Exercise of the Week: Single-Leg Straight Leg Deadlift

As mentioned in the previous post on Suspension Training, life does not happen sitting down. To build on that, life also rarely happens on two feet all the time. Take walking for example. One foot is planted, while the other is in motion. When utilizing double leg exercises in the gym, we are most definitely working on our primary muscles such as our quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings. However, stabilizing muscles rarely get involved. When shifting to a single leg exercise, these stabilizing muscles are forced to come into play.

If you are tired of the leg curl machine, or possibly feel like your deadlift needs a challenge, try the single-leg straight leg (also called Romanian) deadlift. This variation of the traditional exercise helps develop the entire posterior chain (namely, your glutes and hamstrings) while also incorporating a balance challenge. Best of all, it is entirely safe for a beginner to try and extremely beneficial for strength training.

If you have weak hamstrings (or glutes for that matter) and have never attempted a single leg exercise, perhaps the first thing to realize is that technique is everything. That being said, you can perform the single leg deadlift without weight in order to ensure your technique is perfect.

PREPARATION: Begin by having both feet together (slightly narrower than shoulder width apart), chest up with your back slightly arched. Place one foot slightly in front of the other, as if you have taken a half-step. The woman is the first image is using a medicine ball as resistance in the ready position.


ACTION: Engage your core by contracting your abs, and proceed to lower your weight (or hand for beginners) by pushing your glutes back and hinging at the hip forward. Make sure to have a slight bend in your planted leg. Remember to keep your arms straight. If using a single weighted apparatus, aim for just in front of the foot. If using dumbbells, lower one to either side of your foot. While the emphasis is on the hamstring of your planted leg, your other leg should hinge backwards for balance, resulting in a position such as this:

Once you've reached a position near mid-to-low shin level, proceed to flex your front hamstring and push your hips forward, bringing your body back to the same starting position. Remember to always keep a bend in your knee of the planted leg and to keep your back flat throughout.

The beautiful thing about the single leg Romanian deadlift is that it does not require heavy loads to be beneficial. Unlike other double leg deadlift exercises, this means that the possibility for back injury is almost non-existent. During the exercise, besides the great amount of work being done on your lower extremities, realize that your spinal erectors, lower trapezius and rhomboid muscles are also working to stabilize the spine and shoulder girdle. Even though your hamstrings and glutes get the majority of the attention in this exercise, you will also work on ankle stabilization. Factor in that you are now using more muscles for an exercise, and realize that you are burning more calories, thereby helping shed fat from your body.

I would encourage you to begin with no weight, until your brain and muscles connect to understand the movement, and proceed to slowly implement the use of weight. Once you have mastered this exercise with dumbbells, challenge yourself by doing the same exercise with a weighted barbell, and watch how the balance challenge increases.