Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift
You stand on one leg and reach the other one back behind you. Your chest tips forward, your hips travel back, and the dumbbell travels down close to your standing leg. Then you come back up. It's the hinge you already know from the Romanian deadlift, done one leg at a time.
In the single-leg Romanian deadlift your hamstrings and glutes work as a pair: they control the hinge on the way down, and they drive your hips forward again on the way up. That's the same drive you use in the two-leg version.
What's new is the work you only get on one leg. Your standing hip holds its position while your chest travels forward, and the muscles on the outside of that hip stop your pelvis dropping towards the free side — the same job they do with every step you take. And all of it balances on one foot.
You train one leg at a time. Each side has to carry the movement on its own.
Starting position
Stand on one leg. That knee stays slightly bent — the same bend for the whole rep. Your other leg starts bent and straightens as it travels back, so by the bottom of the rep it's long behind you, in line with your body.
Hold one dumbbell in the hand on the same side as your standing leg, close in front of your thigh. Use your free hand at first: rest it on a wall or a bench until your stance feels solid. Later you can let go.
Now tip your chest forward. Keep both hips square — your back-leg side doesn't turn up towards the ceiling.
The three cues
- Keep a soft bend in your standing knee — the same bend from start to finish
- Tip your chest forward until you feel your hamstrings load — and stop before your back rounds
- Your back stays long the whole time — it holds its shape, it doesn't round
Common faults
| Fault | How to fix it |
|---|---|
| Your back rounds on the way forward | Stop where your back still keeps its shape — that's your depth for today. If you want more range, start with a lighter dumbbell. |
| Your standing knee bends a little further with every rep | Keep the bend you set at the top of the rep. Think “hips back” rather than “go down”, and the knee stays where it is. |
| Your back-leg hip rolls open towards the ceiling | Keep both hips square. Reach your back leg straight behind you, with the sole of that foot facing the ceiling. |
| The dumbbell drifts forward, away from your leg | Let the dumbbell travel down close to your thigh and shin. Keep your arm long and let it brush your leg on the way. |
| You drop forward too fast | About three seconds forward, one second back up. You need the time on the way down to hold your balance and control the movement. |
Variations
| Variation | When to use it |
|---|---|
| No weight, hand on the wall | Stance first, load second. Your free hand rests on the wall, and you learn the hinge while balancing still takes most of your attention. |
| With a dumbbell, hand supported | One dumbbell in your hand, your free hand on a wall or a bench. The support takes the wobble out, and the whole back of your body still does the work. |
| Free, with one dumbbell | What we do in the studio. Neither hand is on a support — one holds the dumbbell, the other hangs free. From here, balance and side-to-side control are part of the exercise. |
| With more weight | Once your stance stays quiet across all your reps and your back keeps its shape all the way down, the dumbbell gets heavier. |
Reps and load
Around 10 to 15 reps per side, across several sets. Take your time on the way down: about three seconds forward, one second back up.
Your back sets the depth — as long as it keeps its shape, you can keep travelling forward. A minute and a half to two minutes between sets works well here, and you can fill that rest with another exercise.
Which muscles do the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| Hamstrings Mm. ischiocrurales | Prime mover | Control the hinge on the way down and drive your hips back up |
| Glute max M. gluteus maximus | Prime mover | Extends the hip until you're standing upright |
| Glute med M. gluteus medius | Stabiliser | Stops your pelvis dropping towards the free side |
| Obliques Mm. obliqui | Stabiliser | Keep your hips square while your back leg travels back |
| Spinal erectors M. erector spinae | Stabiliser | Hold your spine long while your chest travels forward |
| Deep back muscles Mm. multifidi | Stabiliser | Hold the lower back steady while your hips move |
| Abs M. rectus abdominis | Stabiliser | Brace the front of your trunk so it stays solid as one piece |
| Calves M. triceps surae | Stabiliser | Steady your ankle as your weight shifts forward and back |
Your hips do the moving; your back holds the shape. On one leg the outside of your standing hip joins in: it stops your pelvis dropping towards the free side while your chest travels forward.
Ways to do it — on video
The equipment changes, the movement pattern stays the same. What you learn on the cable applies to the band just as much — only the resistance differs.
Free, with one dumbbellStandard
The studio standard. Neither hand is on a support — one holds the dumbbell, the other hangs free. Balance and side-to-side control are part of the exercise.
Hand supported
The starting point — your free hand rests on a wall or a bench. That keeps the stance quiet so you can focus on the movement itself.
Explained in full
The whole setup: the stance, the knee angle, the way down — and the tempo Andreas counts out. · 2:09
Seeing it done right is not the same as doing it right
Video, cues and variations take you a long way. What they cannot give you is an outside eye at the moment the movement isn't quite there yet. That is what training with me is for — in the studio or in a workshop.
