By the end of this blog, not only will you know how to perform perfect Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs), but you’ll be able to teach others how to do them as well.
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What Are Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs)?
Unlike conventional deadlifts that start from the ground, Romanian Deadlifts, or RDLs, start from the upright position.
The key to success for RDLs is mastering the hip hinge. It’s called the “hip hinge” because the goal is to maintain a straight line through the upper body, from head to low back, while primarily moving, or hinging, at the hips.
The purpose of RDLs is to strengthen and grow the posterior chain, which refers to the muscles on the back side of the body, typically with a focus on the glutes and hamstrings.
Hamstrings Anatomy
Located on the back of the thigh, the hamstrings consist of 3 muscles – the semimembranosus, the semitendinosus, and the long head of the biceps femoris. Since the three muscles attach from the pelvis to the tibia and fibula of the lower leg, they have two primary actions – hip extension and knee flexion.
Because RDLs rely on mastering the hip hinge, they emphasize the hip extension action of the hamstrings.
Knowing the basic anatomy of the hamstrings is useful for understanding proper technique, which I’ll discuss in more detail shortly.
How To Perform Romanian Deadlifts
So, how do you perform RDLs?
Let me take you through a 5-step process, beginning with the set-up.
Step 1: Set Up
Generally, when using a barbell, you would lift the bar from a height that requires a small bend in your hips and knees, take a few steps back, and then begin your first repetition.
If you don’t have a rack available to you, you would deadlift the bar from the ground and then start your first repetition.
Your feet should be roughly hip-width apart, and they can be facing forward or slightly turned out.
Your hands should be slightly wider than the position of your legs and the bar centered over the middle of your feet.
Brace your trunk like you’re preparing to get punched and then imagine bending the ends of the bar toward you to contract your lats and upper back.
There is no need to overarch during the set-up, so you can maintain the natural lordosis of your low back.
Step 2: Descent
The next step is the descent, or lowering portion of the exercise.
Initiate at the hips by driving your butt back, while keeping the shins fairly vertical. As you lower down, you will have a slight bend in your knees.
You should not be actively reaching down with your arms. Instead, the bar is lowering as a result of the movement from your hips.
Focus on keeping your trunk braced, your lats and shoulders engaged, and the bar close to your legs.
While keeping the low back relatively flat and knees slightly bent, you are trying to tap into a stretching sensation of the hamstrings by increasing the distance between its attachments at the pelvis and knee.
The easiest way to do this is by attempting to lift your butt up and back. This small anterior tilt of the pelvis should help you feel the hamstrings working more.
Step 3: Bottom Position
The third step, which is the bottom of the movement, is more of the same.
If you’ve lost tension or focus, you can go through your mental checklist of what you should be doing, such as bracing your trunk and keeping your back muscles engaged. More importantly, you may need to cue yourself to lift your butt up and back again to feel that stretch in your hamstrings.
Since the goal is to keep the low back relatively flat while hinging at the hips, the bottom portion of the movement usually ends when this stretch is felt, just before the low back begins to round.
An expert lifter may try to maximize the stretching sensation, while a novice just touches on it.
Step 4: Ascent
Step four, the ascent, is just a reversal of the descent. Think about pushing the floor away from you with your feet and driving your hips forward, while keeping the bar close and maintaining the rigidity of your trunk and shoulders.
Step 5: Top Position
The last step is returning to the upright position. You can finish driving your hips forward by squeezing your glutes at the top. Once again, there is no need to overextend your low back.
An advanced technique involves stopping the range of motion before you are fully upright to maintain constant tension on the glutes and hamstrings.
Now that I’ve described the movement from start to finish, let me provide you with six additional tips.
Six Additional Romanian Deadlifts Tips
1. The position of your head and neck shouldn’t make that much of a difference. I prefer a slight chin tuck, so my neck feels “locked in” like the rest of my upper body. However, an Olympic lifter might look up at the bottom of the movement. You probably just want to avoid completely bringing your chin to your chest.
2. You won’t feel a stretch in your glutes the same way you feel a stretch in your hamstrings. That’s okay. Your glutes are working, especially if you’re using the appropriate technique, and you’ll likely experience delayed onset muscle soreness a day or two later if the volume and intensity are sufficient.
3. Although the low back should appear flat, the lumbar spine does flex to some extent and these muscles may get sore. That’s also okay. However, if your low back is always fatiguing first or limits your ability to perform RDLs again in subsequent sessions because of extreme soreness or discomfort, you might want to reevaluate your technique. Focus on that hamstring stretch and film yourself if needed to ensure that you’re getting most of the movement from your hips because additional bending from your low back doesn’t increase the tension on the glutes or hamstrings.
4. Tempo teaches technique. When you’re first learning the movement, try descending over the course of 2-4 seconds and pausing at the bottom for 2-3 seconds. It’s a long repetition, but that time gives you the ability to practice all of the cues I mentioned earlier.
5. Don’t forget to breathe. The pacing of your breathing will somewhat depend on the speed of your repetitions and the number of repetitions you’re performing. As long as you’re staying braced, especially at the bottom of the movement, you can breathe in a way that’s comfortable for you.
