Here’s How and When You Should be Doing Romanian Deadlifts

The Romanian deadlift exercise is named after Romanian weightlifter Nicu Vlad, an Olympic medalist in the 1980s and 1990s. Vlad performed this deadlift variation after finishing his olympic lifting, and some fellow lifters asked him what he was doing. He said he made them to strengthen his entire back for the clean, and then the Romanian deadlift was born.

The Romanian deadlift, also known as the RDL, is like the conventional deadlift, but lowers the bar to about mid-shin and starts from a standing position, not the ground. This difference maintains a constant tension in the gluteal and hamstring musclesmaking it a better option for adding muscle and strength to these areas.

Additionally, many lifters find that this deadlift variation is easier on the lower back because less weight is used for the RDL. Here we will look at what it is, how to do it, its benefits, things to consider, programming tips, and some variations and alternatives to RDL.

Ready to build a baby that’s back with RDL? So, let’s go.

What is the Romanian deadlift exercise?

The RDL is a variation of the deadlift that isolates the hamstrings and glutes and minimizes lower back stress. With the RDL, you hip hinge to mid-shin level before coming back to standing. Because the bar never touches the ground, this keeps muscle tension in the glutes and hamstrings, making it a better option for adding muscle and improve hip mobility.

How to Do the Romanian Deadlift

1. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and grab the bar with your preferred grip with the bar in front of your quads.
2. While keeping your chest up and shoulders down, take a deep breath and rotate until the bar is at mid-shin level. Its depth can vary depending on the mobility of your hip.
3. Make sure to keep the bar close to your body.
4. Pause for a second, exhale, and use your hamstrings and glutes to return to the starting position.
5. Reset and repeat for the appropriate reps.

trained muscles

Although the Romanian deadlift targets the lower body like a deadlift, the upper body muscles are engaged because the bar is in your hands. These are the main muscles trained by the RDL.

lower body

• Hamstrings: These are the main players during the eccentric phase (knee flexion) and help the glutes extend the hip at the top of the movement.
• buttocks: Almost all hinge movements target the glutes through hip extension.
• Lower back: The lower back works hard to keep the spine neutral during the eccentric and concentric portion of the hinge.

Upper part of the body

• Upper back: The upper back and lats are trained isometrically to maintain a neutral spine throughout the lift. When you don’t engage your upper back, the bar pulls away from you, which is bad news for your lower back.
• trapeze: In particular, the middle traps play the same role as the upper back in maintaining good shoulder and spinal position.
• forearms: You can either grab it and rip it apart or let the bar crash to the ground. The RDL strengthens your support grip because you need to grab the bar for time.

3 Benefits of the Romanian Deadlift Exercise

The RDL is a solid choice as an accessory exercise to improve your conventional deadlift and for those new to deadlifting. Here are 3 great benefits of performing the RDL.

• Better hamstring and gluteal hypertrophy: Because the bar never touches the ground and the knee is bent, the Romanian deadlift targets the hamstrings and glutes to a greater extent than the normal deadlift. Constant tension on the hips and hamstrings can help increase muscle mass and strength.
• Enhanced Back Strength: Increased posterior strength is a huge benefit of performing RDLs. Although you can’t load this as heavy as the regular deadlift, you’ll still be able to build glute, back, and hamstring strength. Plus, it’s easier on your lower back due to less load and more glute and hamstring engagement.
• Crossover to other movements: RDL is a pure hip hinge, and strengthening your rear with RDL translates to a movement that uses the hinge as a foundation. Exercises like conventional deadlifts, snatches, cleans, and kettlebell swings will all benefit from a stronger hinge. Also, by increasing the strength and muscle in your hips and hamstrings, you’ll be able to better maintain form when doing near maximal and 1RM lifts.

Common Romanian Deadlift Mistakes

Although not as technical as the conventional floor deadlift, there are still some form points to keep in mind when performing RDLs. Here’s what you need to keep in mind to ensure better form and a more confident pull.

• Keep the weight close: During the eccentric and concentric contraction, it is imperative to keep the weight close to the thighs. This is safer for the lower back and is the shortest point from A to B.
• Don’t keep it tight: Continuing with the previous point, a rounding of the lower or upper back is due to a lack of tension in the upper back and lats. This results in the bar moving away from the body, which is a no-no. Chest up, shoulders down, squeezing an orange into your armpits are external cues to keep your upper back and lats tight.
• Maintain control: With the floor deadlift, there is less emphasis on the eccentric contraction, but not with the RDL. You must control the negative and positive parts of the lift for a safer lift and better results.
• Don’t hyperextend your lower back: Some lifters tend to lean over and extend their lower back into the lockout and don’t use their glutes. Don’t do that unless you like back pain.

Romanian Deadlift Programming Tips

You have two options when it comes to programming the RDL. One is to program the RDL as an accessory lift to improve your conventional or sumo deadlift. This usually involves doing it after your main lift for the day. But what day you do it is a matter of personal preference or the training split you’re doing.

You can program the RDL on upper body days or full body days in a superset with another exercise that doesn’t require too much grip, hamstring or back strength. For example:

1A. Barbell RDL 6 1o 12 reps

1 B. Dumbbell floor press for 6 to 12 repetitions.

The RDL can be your main strength move. Although you’ll be lifting less weight than a floor deadlift, you can still load for strength. Muscle tension in the hips and hamstrings will more than make up for the drop in weight. It is best to combine the RDL with a mobility or core exercise to ensure good technique and better recovery between sets. For example

1A. Barbell RDL 3 to 6 repetitions

1 B. Kneeling Half Pallof Press 12 reps per side

Build muscle and strength with the Romanian deadlift exercise

• Muscle: 3 to 5 sets of 6 to 12 repetitions with a moderate to heavy weight and resting 2 minutes between sets.
• Strength: 3 to 4 sets of 3 to 6 repetitions using a heavy load and resting about 3 minutes between sets.

Romanian Deadlift Variations and Alternatives

As good as RDLs are, they’re not for everyone, but training your glutes and hamstrings hard and heavy is almost non-negotiable. Here are 4 variations and alternatives to the RDL bar to keep baby looking like new.