Romanian Deadlift

What is the Romanian Deadlift?

The Romanian deadlift (RDL) is a top-down hip hinge that trains the hamstrings and glutes under a deep, loaded stretch. Unlike the conventional deadlift, the bar never resets on the floor (you lower it to mid-shin and reverse), which keeps constant tension on the hamstrings and makes it one of the best posterior-chain builders.

Muscles worked

Primary: Hamstrings

The hamstrings are the target, lengthening under load as the hips travel back and then contracting to extend the hips and stand you up.

Secondary: Glutes, Back

The glutes drive hip extension alongside the hamstrings, and the back, the spinal erectors especially, works isometrically to keep the spine flat throughout.

How to perform the Romanian Deadlift

1. Start standing tall with the bar held at the hips, hands just outside the legs, and feet hip-width apart. This is the top of the RDL, not the floor.
2. Soften the knees into a fixed, slightly bent position; the knees do not bend further during the descent.
3. Push your hips back as if closing a car door with your butt, allowing the bar to travel down the front of the legs in continuous contact.
4. Keep the bar dragging along the thighs the entire descent; if it drifts away from the body, the lower back takes over from the hamstrings.
5. Descend until you feel a strong stretch in the hamstrings, typically when the bar is around mid-shin to just below the knee, without losing the flat back.
6. Drive the hips forward to stand back up, squeezing the glutes at the top; do not hyperextend the lower back at lockout.
7. Reset the brace at the top of each rep rather than chaining the next descent off the lockout.

Suggested working range: 8–12 reps. Default progression: double progression.

Mechanics

A bilateral hip hinge with soft, fixed knees: the hips push back to load the hamstrings, then drive forward to stand up, so almost all the movement comes from the hip rather than the knee. As a compound it trains the whole posterior chain, but the emphasis stays on the hamstrings because the knees barely change angle.

Form cues

• •Start standing and push the hips back as if reaching your glutes to a wall behind you: the bar lowers because the hips move, not because you bend at the waist.
• •Keep a soft, unchanging knee bend; if the knees keep bending, it becomes a squat-like pull.
• •Drag the bar down close to the legs and stop when you feel a strong hamstring stretch, usually around mid-shin.
• •Keep the back flat and the lats engaged; round the spine and the lower back takes the load instead of the hamstrings.

Common mistakes

• •Bending the knees deeper as the bar descends, which turns the lift back into a partial deadlift and removes tension from the hamstrings.
• •Letting the bar drift forward off the legs, putting the lower back into the bottom of the movement.
• •Going too deep, past the point where the back can stay flat, chasing a stretch the hamstrings cannot give.
• •Hyperextending the lower back at lockout to "finish" the rep instead of just standing tall with the hips squared.
• •Treating the RDL as a deadlift off blocks and trying to reset on the floor each rep. The bar should not touch down between reps.

Variations & alternatives

• •Conventional deadlift: the from-the-floor pull the RDL is a hamstring-biased partner to.
• •Dumbbell Romanian deadlift: the same hinge with dumbbells, useful for learning the pattern or training at home.
• •Single-leg Romanian deadlift: one leg at a time to build balance and even out imbalances.
• •Seated or lying leg curl: an isolation alternative that trains knee-flexion of the hamstrings.

Leg Curl

Hamstrings · Machine

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings · Dumbbell

Single-Leg Curl

Hamstrings · Machine

Nordic Hamstring Curl

Hamstrings · Bodyweight

Glute-Ham Raise

Hamstrings · Machine

Programming: sets, reps & when to use it

Program the RDL as a primary hamstring and glute builder in the library’s 8–12 rep range, where a controlled stretch matters more than maximal load. Lower slowly to feel the hamstrings lengthen, and stop each set when your back position starts to give rather than grinding to failure. It pairs well after squats or on a dedicated posterior-chain day.

Frequently asked questions