Romanian Deadlift
Posterior chain for driving legs
How to do it well
The set-up and the rep in full, then the cues the app shows on the exercise card — the short version, for the moment you are standing in front of the bar.
Set-up
Start standing, holding the bar at the hips with an overhand grip just outside the thighs — take it from a rack, or deadlift it up first. Feet hip width, knees soft, shoulders pulled back and down so the lats hold the bar against the legs.
The rep
Push the hips back as if shutting a car door with them. The bar slides down the thighs, the knees keep the same slight bend, and the back stays flat. Stop when the hamstrings are at full stretch — usually just below the knee — not when the plates reach the floor. Drive the hips forward to stand.
On the exercise card
- Soft knees
- Hinge back
- Tempo
- 3s lower
What goes wrong, and the fix
| What goes wrong | The fix |
|---|---|
| The knees bend more on the way down | That turns it into a deadlift and takes the hamstrings out of it. Set the knee bend at the top and keep it. |
| Rounding the back to reach lower | Depth comes from the hips travelling back, not from the spine bending. Stop where the back would start to round. |
| The bar drifts away from the legs | Keep the lats tight and drag the bar down the thighs the whole way. |
Make it easier, or harder
- Easier
- Dumbbell or kettlebell RDL, lowering to a box set at knee height.
- Harder
- Single-leg RDL, or a three-second lowering on every rep.
How Train Smart prescribes it
The sets and reps below are the authored starting point. The actual weight you see is calculated from your own last top set and the week you are in within your four-week block.
The hamstrings are most exposed in sprinting when they are working while being stretched, at the end of the leg swing. The RDL is heavy hamstring work in exactly that lengthening action, which is why it sits in the lower-body strength sessions beside the Nordic.
| Program | Session | Sets × reps | Load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rugby League | Max Strength (Lower) | 4 × 6 | Heavy |
| Rugby Union | Strength (Total Body) | 4 × 6 | Moderate–heavy |
| Cricket | Endurance Day | 4 × 6 | Moderate–heavy |
| Basketball | Lower Power + Plyo | 4 × 6 | Moderate–heavy |
What it trains, and who trains it
- Muscles worked
- Hamstrings · Glutes · Back
- Region
- Lower body
- Prescribed in
- rugby league · rugby union · cricket · basketball · netball · MMA · dance · general fitness · bodybuilding
If you cannot do this one
Rack taken, kit missing, or it does not suit you. These are the swaps the app offers, matched by movement pattern and body region — each with the reason it is a fair substitute.
| Alternative | Why it works as a swap |
|---|---|
| Trap Bar Deadlift | Big posterior-chain pull, back-friendly — sprinter strength gold standard |
| Conventional Deadlift | Full-body max strength pull |
| Sumo Deadlift | Wide stance, more glute/adductor — hip-driven athletes |
| Deficit Deadlift | Standing on a plate — longer pull, more eccentric for hamstring resilience |
| Snatch-Grip RDL | Wider grip + bigger upper-back demand — Olympic lifters, throwers |
| Stiff-Leg Deadlift | Straight knees — pure hamstring eccentric, sprinter-specific |
This exercise, in a program that knows why it is there
Train Smart puts this movement in the right session, at the right point in your block, at a weight calculated for you — and swaps it automatically if you do not have the kit.
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