In the case of leg strengthening moves, most individuals consider the front of their legs, primarily exercises like squats and lunges. While these are definitely invaluable movements to include into your training program, you’ll want to treat the posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, and lower back) with equal importance.
That’s where the Romanian deadlift, aka RDL, comes into play. It’s top-of-the-line hamstring, glute, and low back strengthening exercises and muscle builders there may be. Now that we understand how necessary it’s, all that is left is to undergo how one can do it accurately.
Table of Contents:
- What Is The Romanian Deadlift?
- How To Do A Romanian Deadlift
- Suggestions For Perfecting Form & Technique
- Common Romanian Deadlift Mistakes To Avoid
- RDL Muscles Worked
- Romanian Deadlift Advantages
- How To Add Romanian Deadlifts To Your Workouts
- Romanian Deadlift Variations & Alternatives
- Romanian Deadlift vs Stiff Leg Deadlift vs Conventional Deadlift
- FAQs
Let’s dive in, starting with what a Romanian deadlift is!
WHAT IS THE ROMANIAN DEADLIFT?
The Romanian deadlift (otherwise often called an RDL) is a conventional weightlifting movement that involves a lifter lowering a barbell or dumbbells right down to about shin level (where the hamstrings are at a maximal stretch) with a slight bend within the knee yet not squatting down and while also maintaining a straight spine, after which coming back as much as a standing neutral hip position.
The RDL is a distinguished barbell exercise in most workout programs, each for bodybuilding and strength training alike. Not only does this movement aid in strengthening the posterior chain – mainly the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back – however it also helps to enhance the functional movement needed to be able to complete hip flexion and extension.
The Romanian deadlift is usually performed with a barbell or dumbbells (although it may well even be done successfully with a hex bar or resistance band), and is an awesome exercise for increase hamstring size and strength in addition to helping those needing to learn how one can lift and move accurately from the hip joint, versus lifting with the lower back.
Since lifting something off of the bottom – essentially, performing a hip hinge – is a functional movement, learning how one can do it accurately can aid in lifting heavier and safer (i.e. with conventional Deadlifts).
HOW TO DO A ROMANIAN DEADLIFT
The Romanian deadlift is most frequently done with a barbell, although incorporating dumbbells can also be common, or perhaps a resistance band or PVC pipe if the movement is utilized as a part of a dynamic warmup before conventional deadlifts.
For the aim of those instructions, we are going to discuss how one can perform a Romanian deadlift using a barbell.
- To get within the starting position, approach the barbell, placing feet just barely wider than the shoulders. From here, grip the barbell while keep palms facing down toward the bottom (in a pronated grip), about shoulder width apart.
- Along with your head in keeping with the spine and shoulder blades down and back, keep the knees soft as you engage the core and squeeze the glutes to bring the barbell as much as rest on the front of the thighs, with hips fully prolonged and the upper body in an upright position, gaze forward.
- Now that the barbell is off the ground, it’s time to perform the Romanian deadlift.
- To start out, keep the knees soft and core engaged, while hinging on the hips and allowing the load to travel near the body, along the thighs and down near the shins.
- Tension needs to be felt throughout the glutes and hamstrings, especially because the barbell reaches the extent of the kneecaps (although you would possibly have the option to bring the barbell to shin level before feeling tension within the posterior chain, depending upon the extent of mobility and suppleness that you might have). Your gaze should now be toward the ground, head in keeping with the spine, with shoulder blades down and back.
- From here, pause at the underside of the movement for a moment after which press through your heels while squeezing the glutes to return to a full hip extension at the highest of the deadlift.
- During extension, the barbell should stay near the body, while the spine stays straight on the return. At the highest of the movement, drive your hips forward while contracting your glutes. Knees remain soft throughout the completion of the deadlift, because the barbell comes back to mid-thigh positioning and shoulder blades stay retracted.
- Repeat for the specified programming repetitions.