See the workshopsNew exercise pages are added all the time — the newsletter keeps you posted.
Sources
Mo RCY, Ngai DCW, Ng CCM, Sin KHS, Luk JTC, Ho IMK. (2023). Front Physiol 14:1264604. DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1264604 — Measures the dumbbell single-leg Romanian deadlift itself in 12 active men with a mean age of about 27 and at least two years of resistance training, across four loading positions. The hamstrings, the glutes and the muscles on the outside of the hip carried the movement, while the obliques sat in the low to moderate range. What carries over to the Academy's readers — 40 to 60, training two to four hours a week — is which muscle does which job, not the size of the numbers. (Evidence type: EMG)
Kim J, Jeon Y, Eom K. (2026). Sci Rep 16:27481. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-56871-1 — A second, independent measurement of the same movement in 30 healthy men with a mean age of about 22, using motion sensors alongside muscle recording, with a dumbbell in each hand. It is the reference for how much correcting work the ankle does. Only the firm-ground condition is used here. (Evidence type: EMG · Kinematics)
Bourne MN, Williams MD, Opar DA, Al Najjar A, Kerr GK, Shield AJ. (2017). Br J Sports Med 51(13):1021–1028. DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2015-095739 — A load-matched head-to-head comparison of the single-leg and the two-leg stiff-leg deadlift in 18 recreationally active men with a mean age of about 24, both at a 12-rep maximum. Once corrected for multiple comparisons, no difference between the two survived. That is why this page treats the single-leg version as a different demand rather than a bigger one. (Evidence type: EMG)
Bettariga F, Turner A, Maloney S, Maestroni L, Jarvis P, Bishop C. (2022). Strength Cond J 44(5):69–86. DOI: 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000701 — A systematic review with meta-analysis across eight training studies in athletes with high training volumes. Side-to-side differences narrowed by a small to moderate amount — and explicitly regardless of whether the training was done on one leg or two. That is why this page says only that each side carries the movement on its own. (Evidence type: Meta-analysis)
Kassiano W, Nunes JP, Costa B, Ribeiro AS, Loenneke JP, Cyrino ES. (2025). Sports Med 55(4):923–936. DOI: 10.1007/s40279-024-02169-z — A meta-analysis of nine studies in healthy adults comparing unilateral and bilateral resistance training. For muscle growth, no difference between the two was detectable. It supports the same restrained wording on this page. (Evidence type: Meta-analysis)
Amdi CH, King A. (2025). J Sports Sci 43(20):2447–2464. DOI: 10.1080/02640414.2025.2535198 — A meta-analysis across nine studies with 166 participants on the duration of the lowering phase. That duration had no measurable effect on muscle growth; for strength, trained lifters showed a small advantage from a longer lowering phase. That is why the tempo appears on this page as a way to stay in control. (Evidence type: Meta-analysis)
Chaabene H, Müller P, Dhahbi W, Königstein K, Taubert M, Markov A, Lehmann N. (2026). Ageing Res Rev 113:102933. DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2025.102933 — A meta-analysis of eleven randomised trials in healthy older adults — the oldest sample in this set, and the closest to the Academy's readers, though its participants are still older than they are. Eccentric-focused training gave a small advantage in strength; for muscle size, no difference was detectable. (Evidence type: Meta-analysis)
Lopez P, Radaelli R, Taaffe DR, Newton RU, Galvão DA, Trajano GS, Teodoro JL, Kraemer WJ, Häkkinen K, Pinto RS. (2021). Med Sci Sports Exerc 53(6):1206–1216. DOI: 10.1249/mss.0000000000002585 — A network meta-analysis across 28 studies in 747 healthy adults on training load. Between heavy, moderate and light loads, no difference in muscle growth was detectable. The 10-to-15 range on this page is therefore a reasoned choice rather than an exercise-specific finding — for the single-leg Romanian deadlift itself, no such study exists. (Evidence type: Network meta-analysis)
Diamant W, Geisler S, Havers T, Knicker A. (2021). Int J Exerc Sci 14(3):187–201. DOI: 10.70252/MVFY4610 — Compares the single-leg and the bilateral deadlift in 15 trained men with a mean age of about 31 — the closest in age of the exercise-specific work in this set. Both lifts ran at each participant's own 8-rep maximum, so at matched relative intensity rather than matched load; on one leg, the glute med and the hamstrings worked harder. Two limits: the comparison was against the conventional deadlift rather than the two-leg Romanian deadlift, and the single-leg version was done with a barbell in both hands rather than a dumbbell. (Evidence type: EMG)
A note on context: EMG studies show which muscles an exercise recruits — that is a good reason to pick it, but it does not replace adjusting things to the person in front of you. See a doctor for persistent or severe pain.