The Single Leg Deadlift is an effective way to ensure that your weaker side gets a fair chance at building strength (in bilateral exercises, there tends to be an uneven split of work) while simultaneously working on balance, lumbo-pelvic stability, and spinal stabilization. Even though you simply can't lift as much weight balancing on one leg compared to a traditional dead lift, there's a lot going on and plenty of benefits to be gained. Plus, once you've mastered the movement pattern, you can always add a second bell to the mix for a very real challenge. These make for an excellent lower body accessory movement to any strength training program. Here is a learning progression for technical mastery:
1. Wall Press Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
Set up just in front of the wall, facing away. Reach your non-working leg back into the wall, so that your shin is more or less parallel to the floor (scoot farther or closer to the wall as needed). Keeping the mid line braced (no spinal flexion), allow the weight of the bell to pull you down into a hinge, pressing equally as hard through the grounded foot as the elevated one. The purpose of the anchoring foot is to create a second point of stability and tension in order to help groove a strong hip hinge and familiarize positioning without having to worry about balance. Stop and come back up to the starting position once your chest is parallel to the floor.
2. Staggered Stance/Kick Stand/B-Stance Romanian Deadlift
The intermediary between a wall-assist and full single leg deadlift involves allowing the forefoot of the non-working leg to remain just behind the grounded one, creating a less-active but still-present point of stability. Think about a 70/30 split of weight between the front and back leg, respectively. Use this one to feel out more of the balance component and gain some mental assuredeness. Not to mention, sometimes your balance just isn't there - keep this one in your back pocket as a substitute option for those less-coordinated days. We all have them.
3. Single Leg Deadlift
This is the one where the working leg gets no assist as the back leg moves parallel to the floor, which means you have to be conscious of not allowing the hips to rotate open (if you're familiar with yoga, it's like a Warrior III as opposed to a half moon pose). Think about the toes of the elevated leg as dictating the position of the hip - if your femur is externally rotated (which we don't want), then the toes will point out to the side. Keep the toes pointing down and gently drop the hip, rotating the inner thighs together. Press strong through the back heel, remembering how it felt to generate tension by pushing into the wall. My favorite imagery here is a see-saw: your torso only lowers as your back leg raises, and vice versa.
