How to do the romanian deadlift
The Romanian deadlift is a hip hinge with the knees mostly locked in place. It trains the hamstrings and glutes through a long stretch and, unlike a conventional deadlift, it is cheap enough to recover from that you can do it twice a week.
- Type
- Lift
- Level
- Intermediate
- Equipment
- Barbell and Dumbbells
- Works
- Hamstrings and Glutes
- Also worked
- Spinal erectors, Lats, and Forearms
- Also called
- RDL and Stiff Leg Deadlift
Set up
- Take the bar out of a rack or stand up with it from the floor — the RDL starts at the top.
- Stand with feet hip-width apart, bar against your thighs, shoulders pulled down.
- Soften your knees to about 15 degrees of bend and keep them there for the whole set.
The rep
- Take a breath and brace, then push your hips straight back as if closing a door behind you.
- Let the bar slide down your thighs, staying in contact or nearly so.
- Stop when you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings and your back is about to round — for most people that is just below the knee.
- Drive your hips forward to stand back up, squeezing your glutes at the top without leaning back.
Cues that help
- Hips back, not down. This is a hinge, not a squat.
- Keep the bar against your legs the whole way — an inch of gap doubles the load on your back.
- Stop where your hamstrings stop you, not where the floor is.
Common mistakes
Turning it into a squat
Bending the knees more as you descend takes the hamstrings out of it. Set the knee angle at the start and leave it alone.
Chasing depth to the floor
The range is defined by your hamstring flexibility, not by the plates touching down. Going further just rounds your back.
Yanking the bar back up
The RDL rewards a controlled eccentric. Take two to three seconds on the way down.
How to progress it
Work in the 6 to 12 rep range and add weight only when your range of motion at the bottom stays identical. RDLs are one of the few lifts where holding the weight steady and improving your depth is genuine progress.
How to track it
Log it separately from the conventional deadlift. They share a name and almost nothing else, and folding them into one record hides the trend in both.
Log your romanian deadlift
Opens the lift form with Romanian Deadlift already filled in. Free account, no card.
Romanian Deadlift questions
RDL or conventional deadlift?
Conventional builds total-body pulling strength off the floor. The RDL isolates the hinge and hits the hamstrings harder. Most programs use conventional as the main lift and RDLs as the accessory.
How low should the bar go?
Until your hamstrings are at full stretch and your back is still flat. That is usually mid-shin at the deepest and above the knee for many people.
Should I feel it in my lower back?
A little fatigue in the spinal erectors is normal. Sharp lower-back load usually means the bar drifted away from your legs.