1-LEG HIP HINGES [“DEADLIFTS”]
The toughest thing about this movement is keeping our balance. We gotta be sure to:
keep both shoulders and hips squared up with the floor
slightly bend the knee of the standing leg
squeeze the booty cheek of the lifting leg [that way it isn’t dead weight hanging off and straining your poor lower back
Here’s a brief video where I demonstrate all of the above!
The “kickstand” I do in the video with the lifting leg is optional, but [like training wheels] I recommend it for those who’ve yet to master the movement. It’s a little “heads up” to your body that only 1 leg is going to support it ;-)
WHAT ARE THESE EVEN MEANT TO DO?!
Well the obvious one is to improve our balance :-) And deadlifts are meant to strengthen our posterior chain (our upper and lower back, booty, and the backside of our legs - our hamstrings).
Ultimately, we wanna have enough control that we hinge until we feel a stretch in the hamstring of our standing leg.
The challenge is getting there while keeping our upper back and core braced with good posture AND squeezing the booty of the lifted leg to create a straight(ish) line from our head to our toes. Doing all the above will really get that backside fired up!! Questions?!