The Romanian deadlift is a hinge from standing: you start at the top with the bar at your thighs, push your hips back with soft knees until you feel the hamstrings run out of length, then drive back up. Unlike a conventional deadlift it never touches the floor, so the hamstrings stay under tension for the whole set instead of resetting each rep.
How to do it
- Start standing, then push the hips back with the knees only slightly bent.
- Lower until you feel the hamstrings, usually mid-shin, then drive the hips forward.
Common mistakes
- Chasing the floor. Depth here is decided by your hamstrings, not by the plates.
What it trains
- Hamstrings
- control the hips travelling back and pull them forward again — the prime mover, and where you will feel it tomorrow
- Glutes
- finish the hip extension at the top
- Lower back
- holds the spine flat against a bar hanging in front of you
- Traps and grip
- hold the bar for the whole set, which is often what ends it before the hamstrings do
Variations and alternatives
Common questions
How low should I go on a Romanian deadlift?
To wherever your hamstrings stop letting your hips travel back — for most people that is somewhere between the knee and mid-shin. Going lower than that means your lower back is rounding to get there, which is the one thing this lift is unforgiving about.
What is the difference between an RDL and a stiff-leg deadlift?
Knee angle and where the rep starts. An RDL keeps a soft, fixed knee bend and starts from the top; a stiff-leg deadlift keeps the legs much straighter and usually starts from the floor, which stretches the hamstrings harder and lets you use less weight.
Why do I feel RDLs in my lower back instead of my hamstrings?
Usually because your hips are not moving back far enough, so you are bending at the spine rather than hinging at the hip. Stand about a foot from a wall and push your hips back until they touch it — that is the movement, and the bar just follows your thighs down.
Should I use straps on RDLs?
Yes, once your grip becomes the reason sets end. The point of the lift is loading the hamstrings, and there is nothing to be gained from stopping at eight reps because the bar rolled out of your fingers.
In StackUp. Logged as weight and reps per set, and your heaviest working set decides whether the weight goes up next time. Get the app.
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