Do Split Squats Work for Building Leg Strength and Speed?

                                            Canva images, 2025. Person doing a split squat.

Split Squats: The Secret Weapon for Leg Strength and Speed

Split squats are one of the most effective yet underrated exercises for building explosive leg power, balance, and speed. Whether you're an athlete, a weekend warrior, or just looking to level up your lower body training, adding split squats to your routine 2–3 times per week can yield serious results.

Why Split Squats Work

Split squats are a unilateral exercise, meaning they train one leg at a time. This helps:

1. Correct muscle imbalances

2. Improve joint stability

3. Enhance neuromuscular coordination

4. Build strength in the glutes, quads, and hamstrings

According to BarBend, split squats are especially effective for improving mobility and addressing asymmetries that can lead to injury. A study published in BMC Sports Science found that split squats generate high muscle activation in the gluteus maximus and rectus femoris, making them ideal for strength and speed development.

Progress Over Time

Here’s a graph showing the month-by-month increase in leg power and speed over a year of consistent split squat training (2–3 times per week with heavy weights):

                 Data source, StrengthLevel.com, 2025. Python generated graph.

Leg Power: Increases steadily by ~8 watts/month

Speed: Improves by ~0.2 m/s/month (An improvement of 0.2 m/s translates to roughly a 0.23 second reduction in your 40-yard dash time).  

It is important to note that there will be a flattening of the curve as the speed gets faster month after month.  The below graph which only shows speed gains from doing heavy split squats better shows this. Example used is a football player that runs a moderately fast time of 5.0 seconds in the forty yard dash.  

Data source ER Mackey, NIH (National Institutes of Health, 2025.  Excel generated Graph.

Here's a graph illustrating hypothetical gains in 40-yard dash times over a year, assuming an athlete starts at 5.0 seconds and incorporates heavy split squats 2-3 times per week.

The table below shows the hypothetical 40-yard dash times per month:

Data source ER Mackey, NIH (National Institutes of Health, 2025.  Python generated Table.

The biggest gains are seen in months 4 - 8.  Then the gains start to diminish from month 8 and go flat by month 9 and onward.  At this point plyometrics in addition to the split squats along with other speed training would help get faster.  A 4.5 second forty time is extremely fast in football, and split squats are like steroids for speed, especially in high school and college athletes.

Pro Tips for Maximum Gains

1. Use dumbbells or a barbell for added resistance. Can also use weight plates for this.

2. Focus on form and depth — your back knee should nearly touch the ground

3. Alternate legs and maintain a neutral spine - don't leane forward.

4. Combine with plyometrics for even greater speed gains.

Video Tutorial Showing Split Squats

Conclusion:

Split squats are a robust exercise for the development of speed in athletes by acting on major lower limb muscles like the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes that play a critical role in explosive sprinting power. Incorporating split squats into an exercise program enhances unilateral strength, stability, and stride economy, delivering faster running times, as supported by a 2024 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research study that reported a 10% gain in sprint speed after 8 weeks. 

Their functional use, requiring minimal equipment, makes them a great option for high school athletes and fitness enthusiasts who wish to improve performance. But proper technique and progressive overload are needed to avoid injury and gain maximum benefit, especially with the dynamic movement of sprinting. Through consistent application of split squats in conjunction with plyometric drills, athletes can gain tremendous gains in speed and agility, and consequently become a mainstay of performance training in 2025 and beyond.

References

BarBend – The Split Squat Can Improve Mobility and Leg Strength

BMC Sports Science – Muscle Forces During Split Squats

Three Pillars of Fitness – 5 Reasons to Split Squat

StrengthLevel.com - Split Squat Standards for Men and Women.

Research Gate - The Science of Speed: Determinants of Performance in the 100m Sprint. 

Keywords

split squats, leg strength, speed training, unilateral leg exercises, glute activation, athletic performance, leg day workout, explosive power, strength training, sports conditioning

Hashtags

#SplitSquats #LegDay #AthleteTraining #SpeedAndPower #StrengthTraining #GluteWorkout #UnilateralTraining #ExplosiveLegs #FitnessScience #TrainSmart