Hamstring exercises

Barbell Single-leg Romanian Deadlift

Also known as: Soulevé de terre roumain unijambiste à la barre · Μονοποδικές ρουμανικές άρσεις με μπάρα · barbell single leg RDL · BB SL RDL · single leg RDL

Primary
Hamstrings
Equipment
Barbell
Type
Compound
Suggested rest
1.5 min
 
One side at a time

How to do the Barbell Single-leg Romanian Deadlift

  1. Hold the bar in front of your thighs with a shoulder-width grip and stand on one leg, knee slightly bent.

  2. Hinge at the hip while raising your free leg behind you so your torso and leg form a line.

  3. Lower the bar close to your leg until you feel a stretch in your hamstring, keeping your hips and the bar level.

  4. Stand up by squeezing your glute and finish your reps before switching legs.

Sets and reps

GoalSetsRepsRest
Muscle growth3–48–121.5 min
Muscular endurance2–315–201 min

When you hit the top of the rep range on every set, add 2.5 kg (5 lb) next session and work back up.

Starting points from training research. Stop each set 1–3 reps short of failure.

Muscles worked

Primary

Hamstrings

Secondary

Glutes, Lower back

The hamstrings bend the knee and extend the hip, so train both: hinges like Romanian deadlifts and leg curls.

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Barbell hamstring exercises