This exercise is the Bulgarian Split Squat and its aim is to improve your general leg and trunk strength, along with your balance. For this exercise you will need a bench or chair to rest one of your legs on.

To set yourself up for the start of the movement, stand roughly 1 metre in front of the bench or chair you are using. Rest one of your legs on the bench or chair whilst keeping your other foot flat on the floor in front of it. The leg which is forward will be the one working hard during this exercise.

The foot which is resting on the bench or chair, you can either have the laces of your shoes on it, or your toes, whichever is more comfortable for you. You should now be in a split squat position with one foot on the bench or chair behind you and one foot on the floor underneath you.

Keeping your torso upright and looking forward, begin to slowly lower yourself down, aiming to get the thigh on the front leg parallel to the ground, or however low you are comfortable to go.
Once you are at the bottom of the movement, push through the front leg to return to the start position.

You should aim to have your weight evenly distributed on that front foot and as you move yourself downwards, avoid the temptation of that heel coming off the ground. This normally occurs if you are moving forwards versus downwards.

It is quite normal to feel a stretch on the quadricep muscles on the leg which is resting on the bench. After the first few reps you may find you have to reposition your front foot to make sure you are in a comfortable and stable position to perform the movement.

If you find that you are limited by your balance on this exercise, you can hold onto something to help keep control, but avoid trying to push off this to help bring you back up.

Aim to complete the reps and sets as suggested in your rehab programme.
If you find this exercise too easy, you could hold some dumbbells to add some extra weight.

If however you found it too difficult, it may be more helpful to try the walking lunges or reverse lunge exercise, both of these are available on our channel.