How to Do a Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

Mat Forzaglia doing a single leg romanian deadlift

A Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift, or Single-Leg RDL, is like a regular Deadlift but practiced on one leg to challenge your stability and strength. And why is it called a Romanian one, you ask? The type of move was named after Nicu Vlad, who was, you probably guessed it: A Romanian Olympic weightlifter. We spoke to Alo Moves fitness instructor Roxie Jones to learn the important first steps to take to warm up for the move and practice it safely and effectively. A full video breakdown can be found in her Movement Breakdown: Hip Hinge Exercises class on Alo Moves (watch it for free with a 14-day trial).

Jones shares three ways to do a Single-Leg RDL, with the first method in a kickstand position sans-weights to help get the movement down and practicing keeping your hips square. Once you find that safe alignment, it’s fine to add in a weight. The second method involves placing your back leg on a wall, and the third method sees your back leg lifted, similar to a Warrior 3 pose in yoga.

A common mistake with Single-Leg RDLs, Jones says, is that your back leg might be too far back, resembling a lunge position and making the move more quad-dominant. To avoid this, keep the distance in check and start out in your kickstand position. You’ll want to place all the emphasis on your standing leg and keep your back toe super light. A helpful tip to keep things in balance: pretend that you’re balancing your back toe on an egg and you don’t want to crush it.

If you feel any tension or strain in your back, then refocus your mind-to-muscle connection. You should feel a burn in your hamstrings and glutes — not your back. You also want to make sure you’re keeping your hips square and not rotating them to the side.

Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift Benefits

Strengthens your glutes and hamstrings
Improves joint function
Helps stabilize your core

When to Avoid Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

Avoid single leg Romanian deadlifting if you have any lower back pain or hamstring injuries.

Practice your Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift without weights first to get the technique down. Begin by getting into a kickstand position with one leg behind the other on the toes, and both knees slightly bent. Hinge forward at your hips like you’re touching your toes, creating a flat back parallel to the ground and keeping a slight bend in your knees.
Straighten your spine when you come back up to a standing position and make sure your hips keep facing forward.
Once you have the motion down, grab a weight. You’ll hold it in the opposite hand of whatever foot is forward, so if your left foot is forward, place the weight in your right hand.
Pack your ribs down to your hips, then do the same hinging movement with the weight, slowly lowering to a flat back and rising back up. Keep the tension in your hamstrings as you lower. Switch sides.
Once you get the hang of it, you can lift your back leg up further by practicing with a wall or using nothing at all to get the full range of motion in your hips and train your balance.

Trainer Tips for Single-Leg
Romanian Deadlift

Putting a resistance band around your feet can help guide the motion and keep the tension in the correct place — i.e., your hamstrings and glutes, not your lower back. It can also ensure your hips stay square and don’t rotate outwards.
If the kickstand is getting too easy, put your back leg against a wall to focus on the standing-leg challenge.

If your hip starts to lift while performing a Single-Leg RDL with your back leg lifted, regress back to placing your back leg on a wall or kickstand position until you can keep your hips square.