What is Romanian Deadlift?
If you want to strengthen your leg muscles then you should practice Romanian Deadlift. Professional trainers often prescribe for this weightlifting to their clients to reduce the chances of back pains and spine-related issues. While the reason for back pain cannot be explained many times but it can be avoided by performing Romanian Deadlift (RDL) as suggested by your trainer. RDL is actually a barbell lift which tones the limb muscles, keeps you safe from any muscles tears and also maintains a proper spinal shape.
If you do RDL under proper guidance then it will not only take care of your lower body but also strengthen the core. Unlike quad-dominant exercises, Romanian Deadlift focuses on all muscles from neck to heels. Often we spend a lot of time in the gym working to build biceps and pecs but do not focus on the inner strength or the triceps and other back muscles. It is difficult for an individual with weak hamstrings to perform proper barbell squats. RDL is the answer to all the problems and increases strength, power and flexibility giving you the ideal athletic body.
The best part of Romanian Deadlift is that you can do it anywhere even at your home. Ideally, you can do by barbells in the gym but you can also replace it with free weights in your home. Moreover lifting average weights in Romanian Deadlift also reduces your back from immense pressure. The muscles mainly involved in RDL are gluteus maximus, erector spinae, hamstrings, trapezius and forearm flexors.
The ideal way to do Romanian Deadlift:
First of all, hold the bar or weight and stand as opposed to the floor. Now lower the weight slowly while slightly bending your knees along with bend at hips but keeping a straight spine. Then keep getting lower till you have a slight stretch in hamstrings. The stretch is felt usually when the bar crosses your knees. Now move your hip forward while using the hamstrings to come to standing posture.
Expert Tips: The common error most make while doing Romanian Deadlift is not able to maintain the right posture of the lower back in the whole workout time. You should always remember that the exercise is mainly to work on hamstrings rather than lower back. So do not bend your body all along just to rest the weight on the ground.
Once you start Romanian Deadlift then you should split your leg exercise regime in two days. One day concentrate on quad exercises and another day on gluteus along with hamstrings. Try to avoid sessions on consecutive days as it might stress out your lower part.
Types of Romanian Deadlift:
There are three types of RDL likely:
- One-leg Romanian Deadlift
- Dumbbell split-leg Romanian Deadlift
- Stiff-leg Romanian Deadlift
Benefits:
The major benefit of Romanian Deadlift is that it tells the ideal movement of the hip and the back muscles. RDL strengthens muscles in your body which helps you in proper squatting. It helps largely in increasing your body flexes and your leaping skills. Romanian Deadlift should be done with a straight back for best results where the deep muscles in your spine region stabilize the whole body along with strong lower muscles for proper movement.