Dumbbell Single Leg Deadlift
The dumbbell single leg deadlift is a hip hinge on one leg: holding a dumbbell, you tip your torso forward while the free leg reaches back, then stand tall again. It trains the hamstrings and glutes of the standing leg through a long stretch, and the outer hip works hard to keep your pelvis level. It builds strength one side at a time and shows quickly if one leg is weaker.
How to do the dumbbell single-leg deadlift
Stand tall with your feet under your hips and a dumbbell in the hand opposite the leg you will stand on.
Shift your weight onto the standing leg and soften that knee slightly.
Hinge at the hip: push the hip back and tip your torso forward while your free leg reaches straight back.
Keep your back flat and your hips square to the floor, the dumbbell hanging straight below your shoulder.
Lower until you feel a strong stretch in the back of the standing leg, or until your torso and back leg are close to level with the floor.
Drive the standing foot into the floor and bring your hips forward to stand tall; finish all reps, then switch sides.
Stance and setup
Stand with your feet under your hips and pick the leg you will stand on. Hold the dumbbell in the opposite hand, arm long and shoulder set back. Spread the toes of the standing foot and press its big toe, little toe and heel into the floor; that tripod is your base for the whole set. Unlock the standing knee a little before you start, and keep that bend.
Bracing, breathing and balance
Breathe into your belly and brace before each rep, then hinge. Look at the floor a few steps ahead, not at the mirror, so your head moves with your torso. If you wobble, slow down rather than speed up. A light touch on a bench or rack with your free hand is a good way to learn the pattern; take it away as your balance improves.
Hip hinge and the back leg
Think of your body as a seesaw with the standing hip as the pivot: as the chest goes down, the back leg goes up. Keep the free leg long, the toes pointing at the floor and both hip bones level, so the pelvis does not open to the side. The dumbbell travels straight down close to the standing leg.
Depth and tempo
Lower under control until you feel a strong stretch in the back of the standing leg, or until your torso is close to level with the floor. Stop before your back rounds. Pause briefly at the bottom to settle your balance, then push through the standing foot and bring your hips forward to stand tall. Do all reps on one side, then switch, and start with your weaker leg so both sides do the same number of reps.
Muscles worked by the dumbbell single-leg deadlift
- Primary
- Hamstrings
- Glutes
- Secondary
- Abductors
- Lower back
- Adductors
The hamstrings of the standing leg control the descent as they lengthen and pull the hip through on the way up. The glutes extend the hip alongside them, and the smaller outer-hip muscles keep the pelvis from dropping toward the free leg. In a modelling study of eight hip exercises, the loaded single-leg Romanian deadlift was in the top group for force in all three glute muscles. The spinal erectors hold your back flat, the adductors help extend the hip, and the foot and ankle work constantly for balance.
Common single-leg deadlift mistakes
Opening the hips toward the ceiling
When the hip of the free leg rotates up, the pelvis twists and the hamstrings lose the stretch. Point the toes of the back foot at the floor and keep both hip bones level.
Squatting instead of hinging
Bending the standing knee further on the way down turns the lift into a one-leg squat. Set a soft knee at the start and let the hip, not the knee, do the moving.
Rounding the back to reach lower
Your hamstrings set the depth, not the floor. Stop where your back would start to round, even if the dumbbell is still far from the ground.
Letting the dumbbell drift away
A weight hanging out in front pulls you off balance and adds leverage against your back. Let it hang straight below your shoulder, close to the standing leg.
Rushing the reps
Fast reps turn balance into wobble and cut the stretch short. Lower under control, reach the stretch, then stand up with intent.
How Muscla coaches the single-leg deadlift
- Muscla treats the single-leg deadlift as a compound lift: end each set with about two reps in reserve, three if you are new to training.
- Rest about 2 minutes between sets for strength and 90 seconds for muscle and every other goal. Rest after both legs, not between them.
- Once every set reaches the top of your rep range, add about 5%, at least one dumbbell step of 2 kg or 5 lb: 8 kg becomes 10 kg.
- After your last set, Muscla asks “How heavy was that?”: Light adds weight, Good progresses as planned, Heavy keeps the weight and At the limit holds it or drops one step.
