The single leg deadlift is a strength and balance exercise done standing on one leg. You hinge forward at the hip, reaching your hands toward the floor while the other leg lifts out behind you, then stand back up. It works the back of the thigh (hamstrings) and the buttock of the standing leg, and your balance has to hold you steady the whole way. This version uses body weight only and alternates legs.

How to do the single leg deadlift

Stand tall with your feet together and your arms relaxed by your sides. Put a soft bend in the knee of the leg you will stand on.
Hinge forward from the hip of your standing leg. As your chest tips forward, let the other leg lift straight out behind you and let your arms hang down toward the floor.
Keep your back long, in one line from your head to your lifted heel, like a seesaw pivoting at the hip. Keep both hips level, with the toes of the lifted leg pointing down at the floor.
Lower until you feel a stretch at the back of the standing thigh, or until your back starts to round. For many people that is well short of the floor.
Squeeze the buttock of your standing leg to come back up, bringing the lifted leg down to the floor at the same time.
Switch legs and repeat, alternating sides as the video does.

What you should feel

Work in the back of the thigh and the buttock of your standing leg, with a stretch at the back of that thigh as you hinge. Your ankle and foot work hard to hold your balance.

Common mistakes

Rounding the back to get the hands closer to the floor.
Turning the hip of the lifted leg open, so its toes point out to the side.
Locking the standing knee, or bending it so much that the move becomes a squat.
Swinging the back leg higher than your trunk goes down.
Coming up fast and wobbling at the top.

How often

Many programs start with 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 10 on each leg, a few days a week. Your physio will adjust this and tell you when you are ready to hold a weight.

Stop and check with your physio if

Sharp pain in the lower back, or pain, tingling or numbness spreading down the leg.
Sharp pain in the ankle, knee or hip you are standing on.
You feel dizzy or lightheaded, or you lose your balance. If you faint while exercising, call emergency services, even if you feel fine again quickly.
A sudden sharp pain, pop or snap at the back of your thigh. Stop straight away. If you then get large bruising spreading down the back of the thigh, a gap or dip you can feel, a stiff-legged walk, or clear weakness when you bend the knee, get assessed the same day at urgent care or an emergency department, as the tendon may have pulled away from the bone near the buttock.

From the clinic

The video goes deep, with the hands near the floor and the back leg lifting above hip height, and the back rounds a little at the bottom. Do not copy that range unless your back stays flat. Balance is often the limit at first, so stand next to a wall or chair back and rest your fingertips on it. Holding single leg stance steadily and doing a controlled glute bridge are good groundwork before this one.

If you have osteoporosis, keep the back straight and the range small, and check with your physio first, because rounding the spine forward is a position many osteoporosis programs limit. If you have had a hip replacement, get the go-ahead from your surgeon or physio before you try single leg deadlifts. The forward hinge bends the standing hip to a right angle or more, and many surgeons ask you to avoid that for the first months after some operations. If you have high blood pressure or tend to feel dizzy when you bend down, come up slowly and keep breathing.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Single leg deadlift