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Barbell Single Leg Deadlift
A single-leg hip hinge with a barbell that trains the hamstrings and glutes one side at a time while challenging hip stability and balance.
LegsBarbellHip hinge
GoLightWeight mediabarbell-single-leg-deadlift
Demonstration coming soon
Primary
HamstringsGlutes
Secondary
Spinal erectorsCoreCalves
Equipment
Barbell
Pattern
Hip hinge
Setup
- 01Hold a light barbell at the hips with a double overhand grip about shoulder width.
- 02Stand tall on one leg with a soft knee.
- 03Square the hips and brace the trunk.
- 04Fix the eyes on a point on the floor a few feet ahead.
Execution
- 01Hinge at the hips, letting the free leg extend straight behind you.
- 02Lower the bar down the front of the standing leg, keeping it close.
- 03Stop when the torso is near parallel or when the hips start to rotate open.
- 04Squeeze the glute of the standing leg and return to upright.
Checkpoints
- -Hips stay square to the floor, not opening toward the free leg.
- -The bar stays in contact with or close to the standing leg.
- -Spine stays neutral from head to tailbone.
- -The rear leg and torso move as one unit.
Common mistakes
- -Rotating the hips open as the torso lowers.
- -Rounding the back to chase depth.
- -Letting the bar drift forward away from the leg.
- -Rushing reps and losing balance instead of owning the tempo.
Programming notes
- -Use 2 to 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps per leg with loads well below your bilateral RDL.
- -Excellent for exposing and fixing left-right hamstring and stability gaps.
- -Switch to dumbbells or a stepbox-supported version if balance limits loading.
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