Romanian Deadlift FORM TIPS
Form and technique are key with the Romanian deadlift, especially with the hinging motion that’s present; it may well be often done incorrectly, resulting in extra weight and pressure placed upon the lower back.
Listed here are some suggestions for maintaining proper form throughout the movement:
- Keep your core engaged during all the movement, each through hip flexion in addition to hip extension. This helps to maintain the back and spine in a neutral position, and reduces the probabilities of arching or rounding through the upper and lower back.
- Take into consideration keeping the gap between your head and hips long! Lengthening the spine like this could aid in dropping the hips back into the hinge while subsequently activating the glutes throughout the Romanian deadlift.
- Keep your gaze in keeping with your head. Keep your head neutral (especially throughout the hip hinge) and let your gaze follow, so you’re looking at the ground in front of you as you hinge forward.
- When approaching the barbell to start the lift, take into consideration screwing your feet into the ground. This allows you to have a more stable base and can even help activate the posterior chain.
COMMON Romanian Deadlift MISTAKES
Several common mistakes could be made with a Romanian deadlift. Here’s what to avoid doing.
1) Bending Your Knees:
Certainly one of the largest aspects to remember with reference to the Romanian style deadlift is that the legs will essentially be kept straight, albeit with soft knees, versus bending on the knee with a conventional deadlift.
When performing the Romanian deadlift, soft knees are key, and this could mean they are only not locked throughout the Romanian deadlift. Nonetheless, should you are used to performing traditional deadlifts, then the tendency could be to bend on the knee because the hip hinges and the barbell gets lower to the ground.
This can decrease the engagement throughout the hamstrings, and take away the effectiveness of the exercise. On the flip side, you do not want to lock your knees out, either. This puts you in a chief position for a straight leg deadlift, which shall be a unique movement.
2) Lifting Too Heavy:
One other common mistake involves lifting WAY an excessive amount of weight. In case your hamstrings aren’t used to being activated like they shall be in a Romanian deadlift, you then will almost immediately notice the engagement once you start a hinge with straight legs.
For this reason, starting light (and even in some cases, just with an empty barbell) could be helpful – especially should you are working on form and technique. There may be nothing fallacious with easing up on the load for Romanian deadlifts, and all the things to achieve from ensuring the correct muscle groups are doing the work, in addition to ensuring the upper and lower back are in the correct positions.
3) Rounding Your Back:
Lastly, a standard mistake made with Romanian deadlifts is the back rounding or arching. Even with no weight on the barbell, the spine could be put right into a detrimental position if proper form and technique aren’t followed.
With that being said, you really want to be certain that the core is engaged, and that the forward hinge comes from the hip joint moderately than any point along the back. That is where starting with a light-weight weight can come in useful as well, so you can learn what muscles needs to be engaged before adding extra resistance (and possibly making the back exit of alignment if not ready for added weight).
RDL MUSCLES WORKED
The Romanian deadlift is often called a compound movement, meaning that several different muscle groups are working together to be able to execute the exercise. Nearly all of the work with a Romanian deadlift comes from the posterior chain and your leg muscles. With that being said, you must feel many of the engagement and activation coming out of your hamstrings and glutes.
In the event you are feeling the movement more in your lower back, stopping and re-evaluating the exercise is crucial to be able to prevent injury. The lower back is involved with the Romanian deadlift, but mustn’t be the only focus area of labor because the exercise is performed.
Let’s take a take a look at what the Romanian deadlift works.
- Gluteus Maximus: The hip extension motion of the Romanian deadlift is the results of engaging and contracting the glute maximus, especially on the very top of the movement while in full extension.
- Hamstrings: Including the biceps femoris, the semimembranosus and the semitendinosus, the hamstrings are targeted within the Romanian deadlift, and are activated while also being toned and strengthened.
- Erector Spinae: Stabilizing the body during a Romanian deadlift, the erector spinae (within the lower back) helps support the torso throughout the lift.
- Adductor Magnus: This muscle group is positioned on the inner thigh, and aids in hip extension, which is crucial at the highest of the movement in a Romanian deadlift.
