Learn Single Leg Deadlifts With This Exercise

This exercise is fantastic if doing single leg deadlifts is a goal of yours. Even if you have no desire to do single leg deadlifts, this exercise is a great posterior chain strengthener.

Coaching Tips:

Adopt your preferred stance. Your head, torso and hips should be in a stacked position.

On the planted side, form a tripod base by placing your weight on the back portion of your foot, and the base of your big and baby toes. These parts of your foot should remain in contact with the floor for the duration of the exercise. Pretend you are suctioning or screwing your foot to the floor.

On the supporting leg, rest your forefoot on a towel or slider.

Keep your knee fully extended, and close to the midline of your body. Maintain this position for the duration of the exercise. Contract your glutes and quadriceps on this side.

Keep your arms rigid, lats engaged, and pretend you are crushing something in your armpits. For the duration of the exercise, your arms/weights should not travel ahead of your body. Your arm should slide down the side of your front/working leg, and the other arm should remain in line with this front leg. Pretend you are painting the side of your front leg with the weight, and that you are crushing oranges in your armpits. If you are using a single weight, the weight should slide down the front of your leg/shin.

Before each rep, take a deep breath in (360 degrees of air around your spine), and brace your core (360 degree brace around your spine).

Now hinge/push your hips backwards. Pretend a rope is pulling your hips backwards or that you are trying to press your hips back against a wall. As you are performing the hinge, simultaneously slide the foot of the supporting side backwards. Aim to use as little assistance from this leg as possible. Keep this leg close to the midline of your body.

When you are hinging, pretend you are “pulling” your body back/down with your posterior chain muscles. Don’t just mindlessly drop down.

Do not relax or lose tension when you are in the bottom position. Many people make this mistake.

When you reach your full range, engage your posterior chain muscles and press your body away from the floor and back to the top/starting position.

Use a range where you can maintain proper form.

Perform the lockout by squeezing your glutes and hamstrings and extend your hips, and extend your knee.

Exhale after you have pressed away from the floor and are approaching the top position.

For the duration of the exercise, do not allow your knee to fall inside or outside of your foot.

For the duration of the exercise, your head, torso and hips should remain in a stacked position. Do not allow your lower back to hyperextend, round, or flex laterally, ribcage to flare, or torso, spine or hips to rotate.

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