How to Make Bulgarian Split Squats More Glute Focused

“Why do my quads burn instead of my glutes?”

This is the most common complaint I hear with Bulgarian split squats.

You’re not alone. For most people, the first time they try Bulgarians, they feel awkward, wobbly, and brutal… more like a quad burner than a glute builder.

The secret is: the way you set up and execute a split squat determines whether it is more quad or glute focused. And if you’ve only been feeling them in your quads, you’re missing some serious glute growth.

In this post, we’ll cover how to bias the movement toward your glutes so you can get the most out of your glute gains.

Why You Still Feel Your Quads

First, it’s important to acknowledge: it is completely normal to still feel some quad work. Because this is a squat-based movement, your quads will always contribute.

Think of it this way: in squats, lunges, and leg press variations, you can shift more of the load toward quads or glutes, but you can never fully isolate one muscle.

Setup, stance, and cues can shift a little bit more of the weight onto one muscle group over the other (aka bias) but it doesn’t “turn off” the other muscle. It just shifts the focus.

Quad vs Glute Focus

With small changes to your stance, torso position, and the way you initiate the movement, you can shift more load to either your quads or your glutes.

To make this as clear as possible, here’s a side-by-side visual of what each variation looks like in practice:

Glute-Focused Bulgarian Split Squat

• Longer stance: Step the front foot further away from the bench. This creates more hip flexion and reduces forward knee travel

• Hips back first: Think about sitting your hips back toward the box behind you, rather than dropping straight down

• Torso lean forward: A slight forward lean increases the hip hinge, which is what loads the glutes

• Front shin more vertical: Keep the shin closer to upright—this limits quad dominance and puts more tension into the glut

• Stop around 90°: Once the front knee is bent to about 90 degrees and you feel a deep glute stretch, drive back up. Going deeper than this often shifts the load back into the quads

💡 Coaching Tip: Imagine closing the gap between your tummy and your thigh on the way down, tap your glute to your back heel, then push the floor away with your front font and drive the hips through to stand back up.

Quad-Focused Bulgarian Split Squat

• Shorter stance: Step the front foot closer to the bench. This increases the angle at the knee and requires more knee flexion.

• Knee drives forward: Allow the front knee to travel over the toes as you lower—this is what really lights up the quads.

• Torso more upright: Keep your chest tall to reduce hip hinge and put more load onto the knee joint and quads.

• Front shin angled over toes: The front knee will travel forward, so the shin will be angled over the toes

  
  

💡 Coaching Tip: Think about “dropping straight down” with the hips and driving the knee forward as you control the descent.

Which One Should You Do?

👉 Both versions are correct. Neither is “better” than the other, it just depends on your personal goals and what muscle groups you are looking to prioritize and build.

• If you want to focus on building glutes, use the glute-focused setup.

• If you want stronger quads and more carryover to squats or knee-dominant lifts, use the quad-focused setup.

• For balanced lower body development, you can alternate both variations in different training cycles.

💡 Coaching Tip: If you always feel Bulgarians in your quads, try adding a light support (lightly hold onto a rack or bench) and consciously push your hips back. This simple change can really assist in creating the glute bias for most beginners.

How to Execute the Glute-Biased Bulgarian Split Squat

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown, plus a demo video:

Supported Bulgarian Split Squat - Glute Focus

• Hips back first: Inhale, then push your hips behind you as you lower. Allow your torso to lean slightly forward—this is what creates the glute bias.

• Both knees bend: But the emphasis is on hip flexion, not knee travel. Avoid driving the front knee forward over the toes.

• Stop around 90°: At the bottom, the front knee should be bent to about 90 degrees, the shin close to vertical, hips pushed back, torso leaning slightly forward, and the back knee just above the ground. Going deeper shifts more load to the quads.

• Drive up through the glute: From the bottom, press evenly through your entire front foot, driving the hips forward and chest up at the same time. The goal is to extend the hip and contract the glute to drive the hips forward.

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👉 The hardest part of this exercise is at the bottom, when the glute is fully stretched. At the top, tension is minimal, so squeezing there adds little. The real work is controlling the way down and driving from the glute from the bottom with control.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Losing alignment: Keep the toes pointing forward, big toe pressed into the ground, and knee tracking in line. If the knee drifts out or the toes lift, glute engagement decreases and knee stress increases.

• Back knee swaying out: Keep the hips square and cue the back knee in.

• Staying too upright: Without a torso lean, you reduce hip hinge and shift more load to the quads.

• Pushing through the back leg: Remember, the back leg is for support only. Keep the weight in the front leg.

• Using momentum: Avoid bouncing out of the bottom. Keep the tempo controlled to maintain glute tension.

The Bottom Line

The Bulgarian split squat can be one of the best glute-building movements if set up and executed correctly. By adjusting stance, loading, and torso angle, you can bias the exercise toward the glutes and feel them working in their strongest range.

If your quads are taking over:

✅ Take a form video

✅ Check your setup

✅ Focus on slow, controlled reps and adding weight over time

And if you’re still not sure what’s off… that’s exactly what I help my clients with. ☺️

I review form videos for every client and coach them through the exact tweaks needed for proper engagement and long-term progress.

💡 If you don’t want to figure out all of this on your own, coaching can help. I offer custom 1:1 coaching plans tailored to your goals, or a budget-friendly group coaching program that gives you structure, accountability, and support.

Both options are designed to take the guesswork out of training and nutrition to help you build a strong, confident body in a way that’s sustainable.

👉🏼 Click here to learn more and see which option fits best for you!