- Gastrocnemius: Playing a big role within the biomechanics surrounding the knee joint, the gastrocnemius (otherwise often called the calf muscle) aids in flexing the knee when needed.
- Forearm Flexors: There are several flexors throughout the forearm, and these muscles help to grip the barbell throughout the Romanian deadlift.
BENEFITS OF RDL
The Romanian deadlift has several awesome advantages, which we’re about to debate.
- Improves Strength: The highest profit is an improvement within the strength of the hamstrings, erector spinea, and gluteus maximus. Essentially, the core (each the abdominals and the lower back) is strengthened similtaneously muscles throughout the lower body, particularly those of the hamstrings and adductors. The flexors throughout the forearm are strengthened with a Romanian deadlift as well, which may due to this fact aid in improving overall grip strength.
- Stabilizes Back & Spine: The power of the body to maintain the spine and back stable and engaged while hinging forward from the hips isn’t any easy task – and due to this fact can also be one among the advantages of learning the correct strategy of a Romanian deadlift.
- Separates Movement From Hips & Spine: Certainly one of the unspoken advantages of Romanian deadlifts, the flexibility to differentiate movement that comes from the lower back versus movement that comes from a hip hinge is incredible to have; not only in helping to scale back injury, but to permit for functional movement with improved body awareness!
- Improves Compound Lifts: RDLs are sometimes used as an “assistance lift” for powerlifters and strength trainees. It should will let you make improvements in your big lifts (deadlifts and squats).
HOW TO ADD THE ROMANIAN DEADLIFT TO YOUR WORKOUTS
Depending on the programming, your workouts might include Romanian deadlifts for various purposes; nonetheless, since they are sometimes used as a supplementary exercise, the loading and volume shall be somewhat different than those typically used for traditional deadlifts!
1) REP RANGE & LOAD:
Do not forget that the rep scheme for Romanian deadlifts shall be higher, while the load shall be lighter; think when it comes to 8-12 reps at a time, for not more than about 40% of what you’d lift in a conventional deadlift (you might have the option to lift more depending on how strong you’re at a conventional deadlift, i.e., newbies may very well have the option to lift more like 50-60% of their deadlift).
The goal here is sensible, efficient movement, with ultimate hamstring engagement, core stabilization, and full hip extension!
2) VOLUME/SETS:
In the event you are doing Romanian deadlifts as a part of a dynamic warmup or as accessory work in between other movements, then 2-4 sets are good enough.
The hamstrings shall be fired up even after just the primary set, so there’s no have to compound too many sets with other exercises included.
3) PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD:
An enormous key to remember with reference to progressive overload with Romanian deadlifts is that they’ll not be helpful should you begin to lose form and technique.
This concept of progressive overload works if you essentially challenge yourself more over time, so this could be something so simple as moving from 2 sets of Romanian deadlifts to three, or moving from light dumbbells, to an empty barbell, to a plate-loaded barbell to be able to complete the movement. In the event you notice that form starts to falter when increasing the intensity, drop back down and lock in your technique before continuing.
3 ROMANIAN DEADLIFT ALTERNATIVES
Deadlifts could be considered a sophisticated movement, especially with all of the main target that should be on the lower back and ensuring proper positioning is obtained.
For this reason, there are other functional movements that could be incorporated right into a training program to be able to help construct the muscle strength and hip flexion needed to be able to perform a deadlift accurately.
Along with these three exercises, you can too modify the RDL with a body weight Romanian deadlift. To perform this move, work on the actual hinge motion itself with none accessories, and really attempt to concentrate on your core engaging properly so you can nail the hip flexion and extension before moving on to harder stages of the movement.
Listed here are a couple of movements you can incorporate right into a training routine to assist improve hip mobility and posterior strength, before attempting a Romanian deadlift.
1) Glute bridges:
A highly versatile exercise that permits you to use each legs or progress to a single leg version, a glute bridge is an ideal start line for those looking to interact the glutes and hamstrings while in a supine position on the ground.
