Should the rear foot or the whole shin rest on the bench?

Rest the shin along the bench with the knee near the front edge and the foot hanging off the end, which is the setup shown here. Balancing only the toes on the bench also works but gives less support and is harder to hold, so pick one version and keep it the same between sessions so the two sides stay comparable.

Which hand should hold the dumbbell?

The setup shown here uses the hand on the same side as the standing leg, which keeps the weight close to the working hip and the movement mostly front to back. A study of twelve trained men comparing dumbbell and flywheel single-leg Romanian deadlifts found no significant difference in muscle activity between the two implements, and its authors recommend the opposite-hand position with either one for working the hip extensors and the trunk stabilizers together. The significant increases they measured on switching to the opposite side were recorded in the flywheel condition rather than the dumbbell, so treat opposite-hand loading as worth trying if pelvic control is what you are after, not as a settled result for dumbbells.

Is this easier than a single-leg deadlift?

Yes, in the sense that balance stops being the limit. The bench holds the rear leg, so the set ends when the standing hamstring and glute are tired rather than when the foot starts wobbling, which is why most people can handle a noticeably heavier dumbbell here than in the Dumbbell Single-Leg Deadlift.

Can I hold a dumbbell in each hand?

You can, and it is a sensible way to keep adding load once one dumbbell gets unwieldy, since the bench is doing the balancing anyway. It does remove the sideways pull that a single dumbbell creates and takes your free hand off your hip, so it becomes a heavier lift but a slightly less demanding one for the pelvic stabilizers.

How do I know the rear leg is not doing too much?

Lift the rear shin clear of the bench for a second at the top of a rep; if you can hold that position without the hips dipping or the torso shifting, the standing leg is carrying the set. If the weight only feels manageable while the rear shin presses hard into the bench, take some load off the dumbbell.

Dumbbell Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift (Rear Foot Elevated)

What Is the Dumbbell Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift (Rear Foot Elevated)?

Dumbbell Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift (Rear Foot Elevated) is a compound exercise that primarily targets the hamstrings and glutes, and it also engages the lower back, the hip stabilizers of the standing leg and the calf. It is an intermediate-level movement in which the rear leg rests shin-down along a flat bench while the front leg does all of the hinging, so one hip is loaded at a time without the balance problem a free single-leg hinge creates.

Most of its value is where it sits between the easiest and the hardest ways to hinge. The Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift uses both feet and carries the most weight, but it lets the stronger side quietly take over. The Dumbbell Single-Leg Deadlift holds the rear leg in the air and removes that option entirely, at the cost of balance ending the set long before the hamstring is close to tired. The Dumbbell B-Stance Romanian Deadlift touches the rear toes to the floor as a kickstand, which is usually cued to leave most of the work on the front leg. Parking the rear shin on a bench sits closest to the bilateral end of that line: the support is large and fixed, balance stops being the limiting factor, and the dumbbell can go heavy enough to take the front hamstring and glute to a real stopping point while still training one side at a time.

That trade is the whole point, and it is also the thing to police. Because the bench holds the rear leg rather than the floor, the rear shin can press down and take a share of the load without it being obvious, which turns a one-legged lift back into a two-legged one. Kept honest, the exercise is a straightforward way to load unilateral hip extension: it usually goes after the main squat or bilateral hinge as accessory work, and it can stand in as the primary hinge for lifters whose lower back does not tolerate heavy bilateral deadlifting. Sets of 8 to 12 reps per leg suit hypertrophy, and 6 to 8 reps with a heavier dumbbell suit strength.

Emphasis follows the knee angle and the depth. A small, fixed bend in the standing knee and hips traveling straight back keep the hamstrings long and loaded through the whole descent, while cutting the descent short and finishing with a hard lockout squeeze moves more of the work to the glute. The dumbbell is held in the hand on the same side as the standing leg here, which keeps the weight close to the working hip and the movement mostly front to back; moving it to the opposite hand pulls the load across the body and asks more of the muscles that keep the pelvis level.

It suits lifters who want unilateral hamstring work but keep losing sets to balance, anyone rebuilding trust in one leg after time off, and field and track athletes who need the posterior chain loaded one side at a time. If the hinge itself is new, learn it unloaded and on two feet first, then with a light dumbbell, and only add the bench once the standing hip can stay level for a full set.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Biceps Femoris: Primary
Gluteus Maximus: Primary
Semimembranosus: Primary
Semitendinosus: Primary
Erector Spinae: High
Adductor Magnus: Medium
Gastrocnemius (Medial Head): Medium
Gluteus Medius: Medium
Gluteus Minimus: Low
Soleus: Low

Instructions

Set a flat bench behind you and stand in front of it so the bench runs straight back from your stance.
Rest the shin of your rear leg along the bench with the knee near the front edge and the foot relaxed off the far end, so the rear knee sits at roughly a right angle.
Hold one dumbbell in the hand on the same side as your standing leg, arm hanging straight down in front of the thigh, and place your other hand on your hip.
Stand tall with a small bend in the standing knee, chest up and shoulder blades set, and take the slack out of your lower back.
Push the hips straight back and let the torso tip forward, keeping the dumbbell close to the standing leg as it travels down.
Hold the standing knee at the same angle the whole way down and keep both hips square to the floor rather than letting the free hip rotate open.
Stop when the torso is about parallel to the floor or when the standing hamstring runs out of stretch, whichever comes first, with the dumbbell alongside your shin.
Drive the standing foot into the floor and pull the hips forward to stand back up, finishing tall without leaning back at the top.
Complete all reps on one side, then switch the bench leg and move the dumbbell to the other hand.

