Soulevé de terre Roumain : Notre guide pour exécuter ce mouvement

Romanian Deadlift: A Complete Guide to Performing This Move Properly

The difference between a classic deadlift and a Romanian deadlift is not entirely clear to many, even though the two exercises have different goals and therefore target different muscle parts.

What muscles are trained in the Romanian deadlift?

The hamstring muscles that are trained are composed of:

  • M. semitendinosus
  • M. semimembranosus
  • M. biceps femoris

The hamstrings are biarticular muscles, meaning that with the exception of one part (caput breve), they cross both the hip joint and the knee joint.

With the Romanian deadlift you are training pure hip extension where the glutes and hamstrings contract to straighten the hips.

The Romanian deadlift should not be performed with straight legs, as the length will then be compensated for by rounding the lower part since the length of movement of most of us is simply too short.

The knees should be straight during the exercise. It is in no way advisable to go further to obtain more length of movement. In addition, it becomes increasingly difficult to pass the knees into the movement, and therefore the work of maintaining the anterior muscles of the thigh increases sharply.

Beginners often mistake the Romanian deadlift for a variation of the classic deadlift. However, the Romanian deadlift is not a variation. , but a separate type of exercise, which follows completely different principles from the classic deadlift. Accordingly, the muscle groups trained in the Romanian deadlift are also different.

The Romanian deadlift uses the cycle of stretching and shortening of the muscle. You can compare it to a rubber band, in which the energy from the full stretch can be transferred to the backward movement.

how-to-do-a-romanian-deadlift

Romanian Deadlift

  • uses a stretching and shortening cycle
  • the knees remain slightly bent
  • the weight only goes up to the chin height
  • The exercise focuses more on the hamstrings and glutes

Correct execution of the Romanian deadlift

During the exercise, the pelvis moves back as you move the weight down. The knees remain slightly bent during the exercise.

Keep your arms and barbell close to your body and try to keep the dumbbells close to your legs throughout the movement. The closer to your body, the better. Your hands holding the barbell should be shoulder-width apart, while your feet remain parallel to the floor and your pelvis remains tilted throughout the exercise. Keep your back arched throughout the Romanian deadlift.

It is important to warm up your body beforehand with light weights!

Who benefits from the Romanian deadlift exercise?

In the field of body training, it brings great benefits. If you want to train your thigh and buttocks, you are very well served with this exercise. In the hamstrings in particular, you can achieve results incomparable to the results you would achieve with other exercises.

The back extensor is less involved here than in the classic deadlift, but the workout is still clearly noticeable. The exercise can be attractive to rehabilitation patients or beginners because the weight is close to the body and other muscles do most of the work so the back extensor can be trained safely.

Romanian Dumbbell Deadlift

If you want to try the Romanian deadlift at home, you don't necessarily need a barbell. The same effects can also be achieved with dumbbells.

Just like with the barbell, dumbbells should be gripped with the top grip (back of the hand pointing outward) and lightly pressed against the thigh during the exercise.

The weights should not be too light, as we are dealing with large and strong muscle groups. For women, 2 x 10 kg dumbbells should work well to get started and for men, 2 x 20 kg is a good weight to start with.

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