- With the comeback goal, hip hinges stay at 10 reps or fewer. Muscla never puts two hinges, such as this lift and a Romanian deadlift, on the same day.
Dumbbell single-leg deadlift sets, reps and rest
| Goal | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | 8–12 | 2 min |
| Muscle | 6–10 → 8–12 | 90 s |
| Lose fat | 6–12 | 90 s |
| Fit | 8–12 | 90 s |
| Comeback | 8–10 | 90 s |
An arrow marks the range for the next 4-week block.
The single-leg deadlift counts as a compound lift in the Muscla training logic, so it uses the ranges for compound lifts that are not heavy ones. Do the same reps on each leg in every set. Every 4 weeks a new block moves the range; after every third block comes a deload week at 90% of the weight with one set fewer.
Estimate your single-leg deadlift one-rep max
Filled in with example values. Replace them with yours.
Estimated 1RM
Brzycki 29.8 · Lombardi 29.5
Epley: 24 × (1 + 8 ÷ 30) = 30.4 kg
| Reps | Weight | % of 1RM |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 kg | 100 % |
| 2 | 27.5 kg | 94 % |
| 3 | 27.5 kg | 91 % |
| 4 | 27.5 kg | 88 % |
| 5 | 25 kg | 86 % |
| 6 | 25 kg | 83 % |
| 7 | 25 kg | 81 % |
| 8 | 25 kg | 79 % |
| 9 | 22.5 kg | 77 % |
| 10 | 22.5 kg | 75 % |
| 11 | 22.5 kg | 73 % |
| 12 | 22.5 kg | 71 % |
Dumbbell single-leg deadlift alternatives
- Barbell Romanian Deadlift
- Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
- Barbell Deadlift
- Lever deadlift
- Cable deadlift
- Kettlebell Swing
- Band stiff leg deadlift
- Band pull through
- Machine Back Extension
- Barbell Good Morning
Single-leg deadlift questions
Which hand should hold the dumbbell?
The hand opposite your standing leg suits most people. In one study, holding the load on that side raised glute and lower-back activity in the flywheel version, the dumbbell version worked as well as the flywheel, and the authors recommend the opposite-hand position for both.
Single-leg deadlift or Romanian deadlift?
Both are hip hinges for the hamstrings and glutes. The Romanian deadlift lets you load far more; the single-leg version needs much less weight, trains each side on its own and asks more of the outer hip. Since both use the same pattern, Muscla puts them on different days.
How do I keep my balance on the single-leg deadlift?
Fix your eyes on a spot on the floor a little ahead of you, grip the floor with your whole foot and keep a soft bend in the standing knee. While you learn it, rest the fingertips of your free hand on a bench or rack.
Is the single-leg deadlift good for the hamstrings?
Yes. In a comparison of three hamstring exercises, the single-leg deadlift worked the long head of the biceps femoris at the greatest muscle length, and the authors suggest it may suit strength gains in that muscle.
How heavy should I go on the single-leg deadlift?
Much lighter than in a two-leg hinge. Muscla's first suggestion for a man new to training is about 0.1 times body weight, rounded down to your dumbbells: 8 kg at 80 kg. If your first set gives you clearly more reps than planned, the app raises the weight for the rest.
Should the back leg stay straight?
Nearly: keep it long and in line with your torso, so leg and back move like a seesaw around the standing hip. A slight bend in the back knee is fine.
Train it with Muscla
Muscla plans your sets, reps and rest, and sets the next weight after every session.
Coming to the App Store. Free to start.
Sources
- Mo RCY, Ngai DCW, Ng CCM, et al. Effects of loading positions on the activation of trunk and hip muscles during flywheel and dumbbell single-leg Romanian deadlift exercises. Front Physiol. 2023;14:1264604. PubMed
- Collings TJ, Bourne MN, Barrett RS, et al. Gluteal muscle forces during hip-focused injury prevention and rehabilitation exercises. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2023;55(4):650-660. PubMed
- Van Hooren B, Vanwanseele B, van Rossom S, et al. Muscle forces and fascicle behavior during three hamstring exercises. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2022;32(6):997-1012. PubMed