Single-leg Romanian deadlift

Movement

Hinging over one foot

A laboratory study describes the single-leg deadlift as bending and straightening at the hip while balancing on one foot⁵. The base of support is narrow, so the lift is less stable than two-leg versions such as the conventional deadlift⁵. In one study of the barbell version, the free leg stayed straight and reached back behind the body¹. It counterbalanced the upper body as it leaned forward¹.

In one study, the hip moved the most of the three leg joints⁵. In 30 healthy men holding a 5 kg dumbbell in each hand, the hip moved further than the knee or ankle⁵. That held on flat ground and on a foam pad⁵. When the trunk rises from being fully bent forward, most early movement happens at the hip, driven by the gluteus maximus and hamstrings⁶.

The versions studies have used

Studies use several names for this lift, and several ways to load it^7,8. The versions tested include:

Body weight alone, in a cohort study (one that follows a group of people over time) of track and field athletes⁹.
A dumbbell or a flywheel device, held on the same side as the standing leg or the opposite side⁷.
A rigid barbell or an elastic barbell¹⁰.
Flat ground or a foam pad under the standing foot⁵.
A sandbag or a water-filled load¹¹.

The one-leg lift used lighter loads than the two-leg lift in one study¹. In 15 training-experienced men, the average 8-repetition maximum was 62.7 kg on one leg and 112.8 kg for the conventional deadlift¹. A repetition maximum is the heaviest load a person can lift a set number of times.

What it loads

The buttock muscles

The gluteus maximus is built to extend the hip, meaning to swing the thigh back or straighten the body at the hip⁶. It works with the hamstrings to do this¹². The two studies and one review below measured its activity during this lift^7,13,14. These studies report muscle activity against maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), the hardest effort a person can make with a muscle^13,14. A systematic review sums up the research on a question in a set, checkable way.

In 21 healthy, physically active people, gluteus maximus activity was about 59% of MVC, similar to the single-limb squat¹³.
In that study, these two exercises drew the most gluteus maximus activity of the 12 tested¹³.
A systematic review of body-weight exercises averaged three studies (65 people) at about 49% of MVC, a level it called high¹⁴.
In 12 strength-trained men, upper gluteus maximus activity was about 105% to 169% of MVC⁷.

The gluteus medius lies beneath the gluteus maximus, and the gluteus minimus lies beneath the medius¹⁵. The medius and minimus work together to move the thigh out to the side, and matter for normal walking¹⁶. In 15 training-experienced men, gluteus medius activity during the lifting phase was higher in the single-leg deadlift than in the conventional deadlift¹. In 21 healthy, physically active people, it was about 59% of MVC¹³.

A modelling study estimates forces inside the body with a model rather than measuring them. One such study in 14 female footballers placed the loaded single-leg Romanian deadlift among the top tier for estimated gluteus maximus force¹⁷. It was also among the top tier for the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus¹⁷.

The hamstrings

The hamstrings are three long muscles at the back of the thigh: the biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus¹⁵. They extend the hip and bend the knee^15,18. Only the biceps femoris has two heads, a long head and a short head¹⁹. All but the short head start from the ischial tuberosity, the “sitting bone”^19,20.

Two studies compared hamstring activity with other exercises^1,8:

In 15 training-experienced men, biceps femoris activity during the lifting phase was about 82% of MVC on one leg and 74% on two¹.
In 31 healthy people, the Nordic hamstring exercise produced higher hamstring activity than the one-leg stiff-leg deadlift⁸.

In 12 strength-trained men, biceps femoris activity was about 70% to 122% of MVC with a dumbbell or flywheel⁷.

Which hamstring does more

Two studies found different patterns, and one measured activity while the other modelled muscle forces^2,3. In 23 elite female handball players, the one-leg and two-leg Romanian deadlifts favoured semitendinosus over biceps femoris activity the most of the exercises tested³. The one-leg version, at half the load, did not change that balance compared with two legs³.

A study of 10 men found a different pattern². There, the single-leg deadlift loaded the semitendinosus relatively little and the biceps femoris long head relatively more². In 31 healthy people, the three hamstring muscles were more evenly matched in the one-leg stiff-leg deadlift than in the two-leg version⁸.

The back, the front of the thigh, and the lower leg

The erector spinae is the main group of muscles that straightens the spine¹⁵. In 15 training-experienced men, left-side erector spinae activity was lower in the single-leg deadlift than in the conventional deadlift¹. The right-side difference was not significant¹.

In 27 healthy, physically active adults, the single-limb deadlift had the most balanced activity between the quadriceps (front thigh muscles) and hamstrings⁴. That was out of nine closed-chain exercises, done with the feet fixed against the floor⁴. Its ratio was about 2.9, against about 5.5 for the single-limb squat⁴.

The fibularis (peroneus) longus is one of two muscles on the outer side of the leg¹⁵. In 28 healthy athletes holding a sandbag, it was more active in this lift than when standing still on one leg¹¹. Swapping to a water-filled load did not change its activity¹¹.

How the setup shifts the work

Change	Who was studied	What changed
Load held on the opposite side	12 strength-trained men	Higher gluteus medius and upper gluteus maximus activity than same-side loading⁷
Flywheel instead of dumbbell	12 strength-trained men	Muscle activity did not differ significantly⁷
Elastic instead of rigid barbell	27 healthy adults	Less movement of the centre of pressure (the point under the foot where weight is centred), and higher gluteus medius, hamstring and gastrocnemius (calf) activity¹⁰
Foam pad instead of flat ground	30 healthy men	More ankle sway, and less movement at the hip and knee⁵
Foam pad instead of flat ground	30 healthy men	Higher tibialis anterior (front shin muscle) and biceps femoris activity⁵
One leg, flywheel with a vertical pull	23 team-sport athletes	Largest gluteus medius and semitendinosus activity of the flywheel deadlifts tested²¹

On the foam pad, gluteus maximus activity also rose in the lowering phase⁵. In the flywheel study, the two-leg vertically loaded version produced the highest force²¹.

