Legs · Bodyweight
Weighted Single Leg Lift
How to do the weighted single leg lift, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- Hinge
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand on one leg holding a weight, with a slight bend in your standing knee. Hinge at the hip and raise your free leg straight behind you as the weight lowers, then return to standing under control. Keep your hips square the whole way.
- 1Your standing hamstring and glute loading as you hinge
- 2Your hips staying level and square through the lift
- 3Your core bracing to hold your balance
Common mistakes
- Rounding your spine or slumping your shoulders forward
- Letting your hips twist open or the raised leg drop
- Using a weight that wrecks your balance and form
Muscles worked
The weighted single leg lift mainly works the glutes, lower back, and hamstrings, with the forearms, quads, upper traps, upper abs, and calves assisting.
- GlutesPrimary
- Lower BackPrimary
- HamstringsPrimary
- ForearmsSupport
- QuadsSupport
- Upper TrapsSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Lower AbsMinor
- ObliquesMinor
Kovo programs the weighted single leg lift for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More glutes exercises
- How to do the agility ladder drill
- How to do the airdyne bike
- How to do the arc trainer
- How to do the assault bike
- How to do the medicine ball atlas stone lift
- How to do the b stance hip thrust
Last reviewed June 2026.