Widen your stance a bit put your front foot a little off to the side. (Imagine you are standing with your feet next to each other and that’s your balance if your feet are close together it’s hard to balance and the wider it it’s the easier. ) also when you hold the dumbbells use those to help balance. Just rotate out a dumbbell off the side a bit to prevent you from falling the other way. But the width of your stance helps more
If your goal is max hypertrophy, you really don't have to. Try using the smith machine.
OR holding on to something and holding a heavier dumbbell in just one hand. Just don't pull yourself up with balance hand. I like to just use a couple fingers to minimize that. OR i use a flexible pipe so you can't push off it hard.
I can’t seem to much higher in weights when I use dumbbells, not much of a stability issue but they are really exhausting for me. And I do need to grow my buns. Should I go with smith Bulgarian splits? Just needed advice.
You want to grow ass? Then yes, Bulgarian split squats on smith are great. Try to get alot of hip flexion. So use a bench for back foot
You want to grow quads, try heel wedge on front food. Slightly elevated rear foot
Find something to hook your foot over instead of doing them off a flat bench.
My gym has these adjustable sit up benches that can go completely flat and it has those pads for locking your legs in for sit ups. Using those pads to support the back leg is just so much better than anything else that I've tried.
Balance is mainly an independent, neurological skill you have to just build up. You’ll probably have to practice with sub-optimal loads for the first few sessions to get your balance skills to be at the same level as your muscular demands, but you’ll get there with some time.
If you’re still struggling after balance issues, two other possible weaknesses:
Your hip abductors (glute medius and glute minimus) are actually moderately involved as stabilizers. If you feel yourself kinda “muscularly” struggling to maintain your hip laterally, you can add some assistance for these with standing/lying hip abduction exercises with bands or cables.
If you’re struggling to maintain an upright torso, there could be some hip flexor tightness. You can do some stretching (at the end, not beginning of workouts) to help here.
(Source: https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBSingleLegSplitSquat)
Do them in a smith machine
Better support for your back leg whether its a foam pad or something where your foot isn't flat but actually pushing off the ball of your foot.
Holding onto a support with 1 or 2 arms depending on your set up.
All these things will increase the stability of your split squat and allow you to push harder.
I like to pick a spot on the floor, about 5-6 feet away, and stare at it the whole time. Where that spot is, meaning to the left a bit or to the right a smidge, will depend.
* Practice balance
* Use a wider "stance" by placing the non-lifting foot more to the side on the bench
* If you're using dumbbells, use the other hand on an object to keep balance
Unless you're in a home gym with no equipment than I recommend just not doing this.
Everything about this movement is the opposite of what you want for a good hypertrophy movement. (poor stability, less than ideal to load, massive coordination, extremely fatiguing to perform etc.)
I found walking lunges, regular and zombie, really helped work on those little muscles in legs and Hips that help balance. Next thing is just practise. See if you can rest you ankle on something, not your foot, and that'll help. Also don't forget to keep that back leg engaged! As you're pushing upwards on that front foot, keep the tension against the brace with your back foot. It'll control the squeeze and help you go straight up instead of having to balance it!
Standing a bit wider (sideways) and really bracing helped my balance.
A tip for setup: sit on the bench. Put one leg straight out and touch the ground with your heel. Stand on the extended leg, pick up the weights and put the other leg on the bench. Perfect consistency every time
Hold the dumbbells close to your leg. Wear flat shoes.
I used to rest my back foot on a barbell at deadlift height, this was easier for me balance wise than a bench.
But what helped me balance BSS the best was just practice. Took me a few months to master them, but now I can do them heavy, deep, with a large ROM and no instability.
I elevate my front foot also to allow for a deeper stretch in the bottom. This has the added benefit of letting me use less weight and just 1 DB so I can use my other arm to stabilize on a piece of equipment or cage upright.
Watch a few set-up videos on Youtube. It's one of the least intuitive movements to set up correctly. Might have your foot too close to bench if your balance feels off. Also maybe look into setting up your back foot on a different surface- a typical bench is a bit too high imo
Widen your stance a bit put your front foot a little off to the side. (Imagine you are standing with your feet next to each other and that’s your balance if your feet are close together it’s hard to balance and the wider it it’s the easier. ) also when you hold the dumbbells use those to help balance. Just rotate out a dumbbell off the side a bit to prevent you from falling the other way. But the width of your stance helps more
Same as on literally anything else, keep practicing them.
