How to do the Dumbbell Single-Leg RDL
Step by step
- Hold a dumbbell in one hand and stand on the opposite foot with that knee softly bent.
- Push your hips straight back and let your torso tip forward like a seesaw.
- Lower the weight toward the floor while your free leg lifts behind you in line with your back.
- Stop when you feel a stretch in the standing-leg hamstring, hips level and back flat.
- Squeeze your glute to stand tall, finish your reps, then switch sides.
The thing people get wrong
This is a balance and hinge drill, not a reach for the floor - only go as low as you can while keeping your hips level and back flat.
Coaching cue
Point the toes of your lifted leg down at the floor so that hip cannot open up.
Make it easier or harder
- Easier: Rest the toes of your back foot lightly on the floor for balance.
- Harder: Pause two seconds at the bottom of each rep.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Hamstrings, Glutes
- Secondary: Core, Hips, Forearms
What to do instead
Same job, different movement — useful if you don't have the equipment or it doesn't feel right today.
Daily Coach builds this into a real weekly plan. It picks the exercises for your equipment and experience, swaps around injuries you tell it about, and tracks what you actually lifted.