What’s The Difference Between The Deadlift and The Romanian Deadlift?

Ever wonder what makes the deadlift and the Romanian deadlift different? Or how to properly perform either exercise? This article compares and contrasts the two exercises, which are among the best for developing the glutes, and explains how to perform each one correctly and securely.

The Romanian deadlift (RDL) and the conventional deadlift are two of the best exercises for building glute strength in the sagittal plane through hip extension. These exercises may have terrifying names, but it's vital to understand that they don't refer to any potential negative effects of performing the exercise; rather, they refer to the fact that the weight starts in a static position with no velocity. The RDL and standard deadlift have different techniques for performing the motions, despite the fact that both workouts are based on the hip-hinging motion and have similar names.

The main distinction between the two workouts is that the deadlift begins with the weight held in front of the hips whereas the RDL begins with the weight lifted from the floor. Other than that, these exercises are comparable in that they develop the muscles that move and maintain the midsection by requiring the spine to stay in a stable, non-moving position throughout the whole range of motion while being supported by the glutes and upper legs.

Deadlift

Stand behind the barbell with your shins touching the bar and your feet about hip width apart. Throughout the entire lift, squeeze the bar firmly as if you were attempting to bend it in your hands. Grip the bar firmly with both hands in a palms-down (pronated) grip. (Note: An over-under grip, where one hand has its palm down while the other has its palm up, can prevent the bar from rolling out of the hands when learning the lift, making it a safer choice.)

As you lean back towards your hips, maintain a long spine and vertical shins. Having a firm grip on the bar will aid in maintaining your balance (otherwise, if you let go, you would fall back on your tailbone).

To lift the bar, push the floor away from you with your feet while pulling your knees back to activate your hamstrings and driving your hips forward. The bar should rise straight up along the front of your legs.

When your hips are fully stretched, stand up. Keep your spine long as you push your glutes back behind you to go back to the ground. As you lean back towards your hips, keep the bar near to the front of your legs and keep your shins upright.

Verify Your Form

To feel the work in your glutes and along the backs of your legs as you perform the lift, maintain your chest raised and spine extended.

A typical error is attempting to lift the weight using the back rather than the hips.

Allowing the spine to round and flex during the raising phase is another common error. Both of these errors are frequently caused by attempting to utilize too heavy of a weight too early.

Before raising the weight, a reasonable rule of thumb is to be able to control five to six repetitions.

Avoid typical mistakes by strengthening your deep spinal stabilizers and glutes with the hip thrust exercise before advancing to standing exercises like the barbell deadlift or RDL.

Significant Muscles Involved: The gluteus maximus and quadriceps are the main muscles used to stretch the hips and knees, respectively. Adductor magnus, hamstrings (semitendonosus, semimembranosus, and biceps femoris), and gastrocnemius work together as synergists to help extend the hips and straighten the knees. The forearm flexors assist in keeping the hold on the bar while the transverse abdominis, thoracolumbar fascia, external and internal obliques, and latissimus dorsi all work to support the pelvis and spine.

The Romanian Deadlift

Hold a barbell firmly in both hands, shoulder-width apart, using a pronated (palms-down) grip. Allow the bar to rest at the front of the thighs while maintaining a small bend in the knees and placing your feet hip-width apart. (Note: Dumbbells can also be used; just modify the instructions to reflect having one dumbbell in each hand.)

Push your hips back behind you to initiate the exercise, then tilt forward at the hips while maintaining a straight spine. As you lower yourself to the movement's conclusion, keep your spine straight and your knees slightly bent.

Push your feet into the ground and imagine sliding your knees back while pressing both hips forward to go back to a standing position.

Verify Your Form

Along with your hamstrings and adductor muscles on the back of your thighs, you should feel the effort in your glutes. Stop right away if you see that your spine is beginning to round or bend. Throughout the entire workout, you should be able to maintain a long, straight spine.

When doing the lift, looking in the mirror is a frequent error that many individuals make. If you watch yourself in the mirror, your eyes will hold your head in a fairly steady position while your neck is moving, which could result in an injury because the body follows the eyes. Similar to the last example, if the mirror is to one side, you will turn your neck to look at your form, which will cause torque along your spine. When learning the lift, turn your back on the mirror to resist the impulse to check yourself out. Hinge forward at the hips while keeping your neck in a neutral position and looking down at the ground.

Significant Muscles Involved: Adductor magnus, gastrocnemius, trapezius, erector spinae, gluteus maximus, hamstrings (biceps femoris, semitendonosus, semimemtranosus), adductor magnus, and forearm flexors

The glute bridge and hip thrust are fundamental exercises that teach the pattern of hip extension while bolstering the deep core muscles. 

In Conclusion

The deadlift and RDL are advanced workouts. From a supine (face up) posture on the floor, where the back is in a neutral and reasonably safe position while the hips are moving, these exercises concentrate on hip extension and flexion. The RDL is a useful exercise that, when performed properly, strengthens the lower body and the core in one motion. The RDL concentrates most of the work in the muscles responsible for extending the hip and knee along the posterior regions of the legs, unlike the typical barbell deadlift and other quad-dominant exercises like squats and lunges that may cause shearing stresses on the anterior portion of the knees.