Romanian Deadlift With Dumbbells

Whether you want to improve your olympic lifts or powerlifting movements, or simply to build up your (posterior chain), the Romanian Deadlift is an assistance exercise that can help.

What is the Romanian Deadlift?

The Romanian Deadlift is a slight variation from the stiff leg deadlift that allows for a slight knee bend and brings in more glute, hip, and lower back activation. Unlike a conventional deadlift and straight leg deadlift, this exercise lets your arms extend away from your body.

Why is the Romanian Deadlift Important?

A stiff leg deadlift is certainly a good option for isolating the hamstrings but it leaves out other components that we may need to improve our lifts and overall fitness. The Romanian Deadlift involves muscles we need to power through sticking points at many points of a deadlift and squat. It may also help build the muscles at risk of injury during compound movements.

Regarding physical health, with our more sedentary lifestyle, we have weak hamstrings and glutes with hips frequently in a flexion (contracted) position. This could lead to a postural condition called thoracic kyphosis.

The Romanian Deadlift is a great way to strengthen the hamstrings and glutes helping to correct a muscle imbalance and working your hips to reach a hip flexion position. This way, we train the hips to stay in a more neutral position for improved posture.

The Barbell Romanian Deadlift Alternative

There are many reasons you might look for an alternative to a barbell Romanian Deadlift. Are people constantly using the power rack in your gym? Do you not have a barbell and weight plates in your home gym? If you answered yes to either of these questions, then the dumbbell or kettlebell version is a perfect option for the Romanian Deadlift.

How a Romanian Deadlift With Dumbbells is Different

While in a gym, you will more commonly see a barbell Romanian Deadlift. This doesn’t mean that a Romanian Deadlift with dumbbells is an inferior exercise. In fact, it has its own benefits that make it a great exercise for working the posterior chain while also involving more stabilizer muscles.

You cannot use as much weight for this exercise because of the balance requirements of the dumbbell Romanian Deadlift. Since you are using dumbbells, we counterbalance the weight by holding evenly with both hands. Your arm, back, and shoulder muscle isometrically contract to hold the weight and prevent it from moving.

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift Tips and Tricks

Before we instruct you on how to perform the dumbbell RDL, there are a few things you can do to make the exercise more fluid. These quick tips isolate the muscles and place more concentration on the posterior chain.

1. Start the weights on the floor next to your body: Too often we see someone in the gym snatch the dumbbells from the rack, trying to set themselves in a suitable position. Not only does it look awkward, but it also exhausts a lot of energy trying to position yourself with heavy weight.
2. Use lifting straps to grip the weight: Any dumbbell deadlift is going to require a significant amount of grip strength but even more so with the Romanian Dumbbell Deadlift. With your hands away from your body, the dumbbell will try to leave your hands. Having grip support can prevent this from happening.
3. Set your grip in a more neutral position: Having your hands free from a barbell is one benefit of a dumbbell deadlift. Since most of our exercises require a pronated overhand grip, we should take advantage of whatever opportunity we have to use a neutral or supinated grip. You cannot go completely neutral with the dumbbell Romanian Deadlift but you can turn them to 45 degrees.

How to Do a Romanian Deadlift With Dumbbells

There are many exercises that you can view once and execute with decent form. A dumbbell RDL is not one of them. Other than your lower back and spinal erectors, you won’t feel any muscle group until you have a proper understanding of the movement pattern and have practiced it enough.

If this is your first time attempting a Romanian Deadlift, start with a very lightweight. Keep it light until you learn to perform a set where you feel your hamstring and glute muscles firing the entire time. Add weight once you have created the mind muscle connection for this exercise.

1. Set your body up next to the weight with your feet in a near shoulder width position.
2. Hold the weight in your hands and shift your hips back, keeping your back straight.
3. Representing the stretched position of the lift, bend slightly and pick up the weight holding it at your shins.
4. Press into the ground and raise the weight, keeping tension on the hamstrings.
5. Squeeze your glute muscles so that you create a full hip hinge, stopping just before a straight position.
6. Slowly lower the weight, maintaining a slight knee bend and pushing your butt and hips back.
7. Pause momentarily in the stretched position and continue until at or near failure.

Try a Romanian Deadlift Variation

Once you have mastered the Romanian Deadlift with dumbbells, try these variations to further challenge yourself.

Single Leg Romanian Deadlift

A single leg RDL is an advanced variation of this exercise. It is not the best exercise for someone who does not have a significant amount of strength, balance, and coordination. However, this deadlift variation requires the strongest stabilizer muscle activation and is an excellent exercise to perform as a finishing movement with a lightweight.

Besides the recruitment of the core muscles, the single leg Romanian Deadlift is beneficial as it trains your body at a disadvantage. This type of exercise forces the brain to stay engaged throughout the set. This form of disadvantage training will make a traditional deadlift feel like a walk in the park compared to this neurologically demanding exercise.

Resistance Band Romanian Deadlift With Dumbbells

Want more glute activation and hip drive with this exercise? A great way to do that is by making this a resistance band leg exercise.

Loop your resistance band at waist height to a power rack, pillar, or any immovable object. If you don’t have a stable object, ask a workout partner or family member to hold the band. Then place the other end around your waist and walk out to where you stretch the band.

Perform the Romanian Deadlift and watch how your glute muscles fire as you reach the top of the position.

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