Romanian Deadlift VS Deadlift: What's The Difference + How To

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What is a Romanian Deadlift?

The Romanian Deadlift is an excellent strength and conditioning exercise that targets your hamstrings and glutes.

It is also a popular deadlift assistance exercise.

It isolates the second phase of a conventional deadlift.

The first phase is when you lift the weight off the floor.

The second phase is when the bar reaches your knees, and you complete the deadlift by driving your hips forward and standing tall.

Or better known as when you lockout.

Therefore, the Romanian deadlift helps you improve your overall deadlift.

It makes you stronger in the second phase of your lift.

Also, the Romanian deadlift serves as a stand-alone exercise to target the hamstring muscles and glutes.

Deadlift VS Romanian Deadlift

Key Distinctions

The conventional deadlift begins with you, lifting the weight from the ground.

You pick the weight up off of the floor to a standing position.

On the other hand, the Romanian variation begins from an upright standing position.

Then, you lower the bar as far as you can go towards the floor and then return to your starting position while maintaining a neutral spine.

Keep your back flat, never round your back when doing any deadlift.

The starting position of a Romanian Deadlift is from a standing position with the weight in your hand.

Whereas the starting position of the conventional deadlift begins from the floor.

How to Do a Romanian Deadlift

Stance

Stand with your feet hip-width
You use a hip-width stance in a deadlift
As opposed to shoulder width in a squat
This is because the initial power of lifting the weight off the ground in a deadlift comes from your leg drive off the floor.
As if you are doing a vertical leg press.
But here, you will lower the bar from a standing position

Grip

Hold the bar with an overhand grip
Your hands should be shoulder-width on the bar

Hip Hinge

You break at the hips first to lower the bar
Push your hips back
Keep your back straight and tight
Chest out, and shoulder blades pinched towards each other
Brace your entire core
When you push your hips back, the bar will start to lower

Legs

Your legs are not perfectly straight as in a stiff leg deadlift
Instead, you need a slight knee bend
As you lower the bar from a standing position, you keep your knees slightly bent
When the bar goes below your knees, and you feel the tension on your hamstrings and glutes
Now is when you squeeze your glutes and drive your hips forward
And return to your starting position

Movement Pattern

Standing with the barbell using an overhand grip
Break at the hips
Barbell lowers to a little below the knees
This is your range of motion, from standing to a little below your knees. You are not putting the weight down on the floor.
Feel the tension in your hamstrings and glutes
Squeeze your glutes and drive your hips forward
Stand up and repeat

4. Romanian Deadlift Video

How to Perform the Romanian Deadlift

5. Why Do Romanian Deadlifts?

Whether you are an athlete, powerlifter, or just looking to get fit, the Romanian deadlift can help improve your fitness:

Strengthen your hamstring and glute muscles
Focus on the hip hinge and hip drive
Balance your leg training
Take an unnecessary load off of your lower back
Help you explode as a runner or sprinter
Warm-up for and improve your regular deadlift

Alan Thrall, a strongman, and powerlifter warns that you should not even begin to deadlift until you master the Romanian deadlift.

Watch the whole video to get a great lesson on the most basic deadlift essentials:

STOP Deadlifting Until You Learn How To Romanian Deadlift

Your Body is More Than You See in the Mirror

No matter which type of deadlift you perform, the deadlift is going to build your ‘posterior chain.’

The posterior chain is the muscles of your lower and upper back.

Another way of thinking of the posterior chain is those muscles that you cannot see in the mirror, the back half of your body.

Imagine how much power and strength you lose by neglecting the back half of your body.

Many gym-goers spend years, if not decades, training the mirror muscles.

The muscles they can see.

Don’t do it anymore.

Of course, I had no clue what the posterior chain was back when I was obese.

The only chain I was familiar with was Dunkin Donuts for pop ems.

One explanation is because I was doing a total body workout that targeted the posterior chain — the entire back half of my body which was always neglected.

But, when I finally started to lose weight and introduced squats and deadlifts, boom, those two exercises alone transformed my body and fitness.

Dumbbell curls, shoulder presses, and seated chest presses are not going to build your posterior chain.

Also, a strong posterior chain can reduce the risk of lower back pain and injury.

As a result, you walk taller and feel much stronger.

6. Always Focus on Form

There are a variety of deadlift variations, and one of the most popular is the Romanian deadlift.

Always focus on best form, and not how much weight can you lift today.

No, keep your mind tied into how proper is your technique.

Always do proper form deadlifts, whether regular, sumo, stiff leg, or single-leg Romanian deadlifts.

Otherwise, you can run the risk of injury from doing deadlifts.

So, never be in a rush to lift heavy.

Instead, be in a rush to go slow, gradually increase your deadlift weight.

Keep learning as much as possible about how to perform proper form deadlifts.

7. Be Careful!

Like any deadlift or squat movement, Romanian deadlifts are not for the faint of heart.

Be careful!

Do I have to repeat it?

Yes, be careful when doing any deadlifts or squats.

Especially, full-body compound free-weight movements using higher weight poundages.

You are not going to be in much danger if you do wrist curls or arm curls with light weights.

In the Romanian deadlift or any other deadlift, keep your back tight, brace your abs, back flat with a neutral spine, head slightly tucked, shoulders back and chest out.

Use a firm grip, lift with a full breath of air; this will offer your back the best protection against back strain or injury.

8. See for Yourself!

This is an excellent video of what the Romanian deadlift looks like.

The first 2 minutes of the video is mainly about the Romanian deadlift, and then he goes into the stiff-legged deadlift.

Romanian Deadlift VS Deadlift – Final Thoughts

The Romanian deadlift is a powerful weapon in your strength toolbox.

It will help teach you how to deadlift, and more specifically:

How to hip hinge
How to feel when your hamstrings are loaded
Hip drive
Excellent deadlift warm-up
Strengthen your hamstrings and glutes

A tidbit is that the Romanian deadlift, also referred to as RDL, was named after a Romanian powerlifter – Nicu Vlad.

See Romanian Olympian Nicu Vlad in action at the 1984 Olympics

American weightlifters saw Vlad doing these second phase deadlifts, before winning medals.

And they started to do the same and dubbed the movement a Romanian deadlift.

You can see the Nicu knew something about weightlifting, so he is an excellent voice to trust for a great deadlift accessory exercise.

Romanian Deadlift VS Deadlift: What’s The Difference + How To