Single Legged Romanian Deadlifts
A single-leg bodyweight hinge that loads the glutes and hamstrings while training balance — the one-legged version of the Romanian deadlift.
How to do it
- Stand tall on one leg with the standing knee slightly bent and your arms hanging at your sides.
- Brace your core and pull your shoulder blades down to set a straight, stable torso position.
- Hinge at the hips by pushing the hip of your standing leg back, letting your back leg rise behind you.
- Keep your back leg, torso and head in one straight line as you lower toward the floor.
- Stop when you feel a deep stretch in the hamstring of your standing leg and your torso is roughly parallel to the floor.
- Drive the hip of your standing leg forward to return to the start, squeezing your glute at the top.
Key technique cue
Hips square to the floor, back leg and torso in one line; the standing knee stays soft.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Rounding the lower back as the torso lowers, which puts the spine at risk under load.
- ✕ Opening the hips as the back leg rises, which loses hinge alignment and balance.
- ✕ Bending the standing knee too much, which turns the movement into a single-leg squat instead of a hinge.
- ✕ Bouncing up from the bottom instead of controlling the lowering and the reversal.
Benefits
- ✓ Builds glute and hamstring strength while exposing side-to-side imbalances.
- ✓ Trains a single-leg hinge pattern that carries over to running and jumping.
- ✓ Improves balance and ankle stability under load.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 You are here - Single Legged Romanian Deadlifts
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About the exercise
Single Legged Romanian Deadlifts are the single-leg version of one of the most widely used hinges in strength training. Standing on one leg, the lifter hinges at the hips and lowers the torso while the back leg extends behind for balance, loading the glutes and hamstrings of the standing leg through a long, controlled stretch. It also exposes side-to-side balance differences that bilateral exercises hide. It fits athletic prep, glute-focused hypertrophy and rehab, where unilateral hinge work is part of returning to training. It is a smart pairing with the bilateral Romanian deadlift and glute bridge for posterior-chain work.
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