Single-Leg RDL — hold at length
Hamstring length under load on one leg, held at the end of the range where strains happen
How to do it well
The set-up and the rep in full, then the cues the app shows on the exercise card — the short version, for the moment you are standing in front of the bar.
Set-up
Stand on one leg with a dumbbell in the opposite hand, the standing knee slightly bent. A hand on a wall or rack is fine.
The rep
Hinge forward over five seconds, reaching the dumbbell long towards the floor while the free leg extends straight behind you. Keep the hips square to the floor. Stop where the hamstring of the standing leg bites and hold there for twenty seconds. Then stand up under control, squeezing the glute. Swap sides.
On the exercise card
- Hips square, reach long not low
- Stop where the hamstring bites and hold it
- Stand up under control
- Tempo
- 5s to lower
What goes wrong, and the fix
| What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|
| The hip opening towards the ceiling | Keep both hip bones pointing at the floor. A turned hip takes the hamstring off length. |
| Reaching low by rounding | Reach long, not low. Depth comes from the hinge. |
| Locking the standing knee | Keep a slight bend, the same bend throughout. |
Make it easier, or harder
- Easier
- Hold a wall with the free hand, or use no dumbbell.
- Harder
- A heavier dumbbell, or no support at all.
How Train Smart prescribes it
The sets and reps below are the authored starting point. The actual weight you see is calculated from your own last top set and the week you are in within your four-week block.
Hamstring strains happen at the end of the range, and this holds the hamstring there under load, one leg at a time. General fitness carries it in its prehab rotation for the lower-body work.
| Program | Session | Sets × reps | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Fitness | Full Body B | 2 × 20s/side | Moderate DB |
What it trains, and who trains it
- Muscles worked
- Hamstrings · Glutes · Back
- Region
- Lower body
- Classified as
- Mobility
- Prescribed in
- general fitness
If you cannot do this one
Rack taken, kit missing, or it does not suit you. These are the swaps the app offers, matched by movement pattern and body region — each with the reason it is a fair substitute.
| Alternative | Why it works as a swap |
|---|---|
| Trap Bar Deadlift | Big posterior-chain pull, back-friendly — sprinter strength gold standard |
| Romanian Deadlift | Hamstring + glute loaded stretch — anti-injury for soccer/AFL |
| Conventional Deadlift | Full-body max strength pull |
| Sumo Deadlift | Wide stance, more glute/adductor — hip-driven athletes |
| Deficit Deadlift | Standing on a plate — longer pull, more eccentric for hamstring resilience |
| Snatch-Grip RDL | Wider grip + bigger upper-back demand — Olympic lifters, throwers |
This exercise, in a program that knows why it is there
Train Smart puts this movement in the right session, at the right point in your block, at a weight calculated for you — and swaps it automatically if you do not have the kit.
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