Romanian Deadlift

The RDL trains the entire backside — hamstrings, glutes, lower back — and teaches the hip hinge, the single most useful movement pattern you can own. Works equally well with a barbell or dumbbells.

Tips

• Start standing tall, weight against your thighs, soft bend in the knees that stays the same the whole rep.
• Push your hips straight back — like closing a car door with your butt — and let the weight slide down your thighs.
• Keep the bar or dumbbells touching your legs the whole way. The further the weight drifts forward, the more your lower back pays.
• Go down until you feel a strong hamstring stretch — usually mid-shin — then drive hips forward to stand. No need to touch the floor.
• Lock in a flat back before every rep: chest up, lats tight, eyes on the floor a few feet ahead.

Common Mistakes

• Squatting it — bending the knees more as you descend turns the hinge into a half squat and lets the hamstrings off the hook.
• Rounding the lower back — chasing depth past your hamstring flexibility. The stretch decides your range, not the floor.
• Weight drifting away from the legs — turns the lift into a lower-back exercise instantly.
• Hyperextending at the top — leaning back and cranking the spine. Finish tall with squeezed glutes, nothing more.