Back foot up, explode off the front leg.
Keep your weight in the front heel, the back leg is just for balance, not pushing.
Elevating the rear foot puts nearly everything on the front leg, so each jump is a single-leg power rep where your quad generates the launch and your glute keeps the hip stable through takeoff and landing. Compared with two-footed jumps, there's nowhere to share the load, which makes it brutal and brutally honest about side-to-side differences. It earns a spot for athletes chasing single-leg power and lifters who want their split squat strength to actually move fast.
Jumping lunges switch legs in the air with both feet on the floor, Bulgarian split jumps keep your rear foot on a bench and repeat jumps off one front leg. That fixed rear foot makes each side work alone instead of trading off.
No, it's a kickstand for balance only. If you feel your back leg pushing, shift more weight into the front heel, the whole point is that the front leg produces the jump by itself.
Anyone comfortable with regular Bulgarian split squats who wants to add speed. If the static version is still shaky, own that first, adding a jump to a wobbly base just multiplies the wobble.
