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Barbell SLDL to Barbell DL strength

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Karen Smith

Level 6 Valued Member
Master Certified Instructor
Elite Certified Instructor
Iron Maiden
Hello all:
I took a quick break from my home over on the Bodyweight forum to visit the Barbell forum for the first time. Hi Doc Hartle ;)

At the SFB certification we teach the Single Leg Dead Lift (SLDL) both "naked" and loaded with each having a specific purpose. Personally, I have always loved the SLDL but last time I returned to my Barbell Deadlift I was even more surprised than I expected with the outcome/carryover.

So I decided while I was here to say hello to the Barbell folks that I would start this thread and see how many of you are performing SLDL's.

And I would love to hear your thoughts on them and what they have taught you in your training practice.
Be sure to tag me so that I can come back and see your thoughts or answer any questions that may arise.
 
Hi Karen

I have just started to do the SLDL naked in my warm ups. I find I am relying on my quads a lot though unless I have a weight in my hand to counter balance. Is that just a bit of an in-balanc between quad and ham/glute? Or a patterning issue or something else?
 
Hello,

What is the carryover between DL and SDL ? Back and core strength ?

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
My girlfriend is currently doing a program of SLDL and TGU following a now recovered ankle injury. She chose it for the puported ankle stability improvements. Doing them unweighted at the moment without any rush to add weight. She seems to be getting a lot of benefit from them with regards to stability.
 
I would love to hear your thoughts on them and what they have taught you in your training practice.

@Karen Smith, thank you for asking.

The first time I tried the kettlebell 1-leg DL, I was so sore that I had trouble coming down steps for a week afterwards - the movement "finds" muscles and functionality that many people have simply lost. I think it might be the best, simplest prescription for "gluteal amnesia," which in simple terms is just how most sedentary people have forgotten how to use some of the most powerful muscles in their bodies: their glutes. If I understand things correctly, the 1-leg DL particularly targets the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus and, if you do it the StrongFirst way, your hip flexors as well.

After that first experience, I've found myself able to keep a certain amount of strength in this movement without regular practice, so over the years, I periodically revisit the 1-leg DL to see how I do. The contralateral version (opposite arm and leg) is my favorite because it's the most challenging - bell inside the right foot, lift it with the left hand. I have pretty modest expectations - I want to always be able to walk up to a 24 kg bell and lift it that way for a few touch-and-go reps each side. That's not strong but it means the basic skill is still there for me.

Lately, I've been wondering how much having a strong 1-leg DL with either two kettlebells or a barbell might help my regular barbell DL, so I've been practicing it as a "variety day" lift with a pair of 24's, one on either side of the foot (pretty easy for me), and a pair of 28's (not so easy for me). When I get up to being comfortable doing it with a pair of 32's, I'm going to try some barbell 1-leg DL's as well - I tried that a few weeks ago but I don't yet have the strength to do it well, even with only 135 on the bar, so I'm going to stick with the 2-bell version for a while. I have a deadlift meet in a couple of days, and am planning to hit the 1-leg, 2-bell DL regularly as part of my next lifting cycle over the winter. A pair of 32's is almost bodyweight for me so that seems a good short-to-intermediate term goal.

That's my story and I'm sticking' to it. :)

-S-
 
@Karen Smith,
To me the SLDL is more of a fill-in-the-gaps spice than a main dish, and I've never noticed any significant carryover to anything else (same with pistols FWIW).

One DL variation that I HAVE experienced carryover with is the suitcase style DL with a barbell. I went through a period where I did a lot of suitcase DLs, up to about 220lbs. I used a cambered bar and stood on a stack of 2' x 2' sheets of plywood to get the equivalent range of motion to a regular olympic bar with 45lb plates. I also used a regular olympic bar, but had to use straps.

During this period, I was also doing a lot of KB swings and snatches, but no other deadlifting or barbell squatting.

