Exercise guide · Advanced · Compound

Barbell Single Leg Deadlift: How to Do It & Muscles Worked

The barbell single leg deadlift is a unilateral lower body exercise that targets the glutes, with secondary emphasis on the hamstrings and lower back. It challenges balance, coordination, and strength by requiring you to hinge at the hips on one leg while holding a barbell.

Primary muscles
Glutes
Secondary muscles
Hamstrings
Equipment
Barbell
Level · type
Advanced · Compound
Demonstration of the barbell single leg deadlift
Front view: muscles worked by the barbell single leg deadlift. Primary: glutes. Secondary: hamstrings.
Back view: muscles worked by the barbell single leg deadlift. Primary: glutes. Secondary: hamstrings.
Primary Secondary

How to do the barbell single leg deadlift

  1. Step 1: Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a barbell in front of your thighs with an overhand grip.
  2. Step 2: Shift your weight onto your left foot and lift your right foot slightly off the ground.
  3. Step 3: Hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back straight and your right leg extended behind you for balance.
  4. Step 4: Lower the barbell towards the ground, keeping it close to your body and your left leg slightly bent.
  5. Step 5: Pause for a moment at the bottom, then engage your glutes and hamstrings to lift your torso back up to the starting position.
  6. Step 6: Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch sides.

Sets, reps and programming

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the barbell single leg deadlift by training goal
Goal Sets Reps Rest Effort
Strength 3–5 3–6 3–5 min 1–3 reps in reserve
Muscle growth 3–4 6–12 2–3 min 1–2 reps in reserve
Muscular endurance 2–3 12–20 1–2 min 1–3 reps in reserve

Ranges follow the ACSM position stand on progression in resistance training. Muscle grows across a wide range of loads when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), longer rests between heavy sets support strength and size (Schoenfeld et al., 2016), and stopping a rep or two short of failure works about as well as training to failure (Grgic et al., 2022). Estimate your working weights with the strength calculators.

Barbell Single Leg Deadlift alternatives

More exercises that train the glutes as their main target:

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Sources

  1. American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687-708.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(7):1805-1812.
  4. Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sport Health Sci. 2022;11(2):202-211.

Step-by-step instructions and demonstration media are from the ExerciseDB exercise dataset.

This guide is general fitness information, not medical advice. Stop if an exercise causes pain and speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.