The Romanian Deadlift (aka Straight Leg Deadlift) is one of the very best posterior chain (glutes/hips, hamstrings, lower back, upper back) exercises, and an essential for bikini and figure competitors. It’s a very common exercise that almost nobody seems to do correctly. You’ll see most people rounding their backs, or going way too low to get that magical “stretch”.
The stretch feeling everyone seems to think they have to feel during this lift has absolutely no relevance to the effectiveness of the exercise, and is nothing more than an indicator of the individual’s hip mobility. As with any strength exercise, this one is safest and most effective when performed through the full range of motion of the muscle, not of the joint.
Proper range of motion for the Romanian Deadlift is from normal upright (standing) posture down to 90 degrees hip flexion (max). Any compensation made for tight muscles (hips, hamstrings) should be at the knee.
In other words, if you lack the hip/hamstring mobility to get down to 90 degrees without rounding your back, then rather than shortening the range of motion, you should allow your knees to bend enough on your descent that you can maintain a flat/slightly arched back.
If you have good mobility, you still want to allow the knees to bend slightly on the descent. This will allow the glutes to assist the hamstrings and is MUCH safer for the lower back.
Another important factor is your stance. You definitely want your feet neutral (pointing straight ahead) and no wider than shoulder width apart.
If you have good mobility, a slight pigeon-toe (pointing inward) stance will help recruit some muscle fibers you’ll soon find don’t get worked as often as they should. If you feel any pulling on your knees or hips with this stance, you’ll want to immediately switch to a neutral stance.
Have I confused you? Well, if you’re a visual learner, the girl in the video happens to be using perfect technique (I wonder who taught her?). Practice next to a mirror so you can see a profile view and make adjustments.
It can be awkward if you’re used to bending at the spine as opposed to the hip, but it will make all the difference in your butt development!
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes, I have been doing it wrong. Tsk tsk. No wonder it hasn’t been working! How many reps/sets should I be doing? My glute/hammy tie in is less than stellar! Does this exercise work that area well? Thanks!! Great stuff! LISA
Haha…don’t feel bad, it’s not even demonstrated correctly in most books. Reps and sets depend on a lot of factors so it’s tough to say over the interwebz. It is a compound/multi-joint exercise, and one that is worthy of being one of your primary lower body exercises…so I would never go less than 3 sets. You don’t want to go as heavy here as you would conventional deadlifts, so no less than 5-6 reps and probably no more than 12. Keep in mind this is using a slow-moderate tempo that would allow you to focus on activation and proper hinging, so 6 reps might take as long as someone else’s 10-12.
As for glute/ham “tie-ins”, there’s really no such thing. That’s an old bodybuilding terminology from back when people thought Joe Weider had principles. Still gets thrown around alot. Most women who need work in that area need to build muscle and/or lose those last few pounds of stubborn lower body fat. That can mean getting very lean for some, depending on genetics. So basically, the RDL alone won’t correct that problem, but it is one of the best choices for building it up and when combined with good diet and overall program, it will be a big piece of the puzzle.
Hope that helps!