Single leg Squat vs Weighted Double leg Squat

Which one would be better for building glute strength and overall leg strength?

Hi James,

It is not a matter of which one is better, but rather which one comes first.  

My personal opinion, if someone's mobility and basic strength are not yet sufficient to handle single leg squat variations, they have no business adding weight to a double leg squat.  Doing so simply forces an already unbalanced musculature, even further out of balance.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Coach, I have a disease called Charcot Marie Tooth which causes muscular dystrophy mostly in my outer limbs especially feet and shins. It effects my balance as most of my inner feet muscles have wasted away so I have severe high fallen arches. I have almost no shin strength as I cannot do heel stands.

I do double leg weighted squats as balance is not such a big factor as opposed to single leg. I am scared to train single leg squats due to my condition. The specialists I have been to say double leg squats are fine.

Would you advise against single leg training and continue just with double leg or maybe even another approach to leg training in my case GST wise?

@Coach Sommer I am able to do a single leg squat on either leg with my glutes touching my ankle but I can't keep my back straight and the leg that is stretched forward is slightly bent.  

32 minutes ago, James Coppola said:

@Coach Sommer I am able to do a single leg squat on either leg with my glutes touching my ankle but I can't keep my back straight and the leg that is stretched forward is slightly bent.  

This is insufficient for Foundation-level mastery

Heavy squats and deadlifts are further down the maximal strength path than the basic strength established up to F4. Being able to complete those standards will promote far better and safer gains from more taxing exercises.

I find unilateral squats like Skater squats etc to be really beneficial to me after having had a lumbar hernia 3 years ago. I'll never go back to doing deadlifts and putting a lot of axial pressure on my back with heavy barbells, and I don't feel like I need to either. The amount of stability and balance needed throughout the whole chain from the back/glutes down to the foot is a good challenge as well

@Jonas Winback Is your lumbar hernia genetic or self inflicted? (I don't know much about it)

15 hours ago, Christopher Bassett said:

Coach, I have a disease called Charcot Marie Tooth which causes muscular dystrophy mostly in my outer limbs especially feet and shins. It effects my balance as most of my inner feet muscles have wasted away so I have severe high fallen arches. I have almost no shin strength as I cannot do heel stands.

I do double leg weighted squats as balance is not such a big factor as opposed to single leg. I am scared to train single leg squats due to my condition. The specialists I have been to say double leg squats are fine.

Would you advise against single leg training and continue just with double leg or maybe even another approach to leg training in my case GST wise?

Hi Christopher,

Very interesting question.  Simple enough solution to ease the balance factor; just perform your single leg work in a doorway using your arms on the sides to assist.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

7 hours ago, James Coppola said:

@Jonas Winback Is your lumbar hernia genetic or self inflicted? (I don't know much about it)

The hernia, and previous recurring sessions of disc protrusions, are the self-inflicted results of a lifetime sitting in front of the computer with little physical activity, coupled with later years of regular weight lifting without knowledge of how the back works. Now it's all good though as long as I do what I know I'm supposed to do, i.e. avoid excessive sitting, I stand up at work at an adjustable desk and even got my own office treadmill, etc. My back has less capacity than a healthy back, so I can't go all out 100 % with all the exercises in Foundation, but there's still a margin to be able to do things like Jefferson curls as long as I pace my workout Schedule correctly. As long as I'm aware of the need to recover after discal loads, and not just muscular efforts, it works.

I've been working with outpatient physiotherapy for almost 7 years now and I see these kind of things on a regular basis.

7 hours ago, Coach Sommer said:

Hi Christopher,

Very interesting question.  Simple enough solution to ease the balance factor; just perform your single leg work in a doorway using your arms on the sides to assist.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

@Coach Sommer

Sounds like a great idea, I will try it today. Thank you Coach

Also note that if you choose to do the Foundation series, you start SLS work on your two feet, before progressing to just one.

3 hours ago, Jonas Winback said:

The hernia, and previous recurring sessions of disc protrusions, are the self-inflicted results of a lifetime sitting in front of the computer with little physical activity, coupled with later years of regular weight lifting without knowledge of how the back works. Now it's all good though as long as I do what I know I'm supposed to do, i.e. avoid excessive sitting, I stand up at work at an adjustable desk and even got my own office treadmill, etc. My back has less capacity than a healthy back, so I can't go all out 100 % with all the exercises in Foundation, but there's still a margin to be able to do things like Jefferson curls as long as I pace my workout Schedule correctly. As long as I'm aware of the need to recover after discal loads, and not just muscular efforts, it works.