2) Hip thrusts:
One other versatile movement, hip thrusts could be done with just body weight or could be made tougher with a barbell and even something like a sandbag. Along with your upper back supported on a bench or a box, hip thrusts are one other wonderful strategy to engage the glutes and work on hip extension.
3) Resistance Band RDLs:
Use a 41″ loop resistance band (most gyms have these). Stand on it and grab the ends and perform the movement in the identical way. Bands are safer yet they’ll still be very effective at engaging the muscle. That is an awesome strategy to prime your muscles and the movement mechanics.
3 ROMANIAN DEADLIFT Variations
In the event you’re in search of a unique variation of the RDL, these three exercises are price including in your routine!
1) Single Leg Romanian Deadlift:
For the one leg deadlift, you will hold one or two dumbbells or kettlebells, keeping them at arm’s length in front of your thigh. Next, hinge at your hips and descend together with your upper body until it is almost level with the ground. Extend your left leg behind you, keeping your toes pointed downward throughout the movement.
The burden in your hand(s) should descend in a direct line toward the ground. Maintain your left arm prolonged to the side to allow you to balance. Return to your starting position, attempting to avoid letting the toes of your left foot touch the ground.
2) Traditional Barbell Deadlift:
To perform the standard deadlift, start by standing near the bar, with knees barely bent, so your shins are near it and your feet are under your hips. Your back and head should remain in keeping with one another. Lean forward, grab the bar, retract your shoulder blades, and keep your torso rigid.
Raise the barbell upward, keeping your arms straight. At the highest of the movement, drive your hips forward, contracting your glutes. Lower the barbell, keeping it near your body.
3) Deficit Romanian Deadlift:
You will follow the identical RDL form when performing this exercise, but you will do it on an elevated surface, which increases the range of movement your muscles must work through.
RDL VS STIFF LEGGED DEADLIFT
As stated above, locking the knees out will turn your Romanian deadlift right into a stiff legged deadlift, aka a straight leg deadlift. It may be confusing to know the difference between the 2 exercises, although the total knee extension is only one piece of the puzzle. Each the Romanian deadlift and stiff legged deadlift activate the hamstrings and glutes, but the quantity of knee flexion definitely sets the 2 movements apart.
If you might have attempted the Romanian deadlift, you then might notice that the slight knee bend allows for a bit more range of motion throughout the movement, particularly during hip flexion.
In a stiff legged deadlift, the knees are fully prolonged – and through which case, placing loads more intensity on the lower back and hamstrings. The foot placement on the ground is usually different between the 2 movements as well, with stiff legged deadlifts normally having a rather narrower distance between the feet before starting.
ROMANIAN DEADLIFT VS DEADLIFT
Certainly one of the largest differences between the deadlift and the Romanian deadlift is the initial start of the movement. The deadlift starts from the bottom. With each rep, you’re bringing it to a dead stop on the bottom, whereas the load never touches the bottom during a set of RDLs.
What’s more, the Romanian deadlift has the hip hinge with hardly any flexion on the knee joint, whereas the standard deadlift includes knee flexion to be able to pick up the barbell and start the movement (the primary phase of the movement). Between the hip hinge and the knee flexion, you’ll have the option to choose up more weight with a conventional deadlift than with a Romanian deadlift, on account of the engagement of the quads throughout the movement.
Lastly, a Romanian deadlift will all the time use an overhand grip, whereas a conventional deadlift can use a mixed grip (underhand/overhand) to permit for higher grip strength with a heavy load).
Is the RDL harder than a conventional deadlift?
Typically, Romanian deadlifts are considered to be harder than traditional deadlifts since the back must work harder to withstand spinal flexion and rounding of the shoulders on account of minimal knee flexion. In a Romanian deadlift, the barbell won’t return to the bottom in between reps (the motion going from mid-thigh to mid-shin and back up).
