Single Leg Deadlifts: Benefits, Muscles Worked & How To Do

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The single-leg deadlift is one of the best hinge movements for developing posterior chain strength, making it an essential exercise for athletes and fitness enthusiasts aiming to improve lower body power and stability.

As a hinge movement, it focuses heavily on the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back—key muscles that form the foundation of the posterior chain.

These muscles are critical for athletic performance, particularly in activities that involve sprinting, jumping, and lifting.

One reason the single-leg deadlift is so effective is its unilateral nature. By targeting one side at a time, you increase the demand on the glutes and hamstrings, ensuring each leg pulls its weight without compensations from the other side.

This emphasis on the posterior chain also improves balance and coordination, leading to better hip stability and injury prevention.

You can make the single-leg deadlift more challenging by incorporating different types of resistance and instability into your routine:

Using Different Weights: Progress from bodyweight to dumbbells, kettlebells, or a barbell. By increasing the load, you will activate more muscle fibers in the posterior chain, leading to greater strength gains.
Varying the Type of Weight: Holding a kettlebell or dumbbell in one hand (contralaterally or ipsilaterally) can change the balance demands, making your stabilizing muscles work harder. You can also experiment with uneven loading (holding weight in just one hand), which adds an anti-rotational component that strengthens the core.
Balancing on Different Objects: Perform single-leg deadlifts on unstable surfaces, like a BOSU ball or balance pad. This variation increases the need for ankle, knee, and hip stabilization, further improving joint health and functional balance.
Adding Resistance Bands: Using bands around your knee or ankle adds lateral and diagonal resistance to the movement. This forces the smaller stabilizer muscles in your hips and ankles to work harder, enhancing your overall balance and control.

These one-leg deadlift variations not only intensify the posterior chain activation but also improve your ability to stabilize your body under different conditions, translating into stronger, more resilient legs.

Incorporating single-leg deadlifts with these added challenges will improve your performance in both athletic and everyday movements while preventing injury and building superior lower body strength.

How to Do Single Leg Deadlifts

The single-leg deadlift is a complex but rewarding movement that engages your posterior chain while challenging your balance and stability.

Start Position: Stand tall with feet together, holding a weight (dumbbell, kettlebell, or barbell) in one or both hands.
Shift Weight: Transfer your weight onto one leg while the opposite leg prepares to lift off the ground.
Hinge at the Hips: Begin the movement by pushing your hips back while keeping your core tight and your back flat.
Extend the Opposite Leg: As you hinge forward, extend your opposite leg straight behind you for balance, keeping your standing knee slightly bent.
Lower the Weight: Continue lowering the weight toward the ground until your torso is nearly parallel with the floor, focusing on controlled movement.
Drive the Hips Forward: Engage your glutes and hamstrings to reverse the motion, bringing your hips forward and returning to a standing position.
Maintain Balance and Control: Throughout the movement, avoid twisting your hips or rounding your back to protect your spine and maximize posterior chain engagement.

Single-Leg Deadlifts Muscles Worked

Single-leg deadlifts are an effective way to target the following muscle groups:

Gluteus Maximus: The largest extensor muscle of the hip, responsible for hip power and propulsion during activities like walking, running, and jumping. In the single-leg deadlift, it plays a primary role in driving the hip forward during the upward phase of the movement, contributing to both strength and explosive power.
Hamstrings (Biceps Femoris): These key muscles span the back of the thigh and are essential for both hip extension and knee flexion. In the single-leg deadlift, they work to control the descent as you hinge at the hips and to power the lift as you return to standing, contributing to the overall strength of the posterior chain.
Erector Spinae: This group of muscles runs along the spine, supporting posture and spinal stability. During the single-leg deadlift, they help keep your back flat and maintain proper alignment, preventing rounding and protecting against injury as you bend forward.
Gastrocnemius (Calves): Located in the back of the lower leg, these muscles assist with balance and stabilization during the single-leg deadlift. They work alongside the foot and ankle muscles to keep you steady as you balance on one leg, ensuring smooth, controlled movement.
Gluteus Medius: This muscle, located on the outer hip, is critical for lateral hip stability and balance. It’s activated more intensely during unilateral movements like the single-leg deadlift, helping to prevent your hips from tilting or rotating and ensuring proper form throughout the exercise. Its role is especially important for preventing injuries related to poor hip control.

These muscles work together to support strength, balance, and functional fitness.

Benefits of the Single Leg Deadlift Exercise

The benefits of single-leg deadlifts extend far beyond just building strength. This powerful unilateral movement is essential for improving balance, stability, and functional fitness.

By targeting key muscles in the lower body while challenging your core and joint stabilizers, the single-leg deadlift helps correct imbalances, prevent injuries, and enhance overall athletic performance.

Whether you’re looking to strengthen your posterior chain or boost your coordination, incorporating single-leg deadlifts into your routine can deliver significant, well-rounded results.

Here are some of the most impactful benefits of this exercise.

Correcting Muscle Imbalances

One of the most important benefits of single-leg deadlifts is their ability to address and reduce muscle imbalances, which are common when only bilateral exercises like squats or deadlifts dominate a workout routine.

Imbalances can increase your risk of injury, particularly in the hips, knees, and lower back.

Incorporating unilateral single-leg exercises like the single-leg deadlift into your routine allows for balanced muscle development, which improves overall performance and reduces injury risk.

Improved Ankle, Knee, and Hip Stability

The single-leg deadlift is ideal for developing stability across major joints, including the ankles, knees, and hips.