6. Use wrist straps so your grip strength isn’t a limiting factor. If you want to train your grip, save it for pull-ups, carries, rows, etc. There’s already enough to think about when performing RDLs.
Mastering The Hip Hinge
What if you’re struggling with mastering the hip hinge?
Well, I have 5 optional cues for you to try.
1. Use a dowel to create three points of contact at your head, upper back, and tailbone. If you can maintain these three points of contact as you hinge your hips, you are probably doing a good job of keeping a straight line through your upper body.
2. If you feel like you’re consistently squatting the movement by bending a lot at your knees, you can block your shins from traveling forward by standing in front of a flat bench or some other object.
3. If you’re struggling with shifting your hips back, practice tapping your sit bones into a wall. Just make sure you’re not supporting any of your weight against the wall.
4. If thinking about what your arms should be doing is messing you up, place them across your chest or squeeze a medicine ball so you still get some of that added tension in your upper body.
5. If you can’t get that last tilt of your pelvis at the bottom of the RDL, try it with your hands supported. You can do it standing with your hands on a bench or box, or you can try cat-cows so you understand what that anterior pelvic tilt should feel like.
Keep in mind that mastering the hip hinge takes practice. Whether you’re working on your golf swing, free throw, goal kick, or RDL, one of the best teachers is repetition.
Versatility (Alternatives & Modifications)
Aside from the strength, muscle, and even the flexibility that can be built from RDLs, one of my favorite things about them is their versatility.
In general, conventional deadlifts start from the ground, which might not work for everyone due to their body proportions, capabilities, etc.
Since RDLs start from the standing position, you get to choose how far you lower the weight based on your flexibility and comfort.
With novices struggling to perform consistent technique and range of motion, external feedback in the form of plates or blocks can be used. You would just set the height appropriate for you and then tap those objects as if they were eggs you didn’t want to crack.
This can actually be really useful in rehab for people experiencing low back pain or nerve symptoms with bending forward because they can work within a tolerable range of motion and then gradually increase that range of motion over time as symptoms improve.
If you’re someone who is more flexible, you can perform deficit RDLs by standing on plates or blocks. This is not necessary for most people.
If you have access to a Smith Machine, the fixed track decreases the complexity of the exercise.
If you’d prefer to use dumbbells, they are a great alternative as your arm position is more modifiable. I like to start with the dumbbells at my side, angle them in front of me as I lower down where the tension matters, and then return back to the starting position.
If the dumbbells are directly at your side the entire time, they can bump or rub your thighs. Plus, you typically want the weight in front of you at the bottom of the movement.
Likewise, I find that holding dumbbells directly in front of me through the entire exercise can feel a little clumsy at the start and when passing my knees.
However, you can play with what feels best for you. Just know that your arm position can influence how light or heavy dumbbells feel compared to a similarly weighted barbell, and you may not feel like your strength transfers perfectly between the two variations.
Other RDL variations include a kickstand stance, in which one leg is in front of the other, and a single leg RDL.
The kickstand RDL, also known as a B-stance RDL, is a way to target one leg at a time without compromising your balance.
A single leg RDL can be done with a barbell, dumbbells, or kettlebells, including using a weight in only one hand. I tend to feel single leg RDLs more in my glutes, especially when holding a weight in the opposite hand, as it biases the gluteus medius.
However, if balance or fatigue in your ankle and foot compromise your ability to load the exercise, you can use a smith machine or your free hand to help with stability.
This list of alternatives and modifications is not all-inclusive, but the last option I want to mention is the snatch grip. You can take a wider grip with your RDLs if you want to place a greater demand on your traps and upper back or if it translates better to your sport, like Olympic weightlifting.
How To Program Romanian Deadlifts
How should you program RDLs?
Although you can do sets of 1 to 20 repetitions, I think the 6 to 12 rep range is a good combination of strength and hypertrophy when performed at a 7-9 RPE or 1-3 reps shy of failure. For some individuals, technique completely breaks down at the lower rep ranges with heavier loads and the higher rep ranges can feel like a religious experience as you question your life choices between labored breaths.
If you’re doing straight sets, rest times can vary between 2 and 5 minutes.
Your layout for the week will depend on your training experience.
If you’re new to the gym, you might do 3 sets of RDLs 1 day per week to bias the hip extension action of the hamstrings and 3 sets of seated leg curls 1 day per week to bias the knee flexion action of the hamstrings. You might pair this with 6 total sets of quads, such as 3 sets of squats and 3 sets of seated leg extensions, as well as 6 total sets of upper body pushing exercises and 6 total sets of upper body pulling exercises. All of this could be programmed over the course of 2 days, along with any accessory exercises or cardio you wanted to do.
If you’re an advanced lifter training your legs twice per week, you might do 3-5 sets of RDLs on both days using different variations of the movement or different rep ranges.
Hopefully this whole section goes without saying, but these are just broad recommendations. You should individualize your training based on your goals, preferences, etc.
Looking for rehab or performance programs? Check out our store here!
Want to learn more? Check out some of our other similar blogs:
How To Perform Nordic Hamstring Curls, How To Perform Reverse Nordics, How To Grow Your Glutes
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