# Single-Leg Strength and Balance at Home

One leg at a time, using only a chair for support. A step up from basic bodyweight leg work.

- URL: https://formaroutines.com/routines/single-leg-strength-and-balance-at-home/
- Duration: About 9 min
- Admin slug: single-leg-strength-and-balance-at-home

## Before you start

Move gently and stop if you feel sharp pain, dizziness, numbness, or symptoms that feel unsafe. This routine is general fitness guidance, not medical care.

## Exercises

### 1. Bulgarian Split Squat

2 sets · 8 reps · 35s rest · both sides

Back foot on the chair, weight on the front leg. Shorten the range if the front knee complains.

#### Steps
- Stand a stride-length away from a bench and place the top of your back foot on the bench behind you.
- Square your hips forward and brace your core with your hands on your hips or at your chest.
- Lower your back knee straight down toward the floor while keeping your front shin near vertical.
- Drop until the back knee is just above the ground and the front thigh is roughly parallel to the floor.
- Keep your weight in the front heel and your chest tall throughout the descent.
- Drive through the front heel to push yourself back up, finishing with the front glute squeezed.

#### Cues
- Front foot loaded.
- Torso tall.
- Knee tracks the toes.

#### Common mistakes
- Standing too close to the bench, which shoves the front knee too far forward and loads the joint.
- Letting the front knee cave inward instead of tracking over the foot.
- Pushing off the back foot instead of driving through the front heel — robs the front leg of work.
- Twisting the hips to compensate for balance instead of staying square — kills the unilateral training.

### 2. Walking Lunge

2 sets · 10 reps · 35s rest · both sides

Keep walking forward with a pause in each lunge. Shorten the stride if the balance wobbles.

#### Steps
- Stand tall with feet hip-width apart, arms relaxed at your sides or hands on your hips.
- Take a long step forward with your right foot and plant it flat on the floor.
- Lower your hips straight down until both knees bend to about 90 degrees.
- Drive through the heel of your front foot to push back up to standing.
- Bring your back leg through and step it forward into the next lunge on the other side.
- Continue alternating sides, walking forward across the floor for the full set.

#### Cues
- Step and settle.
- Tall through the spine.
- Quiet feet.

#### Common mistakes
- Letting the front knee cave inward, which strains the joint and shifts work off the glutes.
- Stepping too short, which turns the lunge into a quad-only squat without much glute work.
- Letting the torso fall forward over the front knee instead of staying tall.
- Pushing off the toes of the front foot instead of driving through the heel.

### 3. Bodyweight Hip Abduction

2 sets · 12 reps · 25s rest · both sides

Finishes with the side hip, which stabilises every single-leg movement above.

#### Steps
- Lie on your side on a mat with your legs stacked, your bottom arm extended under your head for support.
- Stack your hips squarely on top of each other and bend the bottom leg slightly for stability.
- Keep the top leg straight with the toes pointing slightly forward and your foot flexed.
- Lift the top leg straight up toward the ceiling in a smooth, controlled motion.
- Stop when you feel a strong contraction in the side of the hip — usually around 30 to 45 degrees.
- Lower the leg back down slowly without letting it touch the bottom leg, then repeat for reps.

#### Cues
- Hips stay stacked.
- Lift from the side hip.
- Move slowly.

#### Common mistakes
- Rolling the hips back to lift the leg higher, which lets the hip flexors take over from the glute medius.
- Lifting the leg too fast, which removes the time-under-tension that builds the glute.
- Pointing the toes up instead of flexing the foot, which shifts the work off the side hip.
- Letting the top hip drift forward — kills the side-glute contraction and turns the lift into a leg swing.