Single-Leg or Two-Leg Strength Training?
Should your workout include single-leg exercises, two-leg lifts, or both? Explore how each approach fits different strength and sport goals.
Choosing between split squats and back squats starts with a practical question: which performance do you want to improve? Two short studies in young team-sport athletes offer useful comparisons, although neither establishes one universal winner.
What happened in academy rugby players?
In a five-week trial involving 18 academy rugby players, one group trained the rear elevated split squat and the other trained the bilateral back squat. Both trained twice per week, using relative loads based on their respective one-repetition maximums.
Across the training period, the researchers found improvements in both strength tests, 40-metre sprinting, and pro-agility. They did not find a significant improvement in the 10-metre sprint or significant group-by-time differences for the tested outcomes. That supports considering either approach in this particular setting; a small study finding no difference does not establish that the programs are interchangeable for every athlete.
Specificity in a second trial
A six-week study of 23 elite youth male soccer players compared broader strength-and-power programs. The unilateral group combined rear foot elevated split squats with single-leg jumps. The bilateral group combined back squats with two-leg jumps. Each trained twice weekly.
The main analysis found no significant between-group differences. Estimated changes nevertheless showed a pattern consistent with training specificity: bilateral training favored the back-squat test, while unilateral training favored some single-leg tests. Several improvements occurred within only one group, but that alone does not prove the groups differed. Because both the lifting and jumping exercises changed together, the results cannot be credited to the squat variation alone.
Use the comparison to clarify your goal
These studies suggest useful options for programming, with important limits: small samples, short interventions, and young male team-sport athletes. They did not test whether split squats treat back pain, prevent injuries, or correct every strength imbalance.
For your own training log, identify the exercise or performance measure you care about and track it consistently. A squat test, a sprint, and a single-leg jump answer different questions. Use improvements in the relevant measure to evaluate a program rather than assuming every strength gain transfers equally to everything else.