Will split squats grow your booty?
Booty this. Peach that. When it comes to celebrating all things derrière, the Kardashian’s sure have a lot to answer for! But like it or not, the buzz thing right now in fitness is showing off the booty gains and everybody wants in on just how you do it!
To find out more, I chat with Mel Kench, a veteran PT since 2010 from Zap Fitness. Mel lets me in on one particular exercise that is heralded as the ultimate booty builder. It’s called a Bulgarian Split Squat and it goes a little something like this…
Set up a box and stand with your back to it
Place your foot on the box
Set your front foot slightly forward
Hinge at the hip and drop the back knee down and come back up
Sounds simple enough, but as the Bulgarian Split Squat is considered to be an advanced exercise Mel goes on to explain below a few important cues to remember.
When setting up to perform a Bulgarian Split Squat, make sure your front foot is far enough away from the bench that when you move into your split position, your forward knee is stacked directly above your heel. You can use your toes or the top of your rear foot for support (whichever is most comfortable), but either way the majority of your bodyweight should be through your front leg.
From this position, drop down into a lunge and make sure your knee remains over your heel and doesn’t move forward over your toes. A common mistake is placing the front foot too close to the box behind which then requires the participant to drive their knee far past their toes during the lunge placing unwanted stress on the knee joint itself.
Nailed it? Load it up!
Once you get your technique down, it is then time to try it with some weight. Try adding a pair of dumbbells in each hand and go for between 10-15 reps on each leg. Your glutes should be on fire and you’ll be well on your way to growing that booty.
If you’re really nailing the movement and keen for a challenge, how about trying it with a loaded barbell or replace the box with a TRX…this one is Mel’s personal favourite!
So, is a Bulgarian Split Squat really going to help grow your booty??
According to Mel it ticks all the boxes for brilliant range of motion, superior recruitment of the glutes and quads as well as aiding in core strength and overall stability.
“However, I would recommend doing it along with a combination of posterior chain exercises as well as doing glute activation exercises beforehand”. She adds.
As Mel explains, most people suffer from “lazy glutes”, so integrating Glute Activation exercises into your warm up are going to ensure better movement and a bigger rate of return in the booty department when doing your Bulgarian Split Squats. Using a resistance band, try 3 sets of 10 squats, crab walks and glute bridges to really fire up the glutes.
– Prue Huston
Visit Mel Kench at Zap Fitness Burnside.
Phone: 0409 786 244
Email: [email protected]