Exercise guide · Intermediate · Compound

Barbell Romanian Deadlift: How to Do It & Muscles Worked

The Romanian deadlift (RDL) starts standing and lowers the bar by pushing the hips back with soft knees, stretching the hamstrings under load. It is one of the best exercises for building the hamstrings and glutes because it trains them at long muscle lengths.

Primary muscles
Glutes
Secondary muscles
Hamstrings
Equipment
Barbell
Level · type
Intermediate · Compound

Written by the FitStack training team. Last reviewed .

Demonstration of the barbell romanian deadlift
Front view: muscles worked by the barbell romanian deadlift. Primary: glutes. Secondary: hamstrings.
Back view: muscles worked by the barbell romanian deadlift. Primary: glutes. Secondary: hamstrings.
Primary Secondary

How to do the barbell romanian deadlift

  1. Step 1: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing forward.
  2. Step 2: Hold the barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
  3. Step 3: Bend at the hips, keeping your back straight and your knees slightly bent.
  4. Step 4: Lower the barbell towards the ground, keeping it close to your body.
  5. Step 5: Feel the stretch in your hamstrings as you lower the barbell.
  6. Step 6: Once you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, push your hips forward and stand up straight.
  7. Step 7: Squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement.
  8. Step 8: Lower the barbell back down to the starting position and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Form cues

  • Start standing with the bar at your hips, knees slightly bent and locked at that angle.
  • Push your hips straight back as if closing a car door with your backside.
  • Keep the bar against your thighs and shins all the way down.
  • Stop when you feel a strong hamstring stretch, usually just below the knee, then drive the hips forward to stand.

Common barbell romanian deadlift mistakes

  • Bending the knees more as you go down, turning it into a squat.

    Fix: Set the knee bend at the start and keep it fixed; only the hips move.

  • Chasing range of motion by rounding the back.

    Fix: Stop the rep where your back would start to round. Range improves with practice.

  • Letting the bar drift away from the legs.

    Fix: Squeeze the lats and drag the bar down your thighs.

Sets, reps and programming

Use RDLs as the main hamstring exercise for 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps, with a controlled two- to three-second descent. They pair well after squats, or as the hinge on a day without conventional deadlifts.

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the barbell romanian deadlift by training goal
Goal Sets Reps Rest Effort
Strength 3–5 3–6 3–5 min 1–3 reps in reserve
Muscle growth 3–4 6–12 2–3 min 1–2 reps in reserve
Muscular endurance 2–3 12–20 1–2 min 1–3 reps in reserve

Ranges follow the ACSM position stand on progression in resistance training. Muscle grows across a wide range of loads when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), longer rests between heavy sets support strength and size (Schoenfeld et al., 2016), and stopping a rep or two short of failure works about as well as training to failure (Grgic et al., 2022). Estimate your working weights with the strength calculators.

Variations and progressions

Barbell Romanian Deadlift alternatives

More exercises that train the glutes as their main target:

Barbell Romanian Deadlift FAQs

What is the difference between a Romanian deadlift and a stiff-leg deadlift?

An RDL keeps a soft, fixed knee bend and stops when the hips can no longer travel back. A stiff-leg deadlift keeps the legs straighter and usually starts each rep from the floor. The RDL is easier to do well and more popular for hamstring growth.

How low should I go on a Romanian deadlift?

Until you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings with a neutral back. For most people the bar ends up around the middle of the shin.

More glutes exercises

See the best glute exercises, ranked →

Sources

  1. American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687-708.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(7):1805-1812.
  4. Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sport Health Sci. 2022;11(2):202-211.

Step-by-step instructions and demonstration media are from the ExerciseDB exercise dataset; cues, mistakes, programming and FAQs are written by FitStack.

This guide is general fitness information, not medical advice. Stop if an exercise causes pain and speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.