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An ode to single leg squats
Single-leg work deserves centre stage, not accessory status. More depth, freer hips, and real symmetry.
Published
by Adarsh Gopal
My programming has come a long way from framing single leg work as accessory or secondary to bilateral squats or deadlifts.
They now take center stage. They’re my preferred ways to squat. You get way more depth. Your hips rotate far more freely and to a greater degree. Between stagger stance, split squats, deficits, lateral squats, Cook squats, skaters, pistols and step downs, you can produce a wide variety of adaptations that improve ankle, knee and hip mobility while factoring for constraints.
There’s the symmetry aspect too. While I don’t think anyone can ever be equally strong or capable on both sides, training single leg work ensures some degree of parity. Double leg squats can gloss over this as the stronger side can drag the weaker side along for years.
The traditional argument has been that you limit the load you can lift by being on one leg. And bipeds produce far more force on two legs than one. That’s how hips and knees are built.
I don’t disagree. But with a single leg squat, you can lift significantly more than half of what you’d put on a double leg squat. A person capable of lifting 100 kgs on a double leg squat could handle 55-60 kgs per leg. Even more is possible on a stagger squat. But there’s more to it.
The whole “more weight lifted is more strength” idea has diminishing returns anyway. And the adaptation from bilateral squatting (machine or barbell) is stupidly specific. I’d rather have my client scale three different variations of single leg squats a week and use jump squats or deadlifts for the bilateral work. The variety of single leg squats one can perform produces useful adaptations across different knee, hip and ankle alignments.
The split squat recruits the glutes and quadriceps quite differently than a lateral squat. The stagger stance and split squat work the dominant leg similarly, but the stretch on the rear leg is quite different, as is the balance requirement. Single leg squatting throws open many more distinct positions to train. Not to mention it reduces the shear load on the spine compared to bilateral squats.
This is not to say don’t do squats. You should do them too. But being dogmatic about treating single leg work as accessory or secondary to bilateral squatting is problematic.
But this is the idea I’m selling. For most people pursuing healthier knees, hips and ankles, giving a variety of single leg squats more love and attention can go a long way.