Romanian Deadlift

The Romanian deadlift is a barbell hip hinge performed from a standing start with nearly straight knees that trains the hamstrings and glutes by lowering the bar to mid shin and standing back up. Unlike a conventional deadlift, the bar never touches the floor and the knees barely bend, so the hips travel back rather than down and the hamstrings load in a long stretched position at the bottom. Unlike a stiff-leg deadlift, the knees stay soft and the shins vertical, which keeps the bar against the legs. Coaches program it as the main hinge after squats.

What Muscles Does the Romanian Deadlift Work?

• Primary: Hamstrings (biceps femoris, semitendinosus, semimembranosus), gluteus maximus
• Secondary: Erector spinae, adductor magnus
• Tertiary: Latissimus dorsi (holding the bar close), rectus abdominis (bracing), forearm flexors (grip)

How Do You Set Up for the Romanian Deadlift?

Set the bar in a rack at mid thigh height or deadlift it from the floor to standing. Stand with your feet hip width apart, toes forward, the bar resting against your thighs. Take a double overhand grip just outside your legs. Stand tall, pull your shoulder blades down and back, and brace your trunk. Soften your knees slightly so they are unlocked but not bent, with your weight over the middle of your feet.

How Do You Perform the Romanian Deadlift?

1. Unlock your knees and set your back flat, with the bar touching your thighs and your lats pulling it in.
2. Push your hips straight back and let your torso tip forward, sliding the bar down your thighs with your shins vertical.
3. Lower until the bar reaches mid shin or until your hamstrings stop your hips moving back, which is the bottom of your range.
4. Pause for one second at the bottom with your back flat and the bar still touching your legs.
5. Drive your hips forward and drag the bar back up your legs until you are standing tall with your glutes tight.
6. Reset your brace at the top with your knees still soft before the next rep.

What Are the Key Form Cues?

• Reach your hips to the wall behind you: Feel the hamstrings stretch as the pelvis travels back, not down.
• Drag the bar up your legs: Keep the bar in contact with your thighs on the way up so it never drifts forward.
• Pull your shoulder blades toward your back pockets before you hinge and hold them there.
• Keep your shins vertical through the whole rep so the knees never move forward over the bar.
• Keep your chin tucked and your eyes on the floor a few metres ahead at the bottom.

What Are the Most Common Mistakes?

• Pulling a deadlift weight: A load too heavy to control turns the descent into a fall and the ascent into a back lift, so use a weight you can lower over three seconds.
• Bending the knees into a squat: Dropping the hips down shifts the work to the quads and shortens the hamstring stretch, so keep the shins vertical.
• Rounding the lower back at the bottom: Flexing the lumbar spine with the bar in front of the shins loads the discs under shear, so stop where your back stays flat.
• Letting the bar drift from the legs: A bar hanging forward multiplies the lever on the low back, so pull it in with your lats.
• Overextending at the top: Leaning back past standing compresses the lumbar spine for no glute benefit, so finish tall and stop.

What Are the Best Romanian Deadlift Variations?

• Dumbbell Romanian deadlift: Two dumbbells sit beside the thighs, an easier start for lifters learning the hinge.
• Deficit Romanian deadlift: Stand on a low block to lengthen the range when the bar stops short of mid shin.
• Snatch grip Romanian deadlift: A wide grip tips the torso further, loading the upper back and hamstrings more.
• Single leg dumbbell Romanian deadlift: One leg at a time, adding balance and exposing side to side differences.
• Kettlebell Romanian deadlift: A single bell hangs between the legs, keeping the load centred for lighter practice.

How Do You Progress the Romanian Deadlift?

• Add 5 to 10 pounds to the bar once you complete all sets at the top of the rep range with the bar on your legs and a flat back.
• Work from 6 reps up to 10 per set before adding load.
• Add a fourth set once three sets of 10 are clean.
• Slow the descent to four seconds, or add a two-second pause at mid shin, once the load stalls.

How Should You Program the Romanian Deadlift?

Program the Romanian deadlift as the main hinge of a lower body session, after squats, or first on aglutes and hamstringsday. Train it one to two times per week for 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps, resting 90 to 120 seconds between sets. Pair it with a leg curl or a hip thrust so the hamstrings and glutes also get work in a shortened position.