How to do a Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
Workouts with Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
Target muscles worked
Instructions for Proper Form
Single 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.
- Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing forward.
- Brace your core to keep a neutral spine throughout the exercise.
- Hinge your hips backward while extending your left leg back behind you keeping it aligned with your torso.
- Keep your knee only slightly bent and stationary as you descend your shoulders over your toes.
- Continue to extend your left leg behind while hinging your hips until you can no longer maintain a neutral spine before returning to the starting position and repeating with the opposite side.
Common Form Mistakes
Going too Low
While your knees are going to bend a bit as you drop your hips back, limit your range of motion to as low as your hip hinge allows. Hamstring flexibility is the deciding factor in how low you should go.
Toes Pointed Out
Don’t allow your toes to point out to the side as you lower into the movement. Keep your toes pointed straight forward, or straight down depending on where in the movement you are.
Weight & 1 Rep Max Calculator
Average Single Leg Romanian Deadlift standards by male, female, weight, age and height
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Alternatives & Variations to Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
1. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
97.6 mSCORESWAPPED 11,534 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. Seated Leg Curl
98.8 mSCORESWAPPED 4,052 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
3. Romanian Deadlift
98.6 mSCORESWAPPED 2,982 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
4. Lying Hamstrings Curl
95.8 mSCORESWAPPED 2,678 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 2,297 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 2,222 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. Dumbbell Good Morning
63.8 mSCORESWAPPED 2,099 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.
8. Kettlebell Swing
87.3 mSCORESWAPPED 2,060 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
9. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift to Shrug
68.5 mSCORESWAPPED 1,339 TIMESThe Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift to Shrug combines the hamstring and glute focus of the RDL with upper back strengthening via a shrug. Executing a hip hinge with dumbbells, followed by a shoulder shrug at the top, this exercise effectively targets the posterior chain and traps. It's an efficient way to enhance lower body strength and upper back muscle definition in one movement.
10. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift to Bent Over Row
67.9 mSCORESWAPPED 1,243 TIMESThe Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift to Bent Over Row is a compound exercise that effectively targets the posterior chain, including the hamstrings and glutes, followed by the upper back and lats during the rowing component. Beginning with a dumbbell in each hand, you hinge at the hips to lower the dumbbells towards the ground, keeping your back flat. Once in the bent-over position, you perform a row by pulling the dumbbells towards your torso, then return to the standing position. This combination exercise enhances lower body strength and flexibility while simultaneously improving upper body muscle definition and back strength, making it a comprehensive and efficient workout option.