Landmine Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift
What Is the Landmine Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift?
Landmine Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift is a compound exercise that primarily targets the hamstrings and glutes and also engages the adductors, lower back and core. It is an intermediate-level movement in which you stand on one leg with your back to a landmine, hold the free end of the bar in the hand opposite your standing leg, and hinge forward while your free leg reaches back.
The exercise trains the hip hinge one leg at a time, so each side has to extend the hip on its own while also keeping you balanced. That makes it useful for building hamstring and glute strength, for improving hip control on one leg, and for exposing side-to-side differences that a two-leg Romanian deadlift can hide. It usually sits after the main squat or deadlift work as a lower-body accessory, and it is a common choice in athletic programs because running, cutting and jumping all load one leg at a time.
The landmine changes how the load behaves. The anchored bar travels on a fixed arc instead of hanging freely, so it gives you more balance support than a Dumbbell Single-Leg Deadlift and lets you load the standing leg more heavily before balance becomes the limit. The anchor also carries part of the bar's weight, so the load in your hand is less than the bar and plates combined. Because the bar sits on the side of the free leg, the hips and trunk have to resist being pulled into rotation toward it, which is why keeping the pelvis square matters as much as the hinge itself.
It suits lifters who can already perform a Landmine Romanian Deadlift or a barbell Romanian deadlift with a flat back, and a Bodyweight Single-Leg Deadlift with level hips. If balance or hip rotation is the problem, the Dumbbell B-Stance Romanian Deadlift keeps the back foot lightly on the floor while the front leg does most of the work. Focus on feeling the stretch in the standing leg's hamstring as you lower, and on driving the hip forward with that leg's glute as you stand.
Muscles Worked
- Biceps Femoris
- Primary
- Gluteus Maximus
- Primary
- Semitendinosus
- Primary
- Erector Spinae
- High
- Gluteus Medius
- High
- Semimembranosus
- High
- Adductor Magnus
- Medium
Instructions
- Load a barbell into a landmine and add a plate to the free end. Stand with your back to the anchor so the bar runs forward along one side of your body.
- Hinge down and grip the sleeve beyond the plate with the hand on the bar side, then stand tall with that arm straight and the bar end beside your hip.
- Shift your weight onto the leg opposite the bar and soften that knee slightly. Rest your free hand on your hip or let it hang at your side.
- Brace your trunk, set your back flat and keep both shoulders level.
- Push your hips back and tip your torso forward as your free leg reaches straight back, in line with your torso, with the toes pointing down.
- Let the bar end travel down close to your standing leg with your arm straight, keeping the bend in your standing knee unchanged.
- Lower until your torso is close to parallel with the floor or until you feel a strong stretch in your standing hamstring. Keep both hips facing the floor.
- Drive your standing foot into the floor and squeeze that glute to bring your hips forward, lowering the free leg as you return to standing tall.
- Complete all reps, then set up with the bar along your other side, hold it in the other hand and repeat on the other leg.
Common Mistakes
Opening the hips
Letting the free leg's hip rotate up and out turns the pelvis toward the bar, takes load off the standing leg and strains the lower back, so keep both hips facing the floor.
Rounding the back
Reaching the bar end lower by bending the spine instead of pushing the hips back moves the load from the hamstrings and glutes onto the lower back.
Squatting the standing leg
Bending the standing knee further as you lower turns the hinge into a squat and shifts work to the quads, so set a slight bend at the start and keep it.
Letting the bar pull the shoulder down
Allowing the loaded shoulder to sag toward the floor twists the upper back, so keep both shoulders level and the arm close to your side.
Rushing the bottom
Dropping quickly into the stretch and bouncing out of it costs balance and puts the standing hamstring under sudden load, so lower under control and pause briefly before standing up.
Injuries
Landmine Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The landmine steadies the bar, but you are still hinging a load on one leg, so the risk comes from the spine rounding under the bar, from overstretching the standing leg's hamstring, and from losing balance with weight in your hand.
The lower back is the most common strain point. It takes the load when the back rounds to reach the bar lower or when the hips twist open as you descend. Keep your back flat, stop the descent when your hamstring stretch runs out rather than when the bar reaches a set height, and keep both hips facing the floor. The standing leg's hamstring works hardest at the bottom, so lower under control and never bounce out of the stretch. A wobbly standing ankle or a knee that caves inward is a sign that the load is ahead of your balance and hip control.
If you cannot keep your hips level, drop back to the Dumbbell B-Stance Romanian Deadlift or the Bodyweight Single-Leg Deadlift, or build the hinge first with the two-leg Landmine Romanian Deadlift. Once the pattern is solid, progress by adding plates, by slowing the lowering phase, or by moving to the Dumbbell Single-Leg Deadlift, which takes away the anchor's balance support.
Stop the set if you feel a sharp or pulling pain at the back of the thigh, pain in the lower back, or pain in the standing knee or ankle. Repeatedly losing balance mid-rep is also a reason to end the set and lighten the bar.
- Primary Focus
- Hamstrings and glutes
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Alternative Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Which hand should hold the bar?
Hold the bar in the hand opposite your standing leg, with the anchor behind you and the bar running along the side of your free leg. In a study of trained men doing the single-leg Romanian deadlift with a dumbbell, holding the weight in the hand opposite the standing leg produced higher upper gluteus maximus and gluteus medius activity than holding it on the same side.
- Q: How is it different from a dumbbell single-leg deadlift?
The landmine bar is fixed at one end and moves on a set arc, so it steadies you and lets you use more load before balance limits the set. The Dumbbell Single-Leg Deadlift has no such support, which makes it the harder balance challenge at the same weight.
- Q: Why does the bar feel lighter than the weight loaded on it?
The anchor carries part of the bar's weight, so the load in your hand is less than the bar and plates combined. Track progress by the plates you add rather than comparing the number with a dumbbell.
- Q: How far should I lower the bar?
Lower until your torso is close to parallel with the floor or until you feel a strong stretch in the standing leg's hamstring, whichever comes first. Stop sooner if your back starts to round or your hips start to twist open.
- Q: What can I do if I keep losing my balance?
Use a lighter load, slow down, and look at a spot on the floor a little ahead of you. If that is not enough, tap the free foot down between reps or practice the Dumbbell B-Stance Romanian Deadlift until your hips stay level.