Bodyweight Single Leg Deadlift

Muscles worked

Setup

1. Stand tall with feet hip-width apart and arms at your sides.
2. Shift your weight onto your standing leg, keeping a slight 'soft' bend in the knee.
3. Engage your core and find a focal point on the floor about 3-5 feet in front of you to maintain balance.

How to do it

1. Inhale as you hinge at the hips, lowering your torso toward the floor while simultaneously extending your non-working leg straight back behind you.
2. Continue the movement until your torso and back leg are roughly parallel to the floor, forming a 'T' shape.
3. Exhale and drive through the heel of your standing leg, squeezing your glutes to pull your torso back to the upright starting position.
4. Maintain a controlled 2-1-2 tempo (2 seconds down, 1 second pause, 2 seconds up).

Form checklist

• Keep your hips square to the ground; do not let the hip of the back leg rotate upward.
• Maintain a flat, neutral spine from your head to your tailbone.
• Keep the back leg straight with the foot flexed and toes pointing toward the floor.
• Avoid 'locking out' the standing knee; keep it slightly bent to engage the muscles.

Pro tips

• Think of your body as a rigid seesaw pivoting on the hip of the standing leg to ensure the torso and back leg move as one unit.
• Actively push your back heel toward the wall behind you to create full-body tension and improve stability.

Make it harder

• Extend your arms straight overhead in line with your torso to increase the lever length and challenge your core and balance.
• Perform the movement on an unstable surface, like a foam pad, to further challenge ankle and hip stabilizers.

Frequently asked

What muscles does the bodyweight single leg deadlift work?

The bodyweight single leg deadlift primarily targets the calves, glutes, and hamstrings, and also works the abs and obliques as secondary muscles.

What equipment do you need for the bodyweight single leg deadlift?

The bodyweight single leg deadlift requires no equipment — just your body weight.

Is the bodyweight single leg deadlift good for beginners?

The bodyweight single leg deadlift is rated intermediate. Build a base with simpler variations first, then progress to it with light load and strict form.

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