Compared with the Nordic hamstring curl

A modelling study of 10 men compared the single-leg deadlift with the Nordic hamstring curl². At a one-repetition-maximum load, modelled peak hamstring forces were generally lower in the single-leg deadlift². Modelled peak buttock muscle forces were 43% higher than in the Nordic curl².

The same study tracked the fascicles, bundles of muscle fibres, in the biceps femoris long head². Their average length was greater in the barbell single-leg deadlift than in the Nordic curl². But they lengthened more during the Nordic curl².

How the body adapts

What training studies found

Two studies followed people who did this exercise twice a week for several weeks^22,23:

In 27 recreationally active adults aged 40 to 56, backward-and-outward reach improved in both legs after four weeks²². It was measured on the Y Balance Test, a test of how far a person can reach with one leg while balancing on the other²².
Static balance did not change in that group²².
In 17 young healthy men doing flywheel versions, jump, sprint and change-of-direction results showed likely beneficial effects after three weeks²³.
After three more weeks, some change-of-direction tests showed likely detrimental effects²³.

One cohort of track and field athletes

In a cohort of 77 high-school track and field athletes, one season added body-weight single-leg Romanian deadlifts to the warm-up⁹. They did 3 sets of 3⁹. That season had fewer mild-to-moderate hamstring strain injuries than the control season⁹.

The risk ratio (how many times more often something happens in one group than in another) was 0.34⁹. There was no significant difference for severe strains⁹. Compliance with adding the exercise to the warm-up was 98.67%⁹.

The authors of that study state that the exercise is less intense than the Nordic hamstring exercise and generates less hamstring force⁹.

Progressive overload

A 2026 position stand describes progressive overload as the need to increase the stimulus placed on the muscle throughout a training programme²⁴. Four training studies of this lift each raised the demand in its own way^22,23,25,26. A fifth described one prescription for its whole seven weeks²⁷.

More sets and repetitions

In the four-week study of 27 recreationally active adults aged 40 to 56, the lift was done with body weight, twice a week²². Sets and repetitions rose each week, from 2 sets of 10 in week 1 to 4 sets of 12 to 13 in week 4²². The authors note that their participants were already resistance-trained²². They add that the short training period may have limited the balance changes they could see²².

The flywheel study of 17 young healthy men used a flywheel, a device whose resistance comes from a spinning wheel²³. Its setting stayed the same for six weeks²³. Training went from 3 sets of 7 all-out repetitions in the first three weeks to 4 sets in the next three²³. The gains seen after three weeks did not improve further in most field tests once the fourth set was added²³. Jump and power results gained early were maintained through six weeks, which the authors read as the added load maintaining, not improving, some effects²³.

The same authors name the lack of a control group as a main limitation²³. They call for research on how to progress this kind of training²³.

Sets and repetitions alongside the Nordic curl

A six-week study of female dance students paired this lift with the Nordic hamstring exercise, twice a week²⁵. That group did 3 sets of 6 to 8 repetitions in weeks 1 and 2, then 3 sets of 12, 10 and 8²⁵. In weeks 5 and 6 it did 3 sets of 12²⁵. Among the 24 female dance students studied, the group doing both exercises showed significant changes in concentric (shortening) and eccentric (lengthening) hamstring strength²⁵. The group did both exercises, so these results belong to the pair, not to this lift alone²⁵.

A weight adjusted each week

A randomised trial (one that assigns people to groups by chance) split 20 adults between this lift and the Nordic hamstring exercise²⁶. Their mean age was about 21, and the single-leg group held a weight plate twice a week for 6 weeks, as volume rose²⁶. Each week the weight was adjusted so that the last planned repetition was reached at failure, the point where no more could be done²⁶. This programme and one of Nordic hamstring exercises both raised single-leg hamstring bridge performance, with no difference between them; both groups had 100% adherence²⁶.

One fixed prescription with a slow lowering

A randomised trial of 12 trained adolescent male basketball players had one of its two groups do single-leg deadlifts using only the lowering phase²⁷. Each lowering took a controlled 5 seconds, and training partners did the lifting²⁷. The stated prescription for all seven weeks was a 5-repetition-maximum load, 5 sets of 5 per leg, three times a week²⁷. That group also did Bulgarian split squats²⁷. Only this group showed a high probability of better estimated single-leg deadlift strength, yet neither group showed a significant edge over the other²⁷.

Connections

The muscles it works

The gluteus maximus, which works with the hamstrings to extend the hip^12,13.
The hamstrings, whose biceps femoris and semitendinosus two studies weighed differently^2,3.
The gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, the deeper buttock muscles^1,15,17.
The erector spinae, less than in the conventional deadlift on the left side¹.
The quadriceps, with the most balanced ratio to the hamstrings of nine exercises in one study⁴.

The tendons nearby

The gluteus medius tendon attaches to the greater trochanter, the bony point at the top outer side of the thigh bone^28,29. The gluteus minimus tendon attaches to its front^28,30. These are the gluteal tendons^28,29,30.

The deadlift on two legs used heavier loads and drew less biceps femoris and gluteus medius activity in one study of 15 training-experienced men¹. The Nordic hamstring curl produced higher hamstring activity in 31 healthy people⁸.