Romanian deadlift
Muscles worked : Glutes, hamstrings · Lower back, core
How to do it
- Stand with a dumbbell in each hand in front of the thighs, feet hip-width apart.
- Bend the knees very slightly and keep that angle constant throughout.
- Push the hips back and lower the dumbbells along the legs, back flat.
- Lower until you feel the tension at the back of the thighs, then return by driving the hips forward.
Common mistakes
- Bending the knees progressively during the descent: the movement turns into a squat and leaves the hamstrings.
- Back rounding as soon as hip mobility runs out.
- Dumbbells drifting away from the legs, which increases the strain on the lower back.
Where you should feel it
A clear tension at the back of the thighs on the way down, then the glutes taking over on the way up. The lower back works as a brace, never as a mover.
Range of motion
Lower to the end of the hamstring stretch, no further: hamstring flexibility sets the range, not how low the dumbbells go. The moment the back rounds, the limit has been passed.
Tempo and breathing
Three seconds down, one to two up. Inhale on the way down, exhale driving the hips forward.
What works, precisely
The hamstrings and the gluteus maximus extend the hip: they are the movers. The spinal erectors work isometrically to keep the back flat — they should never produce the movement, only prevent it. This is the only exercise in the library that trains the hip hinge under load.
Movement mechanics
A pure hip hinge: hip flexion then extension with the knee near-fixed, in the sagittal plane. That is what separates it from the squat — the squat bends hip AND knee, the hinge bends only the hip.
Benefits
- Teaches the hip hinge, the movement pattern that protects the back every time you pick something up off the floor.
- Loads the hamstrings in hip extension, the direct complement to the leg curl which trains them in knee flexion.
- Strengthens the whole posterior chain in a single movement.
Adapt and progress
- Easier : Reduce the load, or lower less far to stay in the range where the back stays flat.
- Harder : Increase the load, or slow the descent to five seconds.
- Move on when : When three sets of twelve go by with a flat back through the whole range, increase the load.
Precautions
A flat back is not negotiable: if holding the position requires bending the back, the load is too heavy or the range too big.