Barbell Romanian Deadlift
oec:barbell-romanian-deadlift
A hip-hinge barbell exercise emphasizing eccentric loading of the hamstrings and glutes while maintaining a neutral spine.
Generated by gemini-3.8-flash from the sources below. No person has checked this record. Don't rely on it for safety.
Also called: RDL, Barbell RDL, Romanian Deadlift, rdls, Barbell Romanian Deadlift (RDL)
How to do it
Setup
- Stand tall holding a loaded barbell with an overhand, shoulder-width grip.
- Position your feet hip-width apart with toes pointing forward or slightly outward.
- Pull your shoulder blades back and down, brace your core, and unlock your knees slightly.
Movement
- Hinge at the hips by pushing your pelvis straight backward while keeping a soft, fixed bend in your knees.
- Lower the barbell in a straight line close to your thighs and shins until you feel a deep stretch in your hamstrings.
- Reverse the motion once your hips stop traveling backward, driving your hips forward to return to the upright starting position.
- Finish by squeezing your glutes at the top without hyperextending your lower back.
Breathing
Inhale and brace your core at the top before hinging; exhale as you lock out your hips near the top of the ascent.
Cues
- Push your hips to the wall behind you
- Keep the bar glued to your legs
- Maintain a soft knee bend without squatting
- Proud chest throughout the descent
Common faults
- Rounding the lumbar spine to reach lower to the floor.
- Stop descending when your hips stop moving backward; range of motion is determined by hamstring flexibility, not touching the floor.
- Squatting the weight down by bending the knees excessively.
- Keep your knees softly unlocked at a fixed angle and focus entirely on pushing your hips backward.
- Allowing the barbell to drift away from the legs.
- Engage your lats to keep the bar skimming along your thighs and shins throughout the lift.
Safety
- Do not sacrifice neutral spinal alignment to gain extra depth.
- Use lifting straps if grip fatigue compromises form.
Muscles
Joints
- Hip: Flexion, Extension
- Knee: Isometric stabilization
- Lumbar spine: Isometric stabilization
- Thoracic spine: Isometric stabilization
Details
- Movement
- Hip hinge
- Modality
- Strength, Hypertrophy
- Mechanics
- compound
- Force
- pull
- Laterality
- bilateral
- Kinetic chain
- closed
- Level
- intermediate
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Record
- Repetitions and Load
- Load
- external, total
Related
- variation of Barbell Deadlift
- substitute for Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
- substitute for Barbell Stiff-Leg Deadlift
- progression of Bodyweight Hip Hinge
Sources
- wger: Romanian Deadlift, by pjwirth (CC-BY-SA-4.0)
- wger: Barbell Romanian Deadlift (RDL), by daiben (CC-BY-SA-4.0)
This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.