This RDL Workout Is All You Need to Build Total-Body Strength

We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back deadlifts with body-building rather than running, but this move (and its variations) benefit runners in many ways.

Practicing Romanian deadlifts a.k.a. RDLs strengthens the quads, glutes, and hamstrings, as well as the core, arm, and back muscles. In other words, when you do an RDL workout, you power up your entire posterior chain (or back of the body) while building stability. Sounds perfect for runners, right? We need those muscles to power our stride, after all.

transfer most of weight to left leg. This is the starting position common mistakes athletes make so you can know what not to do. You can also follow our full RDL workout, created by Yusuf Jeffers, NASM-certified personal trainer and USATF-certified running coach based in New York City.

Follow this how-to, from Jeffers, to master the RDL:

1. Get Set Up

“The very first part of picking the weight up is making sure that your stance is correct,” says Jeffers. That means standing with feet hip-width apart, toes pointing forward, shoulders down and back, and core engaged. Firmly press the feet into the floor, too.

2. Hinge, Hinge, Hinge

The most important part of the RDL: Send the glutes straight back, keeping the back flat and core engaged and just a slight bend in the knees. Avoid rounding the shoulders; keep them pulled down and back by engaging the lats. Grab the weight at the bottom of the hinge (a barbell, dumbbells, or kettlebells). Drive your feet into the floor to stand back up, squeezing the glutes to extend the hips.

Repeat the hinge with the weight to perform the recommended number of reps. “Think about keeping tension on the bar, go to mid-shins, and then follow that hinge pattern when standing all the way back up,” Jeffers says.

3. Maintain Good Form

A fun way to think about the RDL stance, according to Jeffers, is to imagine having your back to a wall that’s about a foot or more away. Or, better yet, stand in front of a wall nearby, if you can test it out.

“Imagine you’re pushing your hips back toward the wall behind you to touch the wall, all without letting your back round. Keep a proud chest, tall posture, arms fully lengthened the entire time, lats engaged, and core engaged,” says Jeffers.

Envisioning the movement this way may help you to remember and maintain proper form each time you tackle the RDL.

The Romanian deadlift is a version of the traditional deadlift. Both are weighted strength exercises that involve similar motions, but there’s a difference between the two.

While both deadlift variations involve the hip hinge as the primary movement pattern, the traditional deadlift involves more of a knee bend, whereas knees stay just slightly bent in the RDL.

Because of those straight legs, Jeffers says the range of motion is often shortened for the RDL. Instead of the weight going all the way to the floor, you’ll stop about mid shin.

1. Doing a Squat Instead

“Sometimes a lot of folks will begin the squatting portion of the deadlift while doing an RDL. The RDL only involves really just a hinge,” explains Jeffers. “People will finish the movement with a lean back and not finish with a hinge.”

Avoid it: Make sure you’re not performing a squat by maintaining just a slight bend in the knees as you work through the move. Keep in mind that the RDL is all in the hips, and you should feel it primarily in the Shoes & Gear.

2. Arching the Low Back or Rounding the Shoulders

It’s common to use the low back to stand up from the bottom of a deadlift, which can often come from arching the low back. Many people also reach for the floor with the weight, rounding the shoulders. But you want to maintain a neutral spine, and keep the weights close to the body.

Avoid it: Both of these mistakes often come from not engaging the core enough. Keep the abs tights and the back flat the entire time. Also, “think about squeezing glutes and hips to finish the movement versus arching the lower back and leaning back a little bit,” Jeffers says. That way, the lower body becomes the prime mover.

3. Using Weights That Are Too Heavy

“Typically you would find that your RDL weight would be less than what you’d do for a [traditional] deadlift. At the bottom of the weight, you’re not completely relaxing on that isometric part, you’re actually still working, because you don’t actually let the weight hit the ground,” explains Jeffers. “So in that sense it may be smarter to use a slightly lighter weight than what you would do on a deadlift.”

Avoid it: If you don’t know what weights to use, go lighter than you think. It’s always best to err on the side of caution, especially if you’re a beginner.

The muscles that comprise your posterior chain—those glutes, hamstrings, calves, erector spinae (along the spine), lats (the biggest muscle of the back), and rear shoulder muscles—all come into play during your running gait, says Jeffers. And they’re the same muscles you strengthen with the RDL.

“RDLs not only build strength in the lower body, Loop one end of a large resistance band over head and across upper back core to help with maintaining proper posture while performing exercise, which translates to good posture while running,” says Jeffers.

As mentioned, the RDL differs slightly from the traditional deadlift in that it puts more emphasis on the power-producing Shoes & Gear (because your legs stay straighter), rather than also getting more quads involved like the traditional move. This can help power your run and balance out your lower body.

