Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
Also known as: Dumbbell RDL, DB Romanian Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift with Dumbbells
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Description
With a dumbbell in each hand, push your hips back and lower the weights down your legs to just below the knees to build your hamstrings and glutes. Going down, the backs of your thighs stretch; coming up, your glutes and hamstrings do the lifting while the muscles along your lower spine hold your back flat. Dumbbells make it an easy first hinge and the standard RDL for home training. Each hand finds its own line, so many people find it easier on the wrists than a straight bar. To go really heavy, switch to the barbell: big dumbbells usually beat your grip first.
How to Perform
- Take the dumbbells from a rack or bench. If they're on the floor, squat down, lift them with a flat back and stand tall.
- Set your feet hip-width apart, toes forward, and unlock your knees into a soft bend you keep until the last rep.
- Rest the dumbbells on the front of your thighs, overhand grip, palms facing you and handles roughly in line. Shoulders slightly back and down.
- Breathe in, brace and push your hips straight back. Your torso tips forward on its own, back flat, eyes on the floor ahead.
- Take 2–3 seconds to slide the dumbbells down your thighs, arms hanging straight. Stop just below the knees, when your hips stop moving back.
- Pause for a beat, then drive your hips forward and squeeze your glutes to stand tall without leaning back. The dumbbells never touch the floor.
- To finish, bend your knees and set the dumbbells down with your back flat, or return them to the rack.
What Muscles Work
Primary Muscle:
Secondary Muscles:
Tips
- Two to four sets of 8–12 reps, up to 15, cover most needs. Stay with the same pair until all your sets hit 12 with the same depth and a flat back, then move to the next pair (usually 1–2.5 kg heavier per dumbbell) and drop back to 8.
- The stretch belongs in the back of your thighs, between your glutes and knees. If your lower back tires first, you're going too deep or rounding; if the fronts of your thighs burn, your knees are bending too much.
- Heavy dumbbells tend to slip out of your hands before your hamstrings are done. Lifting straps solve that; rounding your back to hang on doesn't.
- Learning to hinge? Practice the Hip Hinge with a dowel along your spine first. Once your heaviest pair feels easy, slow the lowering to 3–4 seconds or move on to the Single Leg Romanian Deadlift.
- Substitutes: Romanian Deadlift with a barbell when you want to load heavier, Cable Romanian Deadlift when your grip needs a break, Dumbbell Straight Leg Deadlift for a longer stretch, and B Stance Romanian Deadlift when your dumbbells are too light.
Common Mistakes
- Squatting the dumbbells down: your knees bend more and push forward the lower the weights go. Set the soft bend at the top, leave it there and send your hips back with your shins close to vertical.
- Rounding your back to reach the floor. Depth ends where your hips stop moving back with a flat back, usually just below the knees; if you can't get there, use a lighter pair.
- Letting the dumbbells swing out in front of your legs. Keep your arms pulled in so the dumbbells brush your thighs and shins all the way down and up.
- Shoulders rolling forward as the dumbbells drag your upper back round. Set them slightly back and down before every rep. If they won't stay there, the weight is too heavy.
- One dumbbell sitting lower than the other, or your hips drifting to one side. Keep both handles level and your weight even over both feet.
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