Strong, stable joints are crucial for injury prevention and enhanced power production, whether you’re sprinting, lifting weights, or simply trying to avoid common injuries like ankle sprains.

Single-leg deadlifts are one of the best exercises for knee pain caused by muscle imbalances and poor body mechanics, such as Jumper’s Knee.

Since single-leg deadlifts can strengthen stabilizer muscles around the knee, they are effective for reducing pain and improving joint function.

Enhanced Strength and Athletic Performance

Single-leg deadlifts increase your overall leg strength, enhancing your performance in bilateral exercises like squats and deadlifts.

They also improve your core strength and build a stronger posterior chain, helping you generate more power and stability during athletic movements.

Whether you’re looking to boost your sprint speed or increase your squat and deadlift numbers, single-leg deadlifts will enhance your physical potential.

Single-Leg Deadlift Variations

Incorporating variations of the single-leg deadlift into your routine can help you challenge different muscle groups, improve balance, and prevent workout plateaus. Below are some of the best variations to try, each offering a unique way to enhance strength and stability.

Bodyweight Single-Leg Deadlift

This variation is ideal for beginners and focuses on mastering the movement pattern without additional resistance. It helps improve balance and coordination, setting the foundation for more advanced progressions.

Dumbbell Single-Leg Deadlift

Holding a dumbbell in one hand (contralaterally or ipsilaterally) adds extra resistance and challenges your stability. The dumbbell version also increases glute and hamstring engagement, making it a great next step after mastering bodyweight deadlifts.

In the contralateral variation, you hold the weight in the opposite hand of your working leg, creating a greater anti-rotational challenge for your core. In the ipsilateral version, the weight is held on the same side as the working leg, which increases glute engagement and shifts the stability challenge.

Kettlebell Single-Leg Deadlift

Using a kettlebell offers a similar challenge to dumbbells, but the weight distribution can alter how you balance. This version improves grip strength while also adding an extra challenge for your core and stabilizer muscles.

Barbell Single-Leg Deadlift

For those looking to build serious strength, the barbell variation allows for heavier loading, which targets the posterior chain more intensely. However, this version requires excellent balance and technique to avoid injury.

Resistance Band Single-Leg Deadlift

Adding a resistance band around your knees or ankles increases the challenge to your stabilizer muscles. This variation forces your hips and ankles to work harder to maintain proper alignment, enhancing joint stability and functional strength.

Single-Leg Deadlift on a BOSU Ball

Performing the single-leg deadlift on a BOSU ball or balance pad amplifies the stability challenge, especially for the ankle and knee joints. This variation improves proprioception and is ideal for athletes looking to boost coordination and injury prevention.

Elevated Single-Leg Deadlift

By standing on a step or platform, you can increase the range of motion in your single-leg deadlift, further engaging the hamstrings and glutes while improving mobility.

This is an excellent variation for those aiming to deepen their hip hinge and develop greater flexibility.

Plyometric Single-Leg Deadlift with Jump

The plyometric single-leg deadlift adds a powerful, explosive element to the traditional movement by incorporating a jump at the end. This variation combines strength, balance, and power, making it a great exercise for athletes looking to improve speed and explosiveness.

How to Perform: Start with a standard single-leg deadlift, hinging at the hips and extending your non-working leg behind you. As you return to the standing position, use the momentum to jump off your working leg, driving your knee up for added height. Land softly and immediately transition into the next rep.
Benefits: This variation helps improve lower-body power, coordination, and balance, while still targeting the glutes, hamstrings, and stabilizer muscles. It’s an excellent addition to a plyometric or athletic performance training routine.

Single-Leg Deadlift with Barbell (or Weight Plate) and Overhead Press

The single-leg deadlift with an overhead press combines two functional movements—hip hinging and pressing—into one exercise, targeting both the lower and upper body.

This variation increases the challenge by adding an overhead press at the top of the movement, engaging the shoulders, core, and upper body.

How to Perform: Begin with a single-leg deadlift holding a barbell, dumbbell, or weight plate. Perform the deadlift as usual, hinging at the hips and keeping your core tight. As you return to a standing position, transition into an overhead press by pushing the weight above your head. Lower the weight back down and repeat.
Benefits: This compound movement enhances posterior chain strength while also improving shoulder stability and core control. It’s a great full-body exercise for athletes or anyone looking to increase their functional strength and balance.

Concluding Thoughts: Why Single-Leg Deadlifts Are Essential

Single-leg deadlifts are a versatile, functional posterior-chain exercise that benefits athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike.

They not only help with muscle growth and prevent common sports injuries but also improve performance in everyday movements and sports activities. Here’s why you should start incorporating single-leg deadlifts into your routine:

Reduce Muscle Imbalances: By isolating one leg at a time, this exercise helps you identify and correct any discrepancies in strength and flexibility.
Increase Joint Stability: Strengthen the muscles around your ankle, knee, and hip joints, making it easier to prevent injuries during physical activities.
Boost Overall Strength: This unilateral movement translates into increased strength in bilateral exercises like squats and conventional deadlifts.
Improve Athletic Performance: Enhance your ability to generate power, balance, and coordination—qualities essential for athletic success.

Whether you’re an athlete looking to enhance your performance or someone focused on improving overall fitness, the single-leg deadlift is an effective addition to your training program.

Regardless of your goals with fitness, the single leg deadlift is a great exercise to include in your workout routine or deadlift workout program!

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