Elite Performance

The Romanian Deadlift (RDL) is one of the best exercises for building strong hamstrings, glutes, and a resilient posterior chain, but only if you’re performing it as a true hip hinge.

Here are three common mistakes we see (and how to fix them):

👉 1. Turning your RDL into a deadlift
The RDL and the conventional deadlift are different movement patterns. In an RDL, your knees should have a slight bend (about 10–20°) and that angle should stay nearly unchanged throughout the rep. Instead of driving your knees forward to lower the bar, push your hips back while keeping your shins nearly vertical.

👉 2. Letting the bar drift away from your body
When the bar moves forward, your weight often shifts into your toes and you lose tension through your lats and hamstrings. Keep the bar close to your legs the entire time. Imagine you’re squeezing tennis balls in your armpits to engage your lats and keep the bar glued to your body.

👉 3. Losing a neutral spine
Your spine starts at your neck. Keep your head, neck, and torso in one long line instead of looking too far up or dropping your chin.

Remember these five cues:
• Soft knees (10–20°)
• Keep the knee angle fixed
• Push your hips back
• Keep the bar close
• Stop when you feel your hamstrings reach their end range, not when the bar reaches the floor.

Master the hinge, and your hamstrings (and glutes) will do the work they were meant to do.