Dumbbell Cross Body Romanian Deadlift
A single-leg Romanian deadlift with the dumbbell moving across the body — emphasizing the working glute and hamstring through a long hinge.
How to do it
- Hold one dumbbell in one hand and stand on the leg opposite that hand with a slight knee bend.
- Brace your core and pull your shoulder blades down so the working side stays square at the start.
- Hinge at the hips, sending your free leg straight back while the dumbbell travels across toward your standing foot.
- Lower until your torso is roughly parallel to the floor and you feel a strong stretch in your working hamstring.
- Pause at the bottom, keeping your hips square and back flat, without letting the working hip open up.
- Drive your working heel into the floor and stand tall, squeezing your glute hard at the top of the rep.
Key technique cue
Keep the hips square to the floor; reach down only as far as your back stays flat.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Opening up the hip of the free leg, which turns the exercise into a rotation instead of a clean hinge.
- ✕ Rounding the lower back at the bottom because the hamstrings can't yet reach the dumbbell.
- ✕ Bending the standing knee too much, which turns the exercise into a single-leg squat instead of a hinge.
- ✕ Lifting the dumbbell with the lower back instead of pushing the floor away through the working glute.
Benefits
- ✓ Builds single-leg glute and hamstring strength with a long, loaded stretch.
- ✓ Trains balance and anti-rotation through the trunk under a real load.
- ✓ Exposes and corrects posterior-chain strength differences between sides.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 3 You are here - Dumbbell Cross Body Romanian Deadlift
- Single-Leg Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
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Step 4
About the exercise
The Dumbbell Cross Body Romanian Deadlift is a single-leg hinge where the dumbbell is held in the hand opposite the working leg and travels across the body on the way down. The cross-body load creates a stronger pull into the working glute and hamstring, while the trunk is forced to resist rotation all the way down. It is a high-value exercise for hypertrophy and athletic conditioning when you need serious glute and hamstring work without a barbell. It also suits rehab-adjacent and movement-quality work when you are rebuilding single-leg control.
Updated
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