This is an exercise that’s been in my programming repertoire for a while now, and every time I place it into someone’s program, I either get one raised eye brow of intrigue or a chuckle; as if to say, “dude, really? This? Come on….I need something more challenging.”
Then, of course, those who fall into the latter category wake up the next morning and realize their hamstrings feel like they were put through a meat grinder.
*strokes evil strength coach beard*
Muhahahahahahahaha. I win.
Anyways, getting right to the point, there are quite few inherent benefits to this exercise.
1. It’s a single leg movement. People need to do more single leg work. Nuff said.
2. Thing is, single leg work can be about as exciting as watching Gossip Girl. More to the point, it’s a hybrid single leg movement, combining both the reverse lunge and the 1-legged Romanian deadlift, so I’ve found it’s a nice change of pace, and a bit more palatable for most trainees.
Note: I will say, though, that this is a more advanced variation so I’d be reticent to encourage newbies to throw this into the mix right off the bat.
3. With regards to the reverse lunge component, it’s more knee friendly compared to forward lunge variations. With forward lunge variations you have to decelerate the body, which can be problematic for those with a history of knee pain. Conversely, with the reverse lunge, it’s more accelerative (I think I just made a word up) in nature, and thus less stressful on the knee joint in general.
4. On the flip side, with respects to the 1-legged Romanian deadlift component, I just like it because it trains the lateral sub-system, and it really forces the trainee to focus on his or her hip stabilizers.
5. Maybe a little less obvious, but nevertheless an important point to consider, is that this exercise – being hybrid in nature – kicks your ass! It’s not uncommon for peeps who perform this exercise for the first time to be fairly winded by the end of their set.
So, what does this bad boy look like?
Key Coaching Cues: First and foremost, don’t be a hero. You won’t need a ton of weight with this particular exercise, and given most people butcher the 1-Legged RDLanyways, I’d be more inclined to start conservative with the weight selection.
Secondly, while the reverse lunge part is pretty self explanatory, the 1-legged RDL is a different animal altogether. That said, I’d HIGHLY encourage you to click HERE to get a little more insight on how to be less sucky at it.
I generally keep the reps in the lowish range and shoot for 5-6 per leg, which is really 10-12 reps per leg because you’re doing two exercises in one.
AC/DC in the background is optional.
Try it out today, and let me know what you think
