How to do a Romanian deadlift
Stand holding the bar at hip height with your hands just outside your legs, feet about hip-width apart and knees softly bent.
Pull your shoulders back and brace your midsection so your back is flat before the bar moves.
Push your hips straight back and let the bar slide down your thighs, keeping it in contact with your legs.
Keep the same slight knee bend the whole way down. Your shins should stay close to vertical.
Lower until you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings, usually with the bar just below the knees or at mid-shin. Stop before your back rounds.
Drive your hips forward to stand back up, squeezing your glutes at the top, and breathe out.
These steps describe common technique. If something hurts, stop and ask a qualified coach or clinician.
Common Romanian deadlift mistakes
Bending the knees more as the bar goes down
That turns it into a squat. Set a slight bend at the top and keep it; the movement comes from your hips going back.
Bar drifting forward
Keep it brushing your thighs and shins. If it swings out, your hips are not going back far enough.
Rounding the lower back at the bottom
Stop the rep where your hamstrings are stretched and your back is still flat, even if that is above the knee.
Going as low as a regular deadlift
The bar does not touch the floor. Depth is set by your hamstring flexibility, not by the plates.
How to track your Romanian deadlift
Log the weight and reps of every set. Over a few weeks, the heaviest weight you lift and your estimated one-rep max show whether you are getting stronger, even when your sets use different rep counts.
Estimated 1RM, Epley formula
80 kg × (1 + 8 ÷ 30) ≈ 101 kg
A set of 8 at 80 kg estimates a one-rep max of about 101 kg.
