks:

Missed any of the previous Building Blocks or want to go back to review? Check out the progression below.

Day 1: Wall Sit

Day 2: BW Squat

Now it’s your turn:

Thanks for joining us on the second stage of the squat progression.

Want Feedback?

We’re here to help. We highly encourage you and your athletes to share videos and pictures performing the exercises. Use #BuildBetterAtheltes in order to receive feedback and guidance from one of our elite coaches on the BridgeAthletic Performance Team.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for more Building Blocks!

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About BridgeAthletic

BridgeAthletic Logo 3BridgeAthletic works with elite professional, collegiate, and club swimming programs to provide a turnkey solution for dryland training.  Led by Nick Folker, the top swimming strength and conditioning coach in the world, our team builds stroke-specific, custom-optimized dryland programs for each of our clients. The individualized workouts are delivered directly to athletes via our state of the art technology platform and mobile applications. Check Nick and BridgeAthletic out as recently featured in SwimSwam.

About Nick Folker 

Nick Folker, BridgeAthleticNick Folker is the Co-Founder and Director of Elite Performance at BridgeAthletic. Nick’s athletes have won 22 Olympic Medals, 7 team NCAA Championships and over 170 individual and relay NCAA championships. Megan Fischer-Colbrie works as the Sports Science Editor at BridgeAthletic.  Megan was a four-year varsity swimmer at Stanford, where she recently graduated with a degree in Human Biology.

The Championship Series by BridgeAthletic is designed to empower athletes with tips from the pros that will help them reach peak performance come race day.  We will be covering competition-focused topics such as nutrition, recovery, stretching, and mental preparation.

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Bruh
9 years ago

I find this excersise to be effecient in all of the stated wys but did anybody else used to call this a lunge?

ld
Reply to  Bruh
9 years ago

In a lunge, you either step forward or backward from a normal stance into a split stance. In a split squat, you stay in a split stance throughout the exercise.

hip flexor
9 years ago

This is a simple movement that has great benefits. However, we were always taught to never allow the front knee to go forward past your toes. We actively had to square up our hips and almost sit back in it to make sure our shins stay at 90º and get the femur to be parallel to the floor. Doing so is an awesome burn on your hip flexors too.

Great post though! Keep em coming.

Tiger Christian
9 years ago

Excellent demonstration of a great exercise. From a physiological view this works core of muscle stabilizing connective tissue fiber to main muscles groups. This action from the abs, hip flexor, lower back, through the knee and ankle into the toes all attribute to increasing the strength level element in the lower body. To attribute a higher level quality of this exercise direct your eyes to one fixated target and tighten abs with perfect posture breathing smooth and deep. This will encrease element levels of focus, relaxation, and the psychological with in the work duration.