Earlier this week I shared a video on Instagram of two exercises that I love to train stabilization, glute strengthening and glute firing.
One is the single leg deadlift. When I train clients I usually have them spend 5-10 minutes working on stabilization exercises which frequently include things like single leg squats and deadlifts. I always joke with them that I’d be so much better off if I made myself do these exercises half as much as I have my clients do them so I included them into my workout this week.
Why single leg deadlift?
- To train ankle, knee and hip stabilization
- Strengthen the glute and hamstring
- Improve balance and coordination
- Correct imbalances between sides of the body
How to single leg deadlift:
- Begin standing on one leg and soften the knee so it’s not locked out.
- If you’re just starting out place something like a cone or a water bottle in front of you to tap with you fingertips as you lower down (working body weight only). As you improve, hold a dumbbell or kettlebell for more of a challenge.
- Start to reach down by hinging at the hip and either bring the dumbbell towards the top of the foot or tap the object in front of you with your fingertips
- Keep your hips square as you move through the exercise. The tendency is to open the hip on the non-working side to compensate for balance.
- Point the toes straight towards the floor on the leg that’s lifting.
- Press into the grounded heel and engage the hamstring and glute on the working side to lift and lower.
- Don’t round the back. Maintain a straight spine.
Suggested reps/sets:
- 5 sets of 5 on each leg
- 3 sets of 10 on each leg
Here are this week’s workouts!
Monday
1 mile run + strength
Loved this total body strength workout. It took me about an hour to get through it all.
Tuesday
CrossFit
This was a great mix of cardio and strength between the barbell movements, bodyweight exercises and burpee box jumps. I think the first set of work took me about 12 minutes and the second set took 11 minutes. I used a 75# barbell for both.
Wednesday
Hot yoga
Thursday
3 mile run
I had a very limited amount of time to get this run done and ended up running 3 miles in 23 minutes…it was a fast pace!
Friday
4 mile run
I ran around Sunset Beach. I don’t usually run on the beach but it’s so wide and flat here so it’s totally doable. Love running on this beach!
Saturday
Beach yoga
We taught each other a class on the top deck of our house. My friend taught warm up, I taught standing and her daughter (who just finished teacher training!) taught the floorwork. It was the most amazing practice overlooking the water with the sunshine and breeze.
Sunday
4 mile run + paddle boarding
I did my four mile loop around Sunset Beach again and then hit the paddle boards. It’s a killer core and upper body workout when you’re working against wind and tides.
And that wraps up this week’s fitness topic and weekly workout recap. Let me know if you have any questions.
Do you include any single leg training into your workout mix? Do you like to run on the beach? Have you been paddle boarding before?