I've been working with outpatient physiotherapy for almost 7 years now and I see these kind of things on a regular basis.

This makes me concerned, I sit for 8+ hours a day but every time I take a break I stretch. I'm hoping that this and working out throughout the week will undo any damage done from prolonged sitting.   

2 hours ago, James Coppola said:

This makes me concerned, I sit for 8+ hours a day but every time I take a break I stretch. I'm hoping that this and working out throughout the week will undo any damage done from prolonged sitting.   

Is there no way to take a lot of small breaks (1-2 minutes) and move around a lot? Your back needs circulation. Adjustable office desk so you can stand up as well? If not, and if your company isn't willing to invest in such things, then it might really be worth it to buy one yourself. You only have one back after all. The cat/camel exercise (5-10 repetitions) is also, according to spine professor Stuart McGill, a good way to minimize and remove accumulated stress and strain on selected portions of your lumbar discs due to excessive sitting. Being still in any position isn't good though, since the spine and the discs are dependent on motion for circulation through diffusion, being as the pressure is too great for there to be any vessels within the discs themselves. Lumbar back supports might relieve the stress a bit and changing posture and position a lot. If you have a lunch break you could also use a portion of that time to take a longer walk somewhere.

But at the end of the day, sitting is the great back killer (not to mention all the other side-effects), so the best method is to minimize that if/when possible, or to at least divide it into smaller, manageable portions with some healthy motion and exercise in-between. 

Hey everyone:

I've mastered Single Leg Squats but don't have access to weights to perform the Lunge variations (no gym and tiny apartment). I've read about weighted single leg squats, but does anyone have any other squat variations they've found challenging, fun and beneficial?

Also, does simply upping the reps/sets of SLSs provide any benefit? Sorry for newbie questions.

Hi guys , after literally thousands of hours coaching double legged squats I have to say that I agree with Coach Sommer.

Not only will being able to do single leg work to mastery leave you more mobile and injury free in the long run, it will also give you more easily superior weighted and non-weighted double leg squats in both form, functionality and strength. 

4 hours ago, Christopher Denzer said:

I've read about weighted single leg squats, but does anyone have any other squat variations they've found challenging, fun and beneficial?

Just add a little jump on the top movement (make it plyometric). That will add intensity. But only after your mastered the normal version to perfection. Also you can do the bulgarian version (the free leg behind you on the bench), and add a jump too if you wish so. 

Good call, Suzanna.

17 hours ago, Suzanna McGee said:

Just add a little jump on the top movement (make it plyometric). That will add intensity. But only after your mastered the normal version to perfection. Also you can do the bulgarian version (the free leg behind you on the bench), and add a jump too if you wish so. 

I do not agree with that, plyometric requires much more basic strength and not explosive or accelerated movements should be done, exception if you can do 20+ single leg squat in a row for each leg.

Thanks for chiming in, Alessandro. Any suggestions?

22 hours ago, Christopher Denzer said:

Hey everyone:

I've mastered Single Leg Squats but don't have access to weights to perform the Lunge variations (no gym and tiny apartment). I've read about weighted single leg squats, but does anyone have any other squat variations they've found challenging, fun and beneficial?

I used to do pistol and skater squats holding a dumbbell. W/o extra weight I did sets of 3x12-15. Form was not too bad but not too great either. That being said, since I started GST I'm still working on earlier progressions to sls mastery! My form and rom has improved quite a bit and my knees feel better.  Negative 10sec sls are still challenging enough that my legs feel like pudding after 5x5/side.
Hawaiian squats are tricky esp regarding balance.
Skater squats can be much harder if performed as shrimp squats and going down all the way but not touching the floor with your knee/foot. Adding in a calf raise at the top of each rep makes sls esp. nasty.  On top of that, everything executed even slower than usual and w perfectly strict form will be more intense in many ways.
Long story short, instead of adding weight I suggest doing sls(and prev. progression) on a soft surface (e.g. foam pad, triple double folded yoga matte, mattress) and varying the exercises(e.g do a set of each prev. progression as warm up before getting to the latest progression).