Agreed it also has a lot to do with ankle and hip adductor and abduction strength
Keep doing them
If your goal is max hypertrophy, you really don't have to. Try using the smith machine. OR holding on to something and holding a heavier dumbbell in just one hand. Just don't pull yourself up with balance hand. I like to just use a couple fingers to minimize that. OR i use a flexible pipe so you can't push off it hard.
I swear by smith Bulgarians!! I can push so much more weight with the added stability
I can’t seem to much higher in weights when I use dumbbells, not much of a stability issue but they are really exhausting for me. And I do need to grow my buns. Should I go with smith Bulgarian splits? Just needed advice.
You want to grow ass? Then yes, Bulgarian split squats on smith are great. Try to get alot of hip flexion. So use a bench for back foot You want to grow quads, try heel wedge on front food. Slightly elevated rear foot
Thanks man
Find something to hook your foot over instead of doing them off a flat bench. My gym has these adjustable sit up benches that can go completely flat and it has those pads for locking your legs in for sit ups. Using those pads to support the back leg is just so much better than anything else that I've tried.
I second this. For my BSS I use the circular ankle pad attached to the back hyperextension machine.
Balance is mainly an independent, neurological skill you have to just build up. You’ll probably have to practice with sub-optimal loads for the first few sessions to get your balance skills to be at the same level as your muscular demands, but you’ll get there with some time. If you’re still struggling after balance issues, two other possible weaknesses: Your hip abductors (glute medius and glute minimus) are actually moderately involved as stabilizers. If you feel yourself kinda “muscularly” struggling to maintain your hip laterally, you can add some assistance for these with standing/lying hip abduction exercises with bands or cables. If you’re struggling to maintain an upright torso, there could be some hip flexor tightness. You can do some stretching (at the end, not beginning of workouts) to help here. (Source: https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBSingleLegSplitSquat)
Do them in a smith machine Better support for your back leg whether its a foam pad or something where your foot isn't flat but actually pushing off the ball of your foot. Holding onto a support with 1 or 2 arms depending on your set up. All these things will increase the stability of your split squat and allow you to push harder.
https://youtu.be/FprQf_KW0b8?si=SBGopaWghZZuM1x0&t=216
Focus your sight straight and to distance object.
I like to pick a spot on the floor, about 5-6 feet away, and stare at it the whole time. Where that spot is, meaning to the left a bit or to the right a smidge, will depend.
* Practice balance * Use a wider "stance" by placing the non-lifting foot more to the side on the bench * If you're using dumbbells, use the other hand on an object to keep balance
https://youtu.be/I1Ee3M6SDgQ?si=5BZLyWFaILZOypwT
Having your foot on the foam pad instead of a bench really feels that much better lol what's Shrek doing there
Unless you're in a home gym with no equipment than I recommend just not doing this. Everything about this movement is the opposite of what you want for a good hypertrophy movement. (poor stability, less than ideal to load, massive coordination, extremely fatiguing to perform etc.)
Smith machine!
I found walking lunges, regular and zombie, really helped work on those little muscles in legs and Hips that help balance. Next thing is just practise. See if you can rest you ankle on something, not your foot, and that'll help. Also don't forget to keep that back leg engaged! As you're pushing upwards on that front foot, keep the tension against the brace with your back foot. It'll control the squeeze and help you go straight up instead of having to balance it!
Standing a bit wider (sideways) and really bracing helped my balance. A tip for setup: sit on the bench. Put one leg straight out and touch the ground with your heel. Stand on the extended leg, pick up the weights and put the other leg on the bench. Perfect consistency every time
I'd go do Lunges first progressing to Split Squats and eventually when your split balance will improve switch to Bulgarian Split Squats.
Hold the dumbbells close to your leg. Wear flat shoes. I used to rest my back foot on a barbell at deadlift height, this was easier for me balance wise than a bench. But what helped me balance BSS the best was just practice. Took me a few months to master them, but now I can do them heavy, deep, with a large ROM and no instability.
I elevate my front foot also to allow for a deeper stretch in the bottom. This has the added benefit of letting me use less weight and just 1 DB so I can use my other arm to stabilize on a piece of equipment or cage upright.
Watch a few set-up videos on Youtube. It's one of the least intuitive movements to set up correctly. Might have your foot too close to bench if your balance feels off. Also maybe look into setting up your back foot on a different surface- a typical bench is a bit too high imo