Single-Leg Dead Lift Exercise

Video Transcript

"Hi I'm Amy McCauley and I'm going to demonstrate how to do a single leg dead lift. A single leg dead lift has a little bit more of an advanced move so if you have just started you are going to start with just a basic dead lift. A basic dead lift is shoulders down the spine, chest open. You are going to try about five pound weights and you are just going to hinge forward at the hips, keep the knees slightly bent, think about a bird feeder. Your back just needs to be flat, lengthening across your neck. You are going to go down just towards your ankles and your calves and then you are going to push the weight into your heels slightly and then stand right back up upright so that is your modification version of a dead lift. When you are going into a single leg dead lift try a little bit heavier weight. One weight, this is a ten pound weight so I have just taken the two fives together. Keep your shoulders and chest back and we are just going to reach forward, hinge at the hips, keep the knees slightly bent and try to come close to the floor and then you are just going to scoop forward either balancing on the leg or touching the floor if you need a little bit more balance so set up, shoulders are back, chest is open. There is a slight bend in the knee. Our target muscle is hamstring and glut. To keep that back really strong you are going to isolate the muscles so you are going to really avoid slashing the back and curving the spine. We are pushing the movement down. If you feel like your balance is off take your toe to the floor. You are going to drive it straight back up. It is a nice slow inhale as you come down and as you come up you are exhaling with the contraction of the hamstring and that is how we do the single leg dead lift."