it seems like many ppl here are fans of bulg split aquats… so i was wqondering what would be the best way to them for gains in strength, speed etc…
with dumbells (cons–hard to balance, limits weights, pros-core is more involved, grip gets recruited aswell)
barbell (don’t like these, scary to do especially if you lose balance)
or with the smith machine (pros-blance not an issue, can really focus on hitting the leg muscles… cons–its the smith machine)
thanks
I do 4x8 once a week to contract the 5x5 ATG squats on the weekends.
I prefer dumbells. Anything else just seems like too much work. I generally put the dumbells on the floor in front of the bench, get my feet set up and then pick them up and get into the first rep. I don’t like to be holding heavy dumbells hopping around on one foot.
[quote]jtrinsey wrote:
I prefer dumbells. Anything else just seems like too much work. I generally put the dumbells on the floor in front of the bench, get my feet set up and then pick them up and get into the first rep. I don’t like to be holding heavy dumbells hopping around on one foot.[/quote]
I concur with this set-up. Ideally, I like to put the bench in the same place and have a line on the ground marking where I put the toes of my lead foot. That way the split distance is the same each time. If you workout at home, you can simply put some tape down or something; if you workout at a commercial/school gym you’ll need to use some other indicator like grooves in the flooring.
Although others seem to like these for higher reps (e.g., 12-15), I generally like to stay in the 6-8 rep range with these as my form gets pretty ragged with fatigue if I go too high.
One question I do have is what you guys do for rest between one leg and the other. Do you take any rest at all when moving from, say, your left leg to your right, or do you simply switch legs and go right into it?
I’ve been going straight into my work for the other leg with no rest, but sometimes I wonder if it wouldn’t be better to pause for a little while. Thoughts?
I do mine with dumbells and 2 platforms. A short one in front (like a Reebok step) to allow a deeper ROM in the front leg. The toe of the back foot is on top of a standard bench.
[quote]danger-kelly wrote:
I do mine with dumbells and 2 platforms. A short one in front (like a Reebok step) to allow a deeper ROM in the front leg. The toe of the back foot is on top of a standard bench.
[/quote]
Something I’ve always wondered: With the FRONT foot elevated like that, do you put the emphasis more on the glutes/hams or the quads? I guess I could always try it and see, but I thought I’d ask.
I currently do these once a week on my heavy deadlift day but before this current plan I was doing them on my heavy squat day.
I prefer dumbbells though to be honest I only tried the barbell version once and didn’t care for it too much.
[quote]Backlash79 wrote:
I currently do these once a week on my heavy deadlift day but before this current plan I was doing them on my heavy squat day.
I prefer dumbbells though to be honest I only tried the barbell version once and didn’t care for it too much.
[/quote]
I think it tends to work the hip more, b/c my tibias don’t seem to travel that much more forward.
I think the barbell version would be an ego check for some. I only really do dumbbell BSS’s, but I make sure to keep the torso upright and not short stroke the movement (unless you are planning that).
A lot of people get some excessive forward lean to get the dumbbells up since an upright torso would own them. If your hamstrings are whats sore after these you aren’t doing these properly. My glutes and quads after heavy BSS’s feel like a team of midgets knifed them repeatedly.
I also prefer picking up the dumbbells before putting my foot on the bench. Just a preference. I rest on each foot now after being forced to do them no rest between legs for a long time. Stuff like heavy 5x5 per leg 1 minute rest, no rest between legs.
I learned if you want to make it past set 3 with any weight I had to take a minute per leg, otherwise I would be stuck around 55-65lb dumbbells instead of heavier ones. I think lower rep ranges than mentioned are my favorite for this since your back leg is getting worked too. 6 down to a triple is my choice there. I would be interested to try really low reps on these sometime. my 2 cents.
