All About Romanian Deadlift- Comprehensive Steps And Benefits

Exercise is something that can make you feel pumped up all the time. It should be an essential part of your routine during this pandemic time. There are various workouts; some prefer hardcore workouts, and some start with a slow and steady workout, but Romanian deadlift is one exercise that can make your workout more extensive. The best thing about the Romanian exercise is that it does not have limitations. Some exercises vary according to your body weight and experiences. Some people prefer classic deadlift over Romanian deadlift. They feel that it is a very simple and effective exercise. Romanian deadlift works on all the muscles in the backside of the body. From your heel to the backside of your neck, every muscle is stretched during your Romanian deadlift. 

I have seen many people arguing about not doing Romanian deadlifts as useless. But the simple answer to them is that you are not working out to show off or flaunt. Although the Romanian deadlift does not work on those areas that directly show your body, it works as the powerhouse when doing other exercises. 

What Is A Romanian Deadlift?

As we discussed, the Romanian deadlift is a perfect deadlift variation that anyone can choose to practice. Any level of fitness freak can enjoy this exercise. In strength, sports like powerlifters and weightlifters, and athletes use this exercise to improve body strength. Mostly, gym freaks who want to show off their body will never recommend you do this exercise as they do not focus on strength building. Many sports and fitness experts say that the Romanian deadlift is the most important exercise in any workout as it builds back strength. Athletes and other strength sportspeople perform this exercise as it helps them to gain more strength and improve hip mechanics. It also helps them isolate back musculature, hamstring, and glutes. 

The Romanian deadlift is also known as the RDL exercise. It is a very typical accessory exercise. Submaximal loads are used in this exercise as it improves the movement of the hip hinges and back strength. This is mainly used when you want to increase your strength. 

How To Do Romanian Deadlift

The Romanian deadlift is an exercise that anyone can do when one wants to increase the posterior chain strength. It also helps you with hinge mechanics. We have covered all the steps to do the Romanian deadlift.

Master The Setup 

So, to start with the Romanian deadlift, we will start with basics; before doing this exercise, do a little bit of warmup so that your back does not catch suddenly. So the first step is to load the barbell and then stand on your feet. Keep in mind that your shoulder should be width apart, and your toes should be facing forward. The barbell should be just above your shoelaces when seen from an aerial view. Moreover, these are Some other things that you should consider while doing this exercise- the torso should be upright, arms should be straight. The shoulder blades should not be tight. This will help you to lock the neck while doing this exercise. It is important to lock the neck as you might get strain in the neck while doing an RDL workout. 

Hinge and Grab the bar

The second steps include gabbing the bar; you need to bend down to grab the bar with a wider than shoulder grip; you should slightly bend your knees to bend properly. Moreover, you should keep your back relaxed and flat; your shoulders should be over the barbell. After standing up, you should come back to step one position. 

Set the back 

As this is a strength-building exercise for the back, hinges, and hamstring so we will start pushing them a bit. We will try to push the hips back while maintaining the setback in this step. Doing this will result in high tension in the hamstring and back. The middle and lower part of your back will feel tightened. The torso should be moving towards the floor parallelly.

Initiate with glutes and hamstrings

After standing up, you should use your glutes and hamstrings to stand; the barbell should be close to your body. If you are a beginner and have a problem keeping the barbell close to the body, you can use your lats muscles to gain more powers. Keep in mind that you do not need to pull the arms upwards. Use them only for strength. 

Contract and lower

You should contact the glutes, back, and core in the final movement. The contraction should be so that the upper back to buttocks muscles are flexing continuously. Although it is suggested to keep the lower back contracted, some athletes will be standing straight without any contraction. But you should not copy them as they have high strength in them. You should avoid overextending further back because it may cause serious injuries to your back. 

Now you can lower the barbell in the same way slowly and repeat this process in repetitions. 

Romanian Deadlift Vs. Deadlift 

There is a simple difference between a Romanian deadlift and a standard deadlift. The process differs in both of them, like how they are performed. PDF exercises focus on eccentric body workouts, as in Romanian, deadlift mainly focuses on the lower back portion. While on the other hand, in the ordinary deadlift main focus is on the concentric workout. We choose to do the deadlift with heavier weights. And one more difference is that the conventional deadlift is a full deadlift that starts from the floor.   

Romanian Deadlift (RDL) benefits

Now that you have understood the basic steps of doing the Romanian deadlift, there are various benefits of the Romanian deadlift exercise that you must know. Basic exercise is the key exercise for heavy weightlifters and strength sports players. So let’s understand the basic benefits of the RDL exercise.

Basic benefits of RDL exercise

Hamstring hypertrophy

The Romanian deadlift is the best way to try out to increase your hamstring muscle strength. This is why every athlete includes this exercise in their key workout, as hamstring strength is most important for any sport. The hamstring power is the base of any sports activity. Romanian deadlift improves hamstring hypertrophy, which results in increased sports performance, endurance, muscle size, and strength. 

Pulling strength increases

It increases the pulling strength. This is why sports athletes prefer doing Romanian athletes with heavier weights. This results in increased back, glute, and hamstring strength. This exercise is done while limiting loading on the lower back area. 

Application to sports 

Traditional sports, weightlifting, and CrossFit can benefit from a regular RDL lift program. As we talked about, the Romanian deadlift is the best way to improve the pulling and posterior chain strength. And these two things are very important in any sport, especially in strength sports. And you must have seen that the Romanian deadlift also has its presence in the Olympics.

Injury Prevention 

Sometimes when we push our body too hard, we might meet some injury. And usually, hamstrings are more subjected to meet injury during movements. While running, ballistic movements and sprinting, hamstring mussels often injure. Romanian deadlifts increase the strength of hamstring muscles. Moreover, it controls the contraction of the hamstring muscles. The final point is that it can increase muscle injury resistance.  

Muscles involved in the exercise 

Although Romanian exercises are good for all muscles in the backside of your whole body, from your heal to the neck, every muscle is involved. But these are some of the most involved muscles-

• Hamstrings 
• Spinal erectors 
• Gluteus Maximus 
• Trapezius And Middle back  

Final Words

The Romanian deadlift is one of the best exercises for increasing the strength of back muscles. It also makes your body more flexible. Every exercise has its way, and Romanian deadlifting is very steady and focused. So try not to do it in a hurry. If you try it in a hurry or try to do it fast, you may meet a sudden accidental injury. 

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