Common Mistakes

Rounding the lower back
The lumbar spine flexes on the way down once hamstring length runs out, moving the load off the hips and onto the spine.
Letting the hips turn open
The free hip rotates and hikes toward the loaded side, which bleeds off hamstring tension and hides the asymmetry the exercise is meant to expose.
Pushing through the rear shin
Driving the rear leg down into the bench takes a share of the lift and quietly turns a one-legged hinge back into a two-legged one.
Squatting instead of hinging
The standing knee keeps bending as the torso lowers, so the quads take over and the hamstring never reaches a real stretch.
Leaning back at the top
The rep is finished by extending the spine and leaning past upright instead of stopping as soon as the hips are locked out.
Setting the bench too far back
A bench placed beyond a comfortable stride pulls the rear hip into extension, tips the pelvis forward and leaves the lower back to make up the difference.

Injuries

Dumbbell Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift (Rear Foot Elevated) is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The bench takes away the fall risk that makes a free single-leg hinge awkward, so what remains is the usual loaded hinge exposure: the lumbar spine if the back rounds under the dumbbell, and the standing leg's hamstring at the deep end of the range, where the tendon at the sit bone takes most of the stretch. A hard bench edge under the kneecap is the other common complaint, and a folded towel under the rear knee usually settles it.

Depth is the variable worth controlling. Go only as low as you can hold a flat lower back with the standing knee bend unchanged, which for many people is short of the torso reaching parallel, and let the range grow as hamstring length does instead of chasing the floor with the dumbbell. Lower over about two to three seconds, since the descent is where the hamstring is both long and loaded and rushing it is what turns a hard set into a sore week. Keep the rear leg honest as well, because pressing hard through the rear shin to help the lift hands the work back to two legs and hides whatever the weaker side cannot yet do.

If the pattern is new, build up with an unloaded hip hinge and a Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift on two feet before adding the bench, and stay light for the first few sessions while the standing hip learns to stay level. Progressing out of this variation means taking support away as much as adding weight, moving to the Dumbbell B-Stance Romanian Deadlift and then the Dumbbell Single-Leg Deadlift. There is a good reason to keep some version of the single-leg hinge in a program: a cohort study of high school track and field athletes found that adding three sets of three single-leg Romanian deadlifts to the warm-up lowered the risk of mild to moderate hamstring strains across a season, though it made no measurable difference to severe ones.

Stop the set if you feel sharp or pinching pain high in the hamstring near the sit bone, if the lower back starts rounding to finish reps, or if the standing hip can no longer stay level. Anyone with a current hamstring tear, a history of proximal hamstring tendon pain or an irritable lower back should clear loaded hinging with a clinician before adding weight here.

Overview

Primary Focus: Hamstrings and glutes
Equipment: Dumbbell and bench
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Intermediate

Alternative Exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Should the rear foot or the whole shin rest on the bench?: Rest the shin along the bench with the knee near the front edge and the foot hanging off the end, which is the setup shown here. Balancing only the toes on the bench also works but gives less support and is harder to hold, so pick one version and keep it the same between sessions so the two sides stay comparable.
Q: Which hand should hold the dumbbell?: The setup shown here uses the hand on the same side as the standing leg, which keeps the weight close to the working hip and the movement mostly front to back. A study of twelve trained men comparing dumbbell and flywheel single-leg Romanian deadlifts found no significant difference in muscle activity between the two implements, and its authors recommend the opposite-hand position with either one for working the hip extensors and the trunk stabilizers together. The significant increases they measured on switching to the opposite side were recorded in the flywheel condition rather than the dumbbell, so treat opposite-hand loading as worth trying if pelvic control is what you are after, not as a settled result for dumbbells.
Q: Is this easier than a single-leg deadlift?: Yes, in the sense that balance stops being the limit. The bench holds the rear leg, so the set ends when the standing hamstring and glute are tired rather than when the foot starts wobbling, which is why most people can handle a noticeably heavier dumbbell here than in the Dumbbell Single-Leg Deadlift.
Q: Can I hold a dumbbell in each hand?: You can, and it is a sensible way to keep adding load once one dumbbell gets unwieldy, since the bench is doing the balancing anyway. It does remove the sideways pull that a single dumbbell creates and takes your free hand off your hip, so it becomes a heavier lift but a slightly less demanding one for the pelvic stabilizers.
Q: How do I know the rear leg is not doing too much?: Lift the rear shin clear of the bench for a second at the top of a rep; if you can hold that position without the hips dipping or the torso shifting, the standing leg is carrying the set. If the weight only feels manageable while the rear shin presses hard into the bench, take some load off the dumbbell.