I’m doing 3 sets of 6-8 reps using 2 dumbells right now, typically 35-45lbs. The first time I ever did them was really intense. After the 3rd set my heart was pounding, and my legs felt like jelly. Is this normal? It almost felt like I just did some 5x5 squats with 80% 1rm.
Reading the posts around here, it seems like it is normal. I thought something was wrong with me for the longest time because I would be zapped for the rest of my workout if I tried even moderately heavy weights. If I left them till the end of my workout, then tried to go heavy, I’d feel like vomiting. (I don’t do that anymore.)
[quote]eic wrote:
One question I do have is what you guys do for rest between one leg and the other. Do you take any rest at all when moving from, say, your left leg to your right, or do you simply switch legs and go right into it?
I’ve been going straight into my work for the other leg with no rest, but sometimes I wonder if it wouldn’t be better to pause for a little while. Thoughts?[/quote]
I’d say it depends on why you would rest. I usually do my weaker leg first and hold a single dumbbell in my opposite hand (I think I got this from a Mike Boyle article). With this set-up there is no reason to break between. However I think the soon I’ll need two dumbbells and since I have the grip of a 10 year old girl (no offence to 10 year old girls) my grip will determine if I need a rest.
If you do rest, keep it short.
[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:
I’d say it depends on why you would rest. I usually do my weaker leg first and hold a single dumbbell in my opposite hand (I think I got this from a Mike Boyle article). With this set-up there is no reason to break between. However I think the soon I’ll need two dumbbells and since I have the grip of a 10 year old girl (no offence to 10 year old girls) my grip will determine if I need a rest.
If you do rest, keep it short.[/quote]
Well the reason for the rest is that, like others have stated, my heart is racing and I’m pretty pooped after 8 or so reps with my weaker (left) leg. I’ve been going straight into my work for my right leg, but sometimes I think I should take a moment to catch my breath so I can focus on the task at hand for the right leg. The very last rep of the very last set for my right leg is usually pretty tough and I sometimes rush it, which is not good.
I do mine with a barbell because they are tougher in terms of balance. I can’t do nearly as much weight, but I like the challenge of the higher center of gravity.
I never do these with a barbell, just dumbbells, but not for any of the reasons just mentioned. Having had shoulder problems in the past and having to quit squatting for a while because my shoulders couldn’t handle the bar on my back, I figure the less time I spend with a barbell on my back (limiting it to good mornings, squats, etc…) the better.
I use dumbbells. A barbell makes it even harder, so I recommend starting with dumbbells.
My leg workout last night consisted of heavy deadlifts (several warm-up sets and then work sets of 5/4/3/2/1). I followed them with three sets of 15 Bulgarian Split Squats using 20lb dumbbells in each hand. It was much more challenging than I thought it would be and the leg pump was incredible! I finished my leg portion of the workout with leg extensions and leg curls (superset) for three sets of 15 as well.*
I usually use heavier dumbbells and stick with 8-10 reps, but I like to mix up my rep ranges each week and this was a higher-rep day.
*Note: Yes, I do use and believe in using leg curls and leg extensions within my training despite what everyone may say or believe on T-Nation. They do serve a purpose in your training program.
I recently got some Jump Stretch Bands. They are easy to use and I can take them to work and sneek sets of bss in during the day.
Fred
[quote]Nate Dogg wrote:
*Note: Yes, I do use and believe in using leg curls and leg extensions within my training despite what everyone may say or believe on T-Nation. They do serve a purpose in your training program.[/quote]
If you (awesome athlete, strong like hell-you use 20lbs for bulgarian, and big like…) say so than it must be true.
[quote]K-man wrote:
Nate Dogg wrote:
*Note: Yes, I do use and believe in using leg curls and leg extensions within my training despite what everyone may say or believe on T-Nation. They do serve a purpose in your training program.
If you (awesome athlete, strong like hell-you use 20lbs for bulgarian, and big like…) say so than it must be true.[/quote]
Um…was that an insult? I really don’t think you’ve been around here long enough to insult one of the regulars…