If you’re looking to get stronger, or maybe an extra challenge, below are two ways that you can challenge yourself while using less weight.

One Legged Deadlift

How to do this exercise:

Start with shoulder-width stance. Then shift your weight to a lead foot and drag the other foot behind you; shouldn’t be too far, but not too close that when you hip hinge your hips want to shift laterally – if that makes sense. When you’ve got your stance figured out, hinge at the hips and lower your torso to grab the dumbbells. Then “get tight” as it’s commonly referred to, by squeezing your armpits and bracing your core (draw your belly button into your spine and hold), and push into the floor with your lead foot and pull the dumbbells away from the floor. As you lift the dumbbells, really focus on driving your hips forward and contracting your glutes (think of clenching hard to hold in a fart haha) until you’re standing tall. The lagging foot is mainly being used for balance.

Return the dumbbells to the ground and repeat. Aside from what is mentioned about the movement, all technique, like moving the dumbbells in the same plane, will be similar as mentioned in this deadlift post. This exercise is not limited to dumbbells and can be done with barbells too.

1.5 Rep One Legged Deadlift

How to do this exercise:

Same set up as mentioned above, the only difference is that now you are doing a 1.5 rep. For this exercise this means that after you’ve reached the bottom, you’ll then go up halfway, then back down, THEN you’ll do the full rep.

Like the above exercise variation, this can also be done with barbells.