Buzz
If you've been struggling with our deadlift challenge due to not having easy access to a gym with barbells and heavy weights, this version is perfect for you. But honestly, anyone can benefit from it. It’s the ideal time to give single-leg deadlifts a shot.
Balancing on just one leg makes this exercise much more difficult in two key ways. First, your stabilizing muscles have to work harder just to maintain your balance. Second, with one leg doing most of the work, even light weights can feel surprisingly tough.
I enjoy this video from Breaking Muscle for demonstrating various options. They start from a standing position and lower the weight, instead of beginning with the weight already on the floor. This allows for a more natural movement. Additionally, they use two kettlebells on either side of your standing leg, which helps keep your upper body stable.
Depending on your focus, you can either place your toe near your standing foot, significantly behind it, or drive your free leg straight back without letting it touch the ground at all.
It’s easy to want to keep your standing leg completely straight, but not many of us have the necessary strength and flexibility (both are required!) to stay stable in that position. Allow your knee to bend slightly, and remember to treat the movement as a deadlift rather than a straight-legged ice skating arabesque.
How have your deadlifts been progressing? What successes have you experienced, and what obstacles have you faced so far this month? I was traveling most of last week, so I couldn’t do deadlifts, but I grabbed the heaviest dumbbells in the hotel gym and did dumbbell rows with my back parallel to the floor, which is a fantastic hamstring exercise (that’s where I feel it, anyway). What about you?
