How to do it
- Hold a dumbbell in one hand and stand on the opposite leg with a soft knee.
- Hinge at the hip, letting the free leg extend behind you as a counterweight.
- Return to standing by driving the hip forward.
Cues that matter
- Keep the hips level — do not let the free hip open to the ceiling.
- Fix your eyes on a point on the floor for balance.
Common mistakes
- Rotating the torso open as you descend.
- Turning it into a balance test with weight too light to matter.
Muscles worked
Primary
- Hamstrings
- All three heads
Also works
- Glutes
- Core
- Glute medius
Sets and reps
What to do with it depends on what you are training for. These are the ranges MuscleMap uses when it puts Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift in a session, with 150 seconds between sets.
- Strength
- 4–6 reps
- Build muscle
- 6–10 reps
- Endurance
- 12–20 reps
Same muscle, different kit
Movements that train the same part of the hamstrings with different equipment — for a day the dumbbell is taken, or a gym that does not have one.