| The same dumbbells can feel manageable near the top of an RDL—and much harder below your knees.
The weights haven’t changed. Your leverage has.
The Romanian deadlift, or RDL, trains your glutes and hamstrings by moving through your hips while your upper body stays stiff. Here are seven things to focus on.
1. Keep your upper body stiff.
Brace your midsection. Your upper body changes angle as you lower, but your spine keeps its natural shape. Think of your upper body moving as one stiff unit.
Keep your arms long without shrugging or squeezing your shoulders together.
2. Send your hips back.
Bend your knees and reach your butt behind your heels while staying balanced. Keep your shins nearly vertical.
Think hips backward, not knees forward.
3. Keep the weights close.
Let the dumbbells travel close to your thighs and shins, rather than drifting out in front of you.
Keep your whole foot planted. Sending your hips back doesn’t mean rocking onto your heels and lifting your toes.
4. Let your gaze follow.
Keep your head aligned with your torso. As you lower, look toward the floor down and ahead of you.
Don’t crane your neck to keep looking forward or deliberately tuck your chin toward your chest.
5. Find your bottom position.
The picture shows bent knees, a thigh roughly 45 degrees from vertical, and a back roughly parallel to the floor.
That’s a coaching example, not a position everyone must force themselves into. Stop where you can maintain your spine position, balance and control.
6. Adjust your knee bend.
Less knee bend generally makes the hamstrings work more. A little more bend takes some stretch off them. Your glutes and hamstrings still work together in both versions.
7. Focus on the lower half.
At the bottom, your butt is back and your chest is down. The weights pull straight toward the floor, and your muscles have to work hard to bring your body upright.
Think about holding a grocery bag away from your body instead of beside you. The bag hasn’t gotten heavier, but holding it feels harder.
In the RDL, the weights stay close to your legs while your hips move farther behind them. That distance makes the lower half harder.
As you stand up, your hips move back underneath the weights, and the exercise gets easier.
Don’t rush through the bottom. Keep your upper body stiff and control the movement through the hardest part.
James Pratt |
