How to do a Romanian Deadlift
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand in front of your thighs.
- Stand with feet hip-width apart and soften your knees slightly.
- Push your hips back, letting the weights slide down your legs.
- Keep a neutral spine and the dumbbells close to your body.
- Lower until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, around mid-shin.
- Drive your hips forward to stand tall and squeeze your glutes.
Keep in mind
- Push your hips back — this is a hinge, not a squat.
- Keep the weights in contact with your legs the whole way down.
- Stop where your hamstrings say stop, not where the floor is.
- Stand up by squeezing your glutes, not by pulling with your back.
Common mistakes
- The lower back rounding — shorten the range to where the spine stays flat.
- Bending the knees like a squat — keep a soft, fixed knee angle instead.
- The weights swinging away from the body — drag them down your thighs.
Breathing
Breathe in at the top, hold it as you hinge, and out as you stand.
Take care
This is the move most often felt in the lower back the next day — go lighter than you think, and end the set the moment your back rounds.
Easier and harder
Similar exercises