For this reason, you won’t have the option to rest the barbell on the bottom, which is usually a challenge. All that said, traditional deadlifts can involve much heavier loads, which could be loads more taxing on the body as an entire. So, if comparing heavy deadlifts with average RDLs, the heavy deadlift goes to be much tougher. But movement mechanics sensible, you might find the deadlift to be easier.
Is the RDL Safer Than a Deadlift?
The Romanian deadlift can definitely be safer than a conventional deadlift, yes! Although there may be risk of injury from either movement, the Romanian deadlift may very well be considered “safer” in a way that the barbell is lighter, and is just not resting all the way in which back on the bottom in between reps.
Can I do Romanian deadlifts and traditional deadlifts on the identical day?
It is just not normally really helpful to do each Romanian deadlifts and traditional deadlifts on the identical day, although this shall be completely depending on goals, injury status, training program, etc.
The thought of not doing each in the identical day comes right down to the indisputable fact that the standard deadlifts (if performed because the exercise after Romanian deadlifts) is perhaps short modified, because the hamstrings have already been purposefully targeted throughout the Romanian deadlifts. In the event you do RDLs after traditional deadlifts, then you might find that your low back is already exhausted and you then run the chance of injury.
That said, you might do deadlifts first after which light RDLs to essentially hone in on the hamstrings. That is pretty common. You may also do Romanian deadlifts as a part of a dynamic warmup, with bands, dumbbells, or an empty barbell, as a preface to traditional deadlifts, which may definitely be a invaluable a part of programming.
ROMANIAN DEADLIFT FAQS
Romanian deadlift questions? We’ll answer them here.
Do Romanian deadlifts construct muscle?
Absolutely, pending that they’re done accurately! Romanian deadlifts are wonderful for constructing muscle throughout the posterior chain, specifically the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back, although the forearms, adductors, and calves also play a big role.
Can I do a RDL with a dumbbell?
Thankfully, the Romanian deadlifts are pretty versatile – from a barbell and a dumbbell to resistance bands and PVC pipes, this movement is capable of be performed with a plethora of various fitness accessories. Typically, you will notice people using a dumbbell for this exercise, but with just one leg down on the ground. These are often called single leg Romanian deadlifts, and are only as effective, and can even aid in constructing more coordination and balance than an everyday Romanian deadlift.
Romanian deadlifts vs good mornings, which should I do?
These two exercises are sometimes used inside a training program, and may each be utilized as movements that fireplace the glutes and hamstrings and activate the deep core stabilizers. The hip flexion is identical, as is the position of the knees. Nonetheless, the barbell is positioned on the upper back in a great morning, similar to a back squat, while the Romanian deadlift has the load within the front of the body. In the event you find that you simply are having issues maintaining a neutral spine with a Romanian deadlift, a great morning is perhaps a greater alternative as a start line so you already know what a neutral spine should feel like as you hinge over on the hips. If grip is an issue, good mornings may additionally be a greater option, because it really isn’t a difficulty with the barbell across the upper back as much because it is for a Romanian deadlift.
Are Romanian deadlifts good for beginners?
Absolutely! This can be pending any injuries or complications, so all the time speak to your PCP before starting a workout program that features Romanian deadlifts. Likewise, you’ll be able to speak with a private trainer or fitness specialist to find out if Romanian deadlifts are best for you and your fitness goals. This is taken into account a type of functional movement though, so if you must learn the right movement pattern of a hip hinge, a body weight Romanian deadlift is a great place to begin. This can also be a great movement for targeting the posterior chain, which could be helpful as well, especially if there may be weakness noted in the realm.
Construct Muscle & Strength With The Romanian Deadlift
Deadlifts are one among the highest exercises for improving lower body strength and muscle hypertrophy, in addition to improving posture and overall core strength. Plus, deadlifts are a functional movement – in any case, how often do you choose something up off of the ground?
The important thing with mastering this exercise is to get the shape and technique correct before increasing in weight.
Have a private trainer or fitness specialist observe and proper form if needed, and be certain that the correct muscle groups are being engaged before progressing to heavier resistance. Ultimately, you’ll notice that you might have more power and strength through your posterior chain!