After a few months of this, I had access to a trap bar and tried some trap bar DLs. I maxed out at 465lbs. For reference, BW was around 185lbs, my personal best regular DL was 425lbs, and I had pulled 450lbs on the trap bar before, but hadn't done any deadlifting for a while before this suitcase DL period. So the suitcase DLs and KB ballistics at least allowed me to recover/maintain something in the range of my best deadlifting strength without lifting anything heavier than 220lbs.
 
Hi Karen

I have just started to do the SLDL naked in my warm ups. I find I am relying on my quads a lot though unless I have a weight in my hand to counter balance. Is that just a bit of an in-balanc between quad and ham/glute? Or a patterning issue or something else?

Can you load a video for me to see or send to me in my email? Many times SLDL are not done in the most efficient way so people miss most of the benefits and carryover.
 
Hello,

What is the carryover between DL and SDL ? Back and core strength ?

Kind regards,

Pet'
If done slowing without weight first.. you can see and fix any issues with balance, plus see if the hips are staying square or have a tendency to open (externally rotate non working hip) Do them barefoot with eyes closed and see what you feel. :)

yes, back and core will get strong And then after spending some time slow and control you can focus on more glute, quad and hamstring recruitment. This is where you will see great strength gains.

After I spent time doing BW demos at the SFB and some KB demos when teaching at SFG courses....I was teaching a private workshop and someone ask me to demo the SLDL with a barbell. The bar was already loaded so my plan was to just teach/demo setup, grip and wedging but BAM the bar come off the ground with ease. An unexpected PR!

So once back home I decided to test my Barbell deadlift that I have not train since the SFL in 2013 (and was still able to hit 1.8x bodyweight DL with out training it from summer 2013- summer 2016.

As I teach during programming at the SFB, Build a stable foundations, increase your baseline by mastering your body and taking your muscles under control and all things become easier. :)
 
My girlfriend is currently doing a program of SLDL and TGU following a now recovered ankle injury. She chose it for the puported ankle stability improvements. Doing them unweighted at the moment without any rush to add weight. She seems to be getting a lot of benefit from them with regards to stability.
This is great to hear. I like that she is spending time especially after an injury to build back a stable base of support before wanting to rush to weighted. There are so many benefits and great strength that can be gained with doing them bodyweight. Keep me posted on her journey. :)
 
@Karen Smith, thank you for asking.

The first time I tried the kettlebell 1-leg DL, I was so sore that I had trouble coming down steps for a week afterwards - the movement "finds" muscles and functionality that many people have simply lost. I think it might be the best, simplest prescription for "gluteal amnesia," which in simple terms is just how most sedentary people have forgotten how to use some of the most powerful muscles in their bodies: their glutes. If I understand things correctly, the 1-leg DL particularly targets the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus and, if you do it the StrongFirst way, your hip flexors as well.

After that first experience, I've found myself able to keep a certain amount of strength in this movement without regular practice, so over the years, I periodically revisit the 1-leg DL to see how I do. The contralateral version (opposite arm and leg) is my favorite because it's the most challenging - bell inside the right foot, lift it with the left hand. I have pretty modest expectations - I want to always be able to walk up to a 24 kg bell and lift it that way for a few touch-and-go reps each side. That's not strong but it means the basic skill is still there for me.

Lately, I've been wondering how much having a strong 1-leg DL with either two kettlebells or a barbell might help my regular barbell DL, so I've been practicing it as a "variety day" lift with a pair of 24's, one on either side of the foot (pretty easy for me), and a pair of 28's (not so easy for me). When I get up to being comfortable doing it with a pair of 32's, I'm going to try some barbell 1-leg DL's as well - I tried that a few weeks ago but I don't yet have the strength to do it well, even with only 135 on the bar, so I'm going to stick with the 2-bell version for a while. I have a deadlift meet in a couple of days, and am planning to hit the 1-leg, 2-bell DL regularly as part of my next lifting cycle over the winter. A pair of 32's is almost bodyweight for me so that seems a good short-to-intermediate term goal.

