Romanian Deadlift

Why it matters

Unlike a conventional deadlift, which starts from the floor, the Romanian deadlift starts from standing and emphasizes the lowering, stretched portion of the movement. This makes it particularly effective for building hamstring and lower-back strength through a controlled, lengthened range of motion that a conventional deadlift's floor-to-standing path doesn't emphasize as directly.

How to do it

1. Start standing, holding the bar at hip height. Feet shoulder-width apart, slight bend in the knees that stays roughly constant throughout.
2. Push your hips back as you lower the bar. Keep the bar close to your legs, hinging at the hips while maintaining a flat back.
3. Lower until you feel a deep hamstring stretch. Stop before your back starts to round — this is usually around mid-shin to knee height for most people.
4. Drive your hips forward to return to standing. Squeeze your glutes and hamstrings to reverse the hinge, bringing the bar back up close to your body.

Common mistakes

• Rounding the back at the bottom of the stretch. Going past your current flexibility and strength limits to chase a lower bar position increases injury risk significantly.
• Letting the bar drift away from the legs. A bar that drifts forward increases strain on the lower back for the same weight, same issue as the conventional deadlift.
• Bending the knees more to fake additional range of motion. The knee bend should stay relatively fixed — increasing knee bend mid-movement turns this into a different exercise.
• Going too heavy before the hip-hinge pattern is solid. This is a technical lift that rewards mastering the pattern with light weight before adding significant load.

Sets & reps by level