Romanian Deadlift
The Romanian deadlift is a hip-hinge lift in which you start standing with a barbell, push your hips back to take the bar down your legs with your knees softly bent, then drive your hips forward to stand tall again. It works the hamstrings and glutes at a long stretch, with the back muscles holding your spine steady, and it is one of the most common hamstring-building exercises.
Also called: RDL, BB RDL, Romanian Deadlifts, Barbell Romanian Deadlift · Equipment: barbell · Pattern: hinge
Step by step
- Set the bar in a rack at about mid-thigh height, or deadlift it from the floor to standing. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart.
- Hold the bar with both palms facing you, hands just outside your thighs. Stand tall with a slight bend in your knees.
- Take a breath, brace your trunk and tighten your lats to keep the bar close to your legs.
- Push your hips straight back, letting the bar slide down the front of your thighs. Keep your back flat and your knees softly bent and still.
- Go down until you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings while your back is still flat, commonly around knee to mid-shin height.
- Drive your hips forward to bring the bar back up along your legs, and stand tall with your glutes squeezed, without leaning back.
- Hold your brace between reps, taking a fresh breath at the top on heavy sets. After the last rep, return the bar to the rack, or bend your knees to set it on the floor.
- Hips back, not down
- Drag the bar down your legs
- Soft knees, flat back
- Stretch the hamstrings, then drive your hips forward
- Stand tall and squeeze your glutes at the top
In VALDA, these cues are one tap away on the exercise while you train.
What it trains
| Muscle | Role | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Hamstrings: biceps femoris (long head) | Prime mover | B |
| Hamstrings: semimembranosus | Prime mover | B |
| Gluteus maximus | Prime mover | B |
| Hamstrings: semitendinosus | Secondary | C |
| Hamstrings: biceps femoris (short head) | Secondary | C |
| Adductors | Secondary | C |
| Erector spinae | Stabiliser | B |
| Gluteus medius/minimus | Stabiliser | C |
| Forearm flexors | Stabiliser | C |
| Trapezius | Stabiliser | C |
Evidence grades: A = strong research base · B = good · C = limited · D = coaching consensus.
What goes wrong, and the fix
Back rounding to reach further
Fix: Go only as far as your back stays flat, then drive your hips forward.
Knees bending forward into a squat
Fix: Keep your shins close to vertical and push your hips back, not down.
Bar drifting away from the legs
Fix: Tighten your lats and keep the bar sliding against your legs.
Reaching for the floor
Fix: End the descent at your hamstring stretch, wherever the bar is.
Leaning back at lockout
Fix: Finish tall with your ribs down and your glutes squeezed.
Knees locked straight
Fix: Keep a slight, fixed bend in your knees for the whole set.
What the research says
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- Stretched position — A trial comparing seated and lying leg curls found the hamstrings grew more when trained at longer lengths. The RDL also loads the hamstrings at a long length, although it was not the exercise tested.
- Muscle activity — A study of hamstring activity found hip-extension exercises worked the long outer hamstring (biceps femoris long head) and the semimembranosus more selectively than leg curls did. This is muscle activity, not measured growth.
- Load and effort — Research comparing loads finds muscle growth is similar across a wide range of loads when sets are taken close to failure. Many lifters use about 6–12 reps with a controlled descent.
- Volume — Research links more weekly sets for a muscle to more growth, with diminishing returns, and training a muscle at least twice a week has been associated with more growth than once.
- Pairing — The RDL trains the hamstrings through the hip. Many programmes add a leg curl, which trains their knee-bending role, and a hip thrust, which loads the glutes at the top of the range.
Swap it mid-workout
- Clean Pull
- Conventional Deadlift
- Deficit Deadlift
- Snatch Grip Deadlift
- Trap Bar Deadlift
- Cable Pull Through
With VALDA Pro, FLEX offers alternatives like these when you swap an exercise mid-workout.
Log the romanian deadlift in VALDA, with these cues one tap away while you train and your history for it in one place.
General information about exercise technique, not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, your healthcare provider is the right person to ask.