StrengthIn review

Single-Leg Kettlebell Romanian Deadlift

A single-leg hip hinge with one kettlebell.

This page is a working draft. A coach has not reviewed it, so read it as a starting point, not as checked instruction.

Pattern: Hinge
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Intermediate
Mechanic: Unknown
Force: Unknown
Laterality: Unilateral
Impact: Low
Trains where: Gym, Home
At home: Yes

How to do it

Set up

Stand with one kettlebell in the hand opposite the working leg.
Shift onto the working foot and lift the other foot off the floor.
Keep a soft bend in the working knee and brace the trunk.

Do the rep

Push the hips back and lower the kettlebell close to the legs. Let the free leg reach back and keep the hips level.
Stop just below the knee or at mid-shin before the back position changes.
Drive the hips forward to stand tall. Keep the free foot off the floor.

What counts as a rep

A rep counts when the kettlebell reaches just below the knee or mid-shin with a stable back and you return to a full stand. Keep the free foot off the floor and count each side.

One rep starts standing on the working leg with one kettlebell in the opposite hand, hinges to just below the knee or mid-shin with level hips and a soft knee bend, and ends standing tall; the free foot stays off the floor; count each side without alternating.

Breathing

Breathe in and brace before the hinge; exhale after you stand.

Cues

Push the hips back.
Keep the weight close.
Keep the hips level.

Common mistakes

Squatting the movement
What you seeThe knees bend further as the weight lowers.
FixKeep the starting knee bend fixed and move the hips back.
The fixed knee bend defines the hinge.
Hips turn
What you seeThe free hip opens toward the ceiling.
FixKeep both hips facing the floor and shorten the range.
A stable position keeps the load on the intended hip muscles.

Stop the set if

Stop if you feel sharp pain.
Stop if the grip slips or the back position changes.
End the set if you lose balance or cannot keep the hips level.

General educational content, not individual coaching or medical advice.

Muscles worked

Prime movers

Glutes · moderate confidence
Hamstrings · moderate confidence

Assisting

Spinal erectors · moderate confidence
Deep core / trunk stabilizers · moderate confidence
Forearms and grip · moderate confidence

Equipment

Kettlebell

Use one kettlebell in the hand opposite the working leg.

In the app

You log this by hand. The camera coach does not watch this movement yet.

Tracking: Camera candidate

How this page was checked

Draft. A coach reviewer has not signed this off yet.

Draft text is original copy for Wave 2 batch 12, written from the blueprint CSV row and the owner rules approved 2026-10-12 in #340. No human review is complete.
Technique, cues, rep standard, breathing, stop cues, and error corrections need independent sources and the assigned review tier (blueprint two-source rule).
Programming roles, skill tier, failure cost, timed use, goal fit, and equipment follow the owner rules; the switch-on PR must confirm them.
Anatomy uses the CSV planning hints; the assigned review tier must confirm it.
Legacy relations and engine edges stay empty until the progression ladder lane and S2-CAT-005.
Timed use and goal fit copy ex_dumbbell_romanian_deadlift, the closest Wave 1 record. Its review evidence is not carried into this draft.
Rule 1 requires 1 kettlebell; setup and technique use that quantity. Load-and-reps uses kg. Load steps come from user equipment, so load_increment_constraints stays empty.
Failure cost moderate: the user must control the stop with a free weight (rule 3).
Kettlebells come in fixed sizes. The user equipment sets the available load step; no catalog load increment is imposed.
The CSV says bilateral. Rule 2 uses single_leg and secondary_lower, as ex_single_leg_hip_thrust; rule 1 makes laterality unilateral and side counting each_side. No reps alternate.
The CSV says beginner. Skill tier intermediate: one-leg balance needs months of training for one clean rep (rule 3).
The draft holds one weight in the opposite hand. Review must confirm stance, hip control, and the range before release.

All instruction and editorial text in this record is original draft copy written for Allena. Planning metadata comes from the internal Wave-2 blueprint CSV.

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