In addition to RDL variations, this well-crafted workout from Jeffers includes a warmup to wake up your muscles and prime them for powerful lifts. You’ll also mix in accessory work for active recovery and a way to work smaller muscle groups, like those of the upper body.

Instead of making you find creative ways to add this move to an existing strength session, we’ve eliminated the guesswork and had Jeffers create this full RDL workout that you can seamlessly add to your schedule.

How to use this list:

Do the exercises in the order listed below for 8 to 12 reps each.

To warm up, complete one set of exercises 1 to 4. For exercises 5 to 10, complete 3 to 4 sets. While practicing exercises 5 to 10, focus on eccentric Essential Core Exercises for Runners.

Each move is demonstrated by Jeffers in the video above so you can learn the proper form. For this workout, you will need a set of dumbbells or kettlebells, Boston Marathon Results.

Warmup, 1 round

1. Cat Cow

1. Start on all fours with knees under hips, The Best Exercises for Lower-Leg Stabilizers.
2. Inhale to arch back, drop the belly, and tilt head up.
3. Exhale and round back, tucking chin and hips downward.
4. Essential Core Exercises for Runners.

2. Bird Dog

1. Start on all fours with knees under hips, The Best Exercises for Lower-Leg Stabilizers. Engage core, keeping back flat and spine straight.
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3. Pull knee and elbow back in, under torso. Return to all fours.
4. Inhale to arch back, drop the belly, and tilt head up.
5. Continue alternating.

3. Downdog with Foot Pedal

1. Start on all fours with knees under hips, The Best Exercises for Lower-Leg Stabilizers. Hips should be above or slightly in front of knees.
2. Tuck toes and lift knees off the floor, lifting hips up and back into an inverted V shape.
3. Gently try to straighten legs, while on tips of toes.
4. Stand with weight in left hand. Shift weight to right leg.
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6. Continue alternating.

4. Hinge to Squat

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, hands down by sides.
2. Hinge at hips by sending glutes straight back. Keep back flat. Hands should hover over toes.
3. Bend knees to drop hips down as far as possible into a squat, as well as the core, arm, and.
4. Raise hips up and strengthen legs, keeping back flat.
5. Slowly lift torso to stand up straight.
6. Repeat.

Strength Set, 3-4 rounds

5. Banded Good Morning

1. Loop one end of a large resistance band over head and across upper back.
2. Step onto the other end of the band, placing feet about shoulder-width apart. (To keep band from slipping, bring hands in front of hips and maintain a light grip on band.)
3. With a flat back and knees slightly bent, hinge at the hips, sending glutes straight back and lowering torso until you feel a stretch in back of legs. Keep back flat.
4. Engage glutes and drive feet into the floor to stand back up.
5. Repeat.

6. RDL

1. Holding a weight in both hands about shoulder-width apart, stand with feet hip-width apart, chest tall. Bend knees slightly and pack shoulders down and back.
2. Slowly send glutes back, hinging at the hips while keeping back straight and abs tight. Engage hamstrings and glutes to resist the downward pull of gravity as the weight lowers toward the floor.
3. Lower as far as you can until you feel tension along the backs of legs.
4. that involve similar motions, but there’s a difference between the two.
5. Repeat.

7. Lat Pull

1. Wrap a long resistance band around a set of weights, pole, or table.
2. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding the resistance band with both hands.
3. With back flat, slightly hinge at the hips, then pull the resistance band toward outer thighs so there’s tension in the band.
4. Bring arms forward to release tension.
5. Repeat.

8. Staggered-Stance Romanian Deadlift

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a weight in each hand, arms down in front of you, palms facing you.
2. Step right foot back so toes are in line with left heel. Using right foot as a kick stand to maintain balance, transfer most of weight to left leg. This is the starting position.
3. With a soft bend in both knees, hinge at hips by sending glutes straight back, and lower torso toward floor. Keep back straight, shoulders pulled down and back.
4. Lower until you feel a slight pull in back of legs.
5. Drive left foot into floor to stand all the way back up, returning to starting position.
6. Repeat. Keep core engaged the entire time.

9. Banded Glute Bridge With Weighted Hold

1. Lie faceup, knees bent, feet planted on the floor, and mini resistance band around legs just above knees. Grab a weight in each hand, then extend arms up, weights over shoulders.
2. Drive through heels, contracting the glutes to lift hips up toward the ceiling. Body should form a straight line from shoulders to knees.
3. Pause for a few seconds.
4. The most important part of the RDL: Send the glutes straight back, keeping the back flat and.
5. Repeat.

10. Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

1. Stand with weight in left hand. Shift weight to right leg.
2. With a soft bend in right knee, hinge at the hips by sending glutes back. Keep back flat, shoulders down, and core engaged as torