How to do a Medicine Ball Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
Workouts with Medicine Ball Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
Target muscles worked
Instructions for Proper Form
This exercise combines the balance challenge of a single-leg Romanian deadlift with the added resistance of a medicine ball. It targets the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back, improving balance, coordination, and unilateral strength.
- Grasp a medicine ball in both hands and stand with your weight on one foot with a slight bend in your knee.
- Keeping your core, glutes and hamstrings engaged, hinge at your hips to allow the medicine ball to slowly descend.
- Allow your opposite leg to swing out behind you as the medicine ball descends and your torso comes forwards. Keep your back toes pointed towards the floor.
- Pause once you feel a light stretch in your hamstrings and hold this position for a moment.
- Engage your glutes and hamstrings to hinge your hips forward and raise the medicine ball.
- Maintain good posture by keeping your core engaged, shoulders back and chest up. Keep your toes pointed at the ground as your back leg rises.
- You should feel this exercise in your glutes and hamstrings. You should not feel this exercise in your lower back.
Weight & 1 Rep Max Calculator
Average Medicine Ball Single Leg Romanian Deadlift standards by male, female, weight, age and height
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Alternatives & Variations to Medicine Ball Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
1. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
97.6 mSCORESWAPPED 2,143 TIMESThis exercise is a variation on Romanian Deadlifts. Like other Romanian Deadlifts, this is a compound exercise that primarily targets your hamstrings and glutes. The use of dumbbells can help with some limitations in mobility, and is a great starting point for anyone working towards performing Deadlifts or Romanian Deadlifts with a barbell.
2. Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
80.8 mSCORESWAPPED 1,160 TIMESSingle Leg Romanian Deadlift is a variation on the more standard Romanian Deadlift. Like other Romanian Deadlift variations, this is a compound movement that primarily targets the glutes and hamstrings. Performing this exercise on one leg, is a great way to identify, and help address, discrepancies in mobility, strength, and stability between sides. This is a great exercise for anyone looking to improve their ability to perform a large number of other compound lower body movements like Squats, Lunges, or even Olympic lifts.
- Intermediate
- Hamstrings
- Dumbbells
3. Seated Leg Curl
98.8 mSCORESWAPPED 1,047 TIMESSeated Leg Curl is a weighted, isolation exercise that targets the hamstrings. Because a vast majority of lower body exercises tend to be compound movements, this exercise is a great way to isolate the hamstrings for building muscle mass, and developing strength. The use of a machine restricts your range of motion, and adds stability, allowing you to focus on exertion more than stabilizing the movement.
- Beginner
- Hamstrings
- Leg Curl Machine
4. Lying Hamstrings Curl
95.8 mSCORESWAPPED 1,007 TIMESLying Hamstring Curl is a weighted, isolation exercise that targets the hamstrings. There’s a relatively short list of isolation exercises for lower body muscle groups. Because of this, this is a great addition to a lower body workout in order to build strength and muscle mass in the hamstrings specifically. The use of a machine restricts your range of motion, and adds stability to the movement, allowing you to focus on exertion rather than stabilizing the movement.
- Beginner
- Hamstrings
- Leg Curl Machine
5. Deadlift
98.7 mSCORESWAPPED 878 TIMESDeadlift is one of the three powerlifting movements. It’s a compound exercise that primarily targets muscles in the rear chain (backside of the body), and is great for developing strength in these muscles. It’s a staple in most programs, and is often used as a metric for tracking strength.
- Intermediate
- Hamstrings
- Barbells
6. Kettlebell Sumo Squat
87.3 mSCORESWAPPED 852 TIMESKettlebell Sumo Squat is a squat variation. Like other squat variations, this exercise is a compound movement that targets the hamstrings, glutes and quads. Positioning your feet wider than you would for a standard squat helps to recruit the inner thigh, as well as help individuals with mobility limitations.
- Intermediate
- Hamstrings
- Kettlebells
7. Kettlebell Swing
87.3 mSCORESWAPPED 769 TIMESKettlebell Swing is a compound, explosive movement that primarily targets the hamstrings and glutes. This is a great exercise for improving power and explosiveness. It's especially helpful in developing glute drive which can help improve a number of different exercises, and sport performance.
- Intermediate
- Hamstrings
- Kettlebells
8. Romanian Deadlift
98.6 mSCORESWAPPED 727 TIMESRomanian Deadlift is a variation on the more standard Deadlift. It’s a compound exercise that primarily targets your glutes, and hamstrings. Unlike the standard Deadlift, this variation focuses mostly on driving your hips forward to raise the weight, and restricts movement in your knees. This is a great exercise for building strength, and can translate well to other exercises that utilize a hip hinge.
- Intermediate
- Hamstrings
- Barbells
9. Dumbbell Good Morning
63.8 mSCORESWAPPED 437 TIMESThe Dumbbell Good Morning is a strength exercise that focuses on the posterior chain, including the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. Holding a dumbbell at chest level or placing two dumbbells on the shoulders, you hinge at the hips and lean forward with a straight back, then return to the starting position. This movement emphasizes hip mobility and back strength, improving posture and stability. It's a versatile exercise suitable for all fitness levels, offering a low-impact alternative to enhance lower back and hamstring flexibility and strength.
10. Medicine Ball Romanian Deadlift
46.4 mSCORESWAPPED 279 TIMESAdding a medicine ball to the Romanian deadlift increases the challenge to the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. This variation enhances stability and strength, providing a functional workout that improves posture and lower body power.