What does the single-leg kettlebell deadlift work?

It’s a fantastic movement for developing strength, stability, and motor control safely and efficiently for the vast majority of people. If you’re keen to learn some cool techniques that will lift the quality and effectiveness of your single-leg deadlifts, then... you should keep reading!

How can I improve my single-leg deadlift?

The single-leg deadlift, in my opinion, is primarily still a deadlift; it’s simply a deadlift that is performed on one leg... A lot of the time, what I see people performing is a movement that I would label the stiff-legged single leg deadlift, sometimes even a stiff-legged single leg deadlift with a pelvic twist... I’m sure it’s possible that these movements are hugely valuable for some people, but for almost everyone, they won’t tick the boxes as effectively as performing a single leg deadlift as I outline in the rest of this article. 

Just like the deadlift, we want to see your butt go back a long way, and for the angle of your torso to be the mirror of the angle of your femur. Just like the deadlift, we want your foot to carry the load evenly. And just like the deadlift, we want your hips to glide smoothly forward and back in the same plane. Here’s how I will teach this to someone who has a good hinge already (brace yourself)...

Step 1: Set up in your already excellent hinge.

Step 2: Load one leg but don’t change anything about your structure.

Step 3: Place the unloaded leg straight behind you, following the line of your torso (bottom position)

Step 4: Maintain the relationship of your unloaded leg to your torso, and drive to standing with your leg still hovering just above the floor.

Step 5: Without placing your foot down, push back to the bottom position, and return to the top (step 5 is a single leg deadlift).

That’s it! If you can already hinge well, this should teach you pretty quickly how the movement should feel. If you aren’t confident of your hinge or you haven’t practiced it a lot, here’s the sequence I’ll often use for beginners.

Step 1: Stand up tall and tight. Glutes locked, quads tight, abs, and lats engaged. Vertical plank.

Step 2: Pretend that the ground behind you is made of paper over a giant chasm. 

Step 3: Gently reach one foot back as far as you can, testing the paper to find where there might be a solid surface! Maintain the tight relationship of your body from the shoulder to the heel of the reaching leg. 

Step 4: Drive back up to your step one position.

Doing this, and focusing on your body staying tight, will help you find a nice solid hinge where you load one side of your body effectively. You definitely want to avoid leaning forward too much and only want your body to go as far forward as it is tipped by your leg reaching back.

Loading the SLDL

So, you’ve nailed the unweighted SLDL (single leg deadlift) and you want to add load. Most people can probably get away without bothering to load this movement, but that’s not to say that there isn’t a significant benefit to increasing the feedback as you perform the movement. Loading the single-leg deadlift increases both the muscular demand of the movement and the need to deliberately stabilise.

There are four ways that people typically load their single leg deadlift. In each situation, I’d encourage you to use a traditional deadlift to raise the bell, and then use your hinge to dictate your range rather than worrying about putting the bell/s on the ground. Once you’ve completed the set, use your two-legged deadlift to replace the bell. As an aside, it’s a bug bear of mine when people hunt for the ground with the bell, as in doing this, more often than not, people end up folding through their lower back, and diminishing both the value and the safety of this movement. It’s a bad plan! Don’t do it... please...

Here are the loading variants from what people typically find easiest to typically finding hardest (assuming that the total load is maintained).

Variant 1: Double Bell SLDL — Pick up two bells as though you’re about to do a farmer’s carry. Bells sit on the ground beside your ankle bone (calcaneus) and come up and down in a straight line above their starting point.

Variant 2: Front-loaded SLDL — The weight sits in front, both hands on a kettlebell, sandbag, or barbell. This mimics a conventional deadlift in it’s positioning. 

Variant 3: Ipsilateral SLDL — Bell beside planted foot. The bell rests in the same position as the double bell SLDL but with a single bell beside the foot that will stay rooted into the ground. Identical motion.

Variant 4: Contralateral SLDL -Bell beside reaching the foot. The bell is again in the same position as the double bell SLDL but with a single bell beside the foot that will reach back behind. Identical motion.

In all four variants, the body movement should look identical, and in all four variants, the body will have to compensate for the location of the load in different ways. They are all great movements worth practicing. 

The single-leg deadlift is a fantastic companion to traditional big lifts, and for some people, will encompass all that they need to maintain general lower body health around their other activities. Try adding two sets of five on each side at the end of your practice before stretching and over time you will enjoy increased stability and control in your athletic endeavours!

Programming various movements into your training should always be planned and strategic. At QLD Kettlebells, our 30-minute group classes are run based on a 4-6 week strength program each month to ensure our members are able to get stronger safely and more efficiently. When you sign up for our beginner kettlebell workshop, you’ll get access to a 12-week program that gives you a great base, to begin with so come along and experience QKB.