Romanian Deadlift Form, Benefits and Muscles Worked
Main Muscles Worked In RDL
In this review, we will cover one of the most used workouts in weightlifting, which muscles are worked most and the main benefits of what is known as the Romanian Deadlift.
The Romanian Deadlift or RDL for short is a very effective and a great muscle building exercise which works both on your lower back muscles, but more significantly and primarily used muscles when it comes to this exercise, are your hamstrings.
The Romanian Deadlift is slightly different from the regular dead-lift muscle building workout primarily because of its strong and direct influence on the hamstrings which in turn help build stronger leg muscle more effectively than the lower back muscles.
Whether you are looking to add some muscle mass to your legs or just want to work on your agility, this exercise is a great way to do so. It can also strengthen the right muscles if you are trying to excel on jumping skills.
One very important thing about the Romanian Deadlift is the hip activation and the importance of stretched hips. If you decided to renew your training program, focusing a bit more on your legs than this is definitely a workout you should not avoid if you want fast results.
The Proper Workout Video
The Correct RDL Stance
When it comes to starting the Romanian Deadlift you need to get into the right position before the workout. The first thing you should focus on is the position of your legs and where you position your hands on the bar.
First, you need to step to the bar, standing right next to and the bar in front of you it, with your ankles slightly touching the barbell, bend down to it and grab it with your palms facing down with an overhand grip.
The width of your grip should be a little bit wider than your shoulder width so that your legs will not interfere with the exercise during the movement of the weights.
As you pick the bar up, you should put it in the dead-lift position first to get it up to the top position standing tall which is going to be your starting position.
So you are standing fully erected and the barbell should be resting against your thighs, you slowly start leaning forward and the most important thing at this point you should focus on is your hips, pushing them backward, with your knees slightly bent.
This hips movement is very important, so you have to move them back as much as you can, but keeping the bar close to the body all the time with the shoulders back and your head looking in front of you.
As the bar comes to the same level as your knees, you should start getting back to the starting position, standing tall again and finishing the exercise movement.
Your overall breathing is significant in this exercise and should be planned and executed accordingly while performing the workout as it will help you carry out the dead-lift efficiently.
How to Breath Properly
The thumb rule when working out is to breath correctly which means breathing out when you strain most, in this exercise you need to inhale as you lower the bar, and exhale as you bring it back up as this is the point where it is most strenuous on your body.
Under no circumstance should you try keeping the air in your lungs during the routine.
Keeping the Right Form
The case with this exercise, just like it is with other exercises, the thing that is of crucial importance is the proper form, because that is the only way you can really feel muscles involved and see some serious progress.
Talking about muscles worked, there are two important things we must mention and these are the “legs” and “lower back”.
Legs involve both quadriceps- the muscle on the front side of the leg, and hamstring- the muscle in the back of your legs (which has a role in flexion of knee and extension of hip).
A muscle that is very popular in every woman’s workout plan – gluteus, is also highly involved during the performance of this exercise, and this is one of the many reasons why this workout is also very popular and functional for women.
Spinal erectors- the muscles that form your back, those muscles around your spine that go from your gluteus, all the way to your trapezius, are very active when it comes to this exercise, and after the legs, these are second most involved muscles in Romanian deadlift workout.
The Main Benefits of the Dead-lift
There are many great benefits to the Romanian Deadlift workout plan, and besides building greater hamstrings and quads they have a huge role in building better abilities for professional sportsmen, giving them a chance to improve their jumping, running and other movements skill.
This type of work out is widely used among runners, because it allows the body to feel less stress, enabling an athlete to move with greater ease.
This is related to the Romanian Deadlifts’ ability to strengthen the hips thus eliminating any weaknesses so they won’t give up when they are needed most.
Healthier Back and Solid Muscles
We are not all athletes and nowadays most of us find ourselves working behind a desk. Over time this tends to lead to back pains due to a bad posture which in turn has a direct impact and damage to our spine.
One way to get around this is done best when implementing this exercise correctly, this will tone our back-side and also tone our back muscles. You don’t need strong solid muscles unless you are a bodybuilder, but just enough to help you keep your back in good health.
The Romanian Deadlift Exercise can solve this kind of problem by constant repetition and a good work out plan.
Conclusion
All in all, as you can see this workout is a simple one and can be managed by everyone.
There is no reason why you should not add the Romanian Deadlift workout to your overall weight lifting routine, this is an exercise that can only help you build a much better version of your lower back and leg muscles, as well as strengthening your whole body.
So, give it a try and don’t forget to breathe right…
Happy lifting!