Legs
Single Leg Deadlift to B-Stance Squat
A single leg deadlift, then a squat with your back toes set down like a kickstand. Your standing leg works through both moves, so it builds your glutes, hamstrings and quads one side at a time, plus your balance.
- Works
- Glutes, hamstrings, quads, core
- Equipment
- No equipment
- Load
- Bodyweight
How to do it
- 1Stand on one leg with a soft bend in the knee, the other foot just off the floor.
- 2Hinge forward from your hip, reaching your hands toward the floor as your free leg extends straight back. Stop when you feel a stretch in the back of your standing leg.
- 3Come back up to standing. Set the toes of your free foot down a few inches back, in line with your standing heel, heel lifted like a kickstand.
- 4Squat down with most of your weight on your front leg, then stand. That's 1 rep. Finish your reps, then switch sides.
Cues
- Hips stay square to the floor in the deadlift.
- The back foot is just for balance. Keep your weight in your front heel.
- Stand all the way up between the two.
Common mistakes
- Rounding your back to reach the floor. Stop at the stretch with a flat back. Your hands don't need to touch the floor.
- Pushing off the back foot in the squat. Keep most of your weight on your front foot. The back toes only help you balance.
- Hips twisting open. Keep both hip bones pointing at the floor as you hinge. Make the reach shorter if your hips turn.
Easier
Keep the toes of your back foot lightly on the floor during the deadlift too, or hold a wall or chair for balance.
Harder
Take 3 seconds to lower into each part, or pause for 1 second at the bottom of the squat.
Try it: 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps per side, or 30 seconds on and 30 off per side.
What is a B-Stance squat?
It's a squat with one foot a little behind the other, toes down and heel up, like a kickstand. Most of your weight stays on the front leg, so it works that side harder than a regular squat but is easier to balance than a squat on one leg.
