Meanings
plural Bulgarian split squats
- exerciseA variation of the split squat performed by bending one knee while the rear leg is rested on a platform behind the body.
People often think of Bulgarian split squats as a quad-crushing, glute and hamstrings-building challenge on leg day, instead of the complete core and lower-body compound exercise it can be used for.
2022 April 26, Jeff Tomko, “The Mixed-Load Bulgarian Split Squat Will Challenge Your Legs and Core”, in Men's Health
Origin
The exercise was supposedly popularized in the United States by Bulgarian weightlifting coach Angel Spassov (1941–2017) in the late 1980s.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Bulgarian split squat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bulgarian%20split%20squat
“Bulgarian split squat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bulgarian%20split%20squat. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Bulgarian split squat,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Bulgarian%20split%20squat.
Source: Bulgarian split squat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.