Advanced Fitness Training Post:  3-Step Single Leg Training Progression…by Brian Utley

As a follow-up to my previous post on the advantages of single leg training, I wanted to provide you a plan of execution, because all the content I provided is worthless unless you can apply it.  I left off saying that you may have some stability issues at first because, let’s face it, performing a squat movement on one leg is more difficult than two.

Once stabilization is resolved, though, you’ll enjoy all the benefits of single leg training that I revealed last time…more fat-burning muscle recruited, more strength, less spinal load, higher anaerobic component, more functional, increased performance, and decreased injuries.

So, with that in mind, here’s a 3- step single leg training progression that you can follow to get the best results.

SPLIT SQUAT:

We’ll start with a split squat, either by holding dumbbells by your side or loading with a bar on your back.  If you choose the bar option, squeeze your shoulder blades together and tuck your elbows down.  This should create a pad of muscle on your upper back to rest the bar.  Do not rest the bar too high or it will hurt the cervical vertebrae up top.  And, do NOT use a bar (“sissy”) pad, or I will make fun of you!!

Start with your feet in a standard bilateral hip-width stance, and take a step forward with 1 leg, so there is about a 2 and a half foot separation between the heel of your front foot and the toes of your back foot, give or take a couple inches depending on your height.  Your front leg is the primary working leg in this movement.

Once in this position, activate your core to keep your posture in check and to stabilize your body in an unstable position.  There are several cues out there that people use to recruit core activation.  I simply tell me clients to tighten as if they’re about to be punched in the gut.

You need a little understanding of joint function to execute this movement correctly and to recruit the right muscle for the job.

Your hip is a joint built for mobility, while your lumbar (lower) spine is built for stability, so as you descend, movement should be occurring through the hip and not the lower back.  An inverse relationship exists there, so once movement stops in your hip, your low back will take over.

This is bad from a functional stand-point, as it can lead to back problems, but it’s also bad from a fat-burning perspective, as you’ll recruit far less of those metabolism-revving muscles around the hip and butt when you transfer movement to the low back.

I cue my clients to push their hips “down and back”, so they don’t shift forward and place unnecessary stress on the knee and make the movement too quad-dominant.

I’d like my clients to touch their trail knee on the ground to achieve a full range of motion through the hip, BUT if they begin compensating through the lower back to get there, I cut the movement short and continue working on the movement before increasing intensity.

Another cue I give them is to raise the toes on the front foot.  In doing so, their weight and force shifts to the back of the foot, causing them to recruit their glutes more to perform the movement.  Otherwise, the quads will dominate the exercise.

Finally, I want my clients to finish the movement with full extension through the knee and hip (unlike the picture).  Two benefits.  It challenges the core more as the body is more unstable in full extension, and the core has to work to resolve this.  Second, the glutes are your biggest hip extensor muscles, so we want to recruit them completely by finishing extension.

RFE SPLIT SQUAT:

Once the split squat is mastered it’s time to progress forward to the rear-foot-elevated (RFE) split squat.

This movement is very similar to the previous one, except you will elevate your trail leg on a bench or box behind you.

There is a higher degree of difficulty in this movement as it’s a less stable position, and more of the bodyweight is on the front leg.

Like the split squat, you should fire the glutes and keep the core tight, or compensation movement will come from the low back instead of the hip.

ELEVATED SINGLE LEG SQUAT:

The final progression in this 3-step approach is to perform an elevated single leg squat.  For the previous 2 movements, I most often use a bar-loaded approach, but prefer dumbbells or even a weight vest for the single leg squat.

This is the most difficult and most beneficial of all the single leg exercises.  The opposite leg provides no assistance to balance or stabilize the movement.

Funny thing is that this exercise is actually easier with a little weight than without, because by moving your arms forward with dumbbells, you are able to counterbalance and keep your weight back toward your heel.

There is so much effort involved in performing a single leg squat that it’s rare to complete a set without elevating your heart rate considerably.

Like I stated in my previous post, don’t be fooled by notion that you may only be holding 10 or 15-pound dumbbells in your hands.  You are recruiting a heckuva lot of fat-burning muscle.

These 3 steps are a general approach as there are a number of other single leg movements use can utilize.  So, give this progression a shot, and expect to be uncomfortable with the process and movements at first, but fired up with the ‘banging body’ results you gain later.

Read this killer post as well:  how to build lean muscle and lose fat at the same time, or go here for a boatload of muscle building workouts: workout routines to build muscle…

Your Coach,

Brian Utley

Posted in Build Muscle | Toning Exercises, Strength Training Workouts by Brian Utley | 8 Comments