That's my story and I'm sticking' to it. :)

-S-
Steve -
I love your story and you should stick to it... :)

I personally feel it is one of the most under utilized exercises (especially for men) as I see more women wanting to work them. But wow - the carry over is so great.

I can't wait to get back to them once cleared by my doctors to train again. My PR is 135lb barbell SLDL at a bodyweight of 125lb. But curious to see where I can take it at new lighter BW since surgery. So I will keep you posted on new findings then and please keep me posted on your journey.
-K
 
@Karen Smith,
To me the SLDL is more of a fill-in-the-gaps spice than a main dish, and I've never noticed any significant carryover to anything else (same with pistols FWIW).

One DL variation that I HAVE experienced carryover with is the suitcase style DL with a barbell. I went through a period where I did a lot of suitcase DLs, up to about 220lbs. I used a cambered bar and stood on a stack of 2' x 2' sheets of plywood to get the equivalent range of motion to a regular olympic bar with 45lb plates. I also used a regular olympic bar, but had to use straps.

During this period, I was also doing a lot of KB swings and snatches, but no other deadlifting or barbell squatting.


After a few months of this, I had access to a trap bar and tried some trap bar DLs. I maxed out at 465lbs. For reference, BW was around 185lbs, my personal best regular DL was 425lbs, and I had pulled 450lbs on the trap bar before, but hadn't done any deadlifting for a while before this suitcase DL period. So the suitcase DLs and KB ballistics at least allowed me to recover/maintain something in the range of my best deadlifting strength without lifting anything heavier than 220lbs.

Nice work Steve... I have not done much suitcase DL work. I will have to test that out once cleared to train heavy again.
 
After reading this I tried some SLDLs and found that I struggled to maintain balance. Does that just mean I have a lot of opportunity to benefit from this exercise?
 
After reading this I tried some SLDLs and found that I struggled to maintain balance. Does that just mean I have a lot of opportunity to benefit from this exercise?

In my experience, the balance comes pretty quickly with practice. It's not just a matter of "balance" per se (as a generalized ability), but finding the right groove and learning to stabilize your body through that groove, specific to the drill.

I wouldn't say this is a sign you would particularly benefit from the exercise, but it is one of those neat "tie the body together" drills that is worth doing in some form or fashion for just about anyone. It especially hits the glute medius (keep the pelvis level!) without the dishonor of weeny isolation exercises like clamshells.
 
That works me. My glute medius happens to need hitting and I've been using weenie exercises like clamshells:D

Is there a good way to program the SLDL if I want to focus on it for a while? Could you work it every day like in S&S or ptp?
 
Steve -
I love your story and you should stick to it... :)

I personally feel it is one of the most under utilized exercises (especially for men) as I see more women wanting to work them. But wow - the carry over is so great.

I can't wait to get back to them once cleared by my doctors to train again. My PR is 135lb barbell SLDL at a bodyweight of 125lb. But curious to see where I can take it at new lighter BW since surgery. So I will keep you posted on new findings then and please keep me posted on your journey.
-K

Sorry to hear about your surgery. I hope you're back to training soon.
 
@Karen Smith, in your opinion, would you recommend adding the SLDL to a basic swing & TGU routine? Or, would you recommend that the lifter wait until they have some experience under their belt?
 
Pavel has mentioned that the glute bridge can eventually be done away with in the S&S warmup. I've replaced it with the SLDL (an easy set of 5 each circuit). It's hard to tell if it makes a difference in performance, but it sure helps to turn on the posterior chain.
 
Pavel has mentioned that the glute bridge can eventually be done away with in the S&S warmup. I've replaced it with the SLDL (an easy set of 5 each circuit).

That sounds like a great substitution. Because nobody likes the hip bridge ;), and seems to me like that would accomplish the same objective of firing up the glutes, while also giving some good accessory work. The only thing you might be missing then is a bit of a hip flexor stretch... Might consider adding that in by getting in a lunge position and tilt the pelvis back (like it's a bowl, and you want to tip the bowl back to pour water out of it) to feel a stretch in the hip flexor of the vertical thigh.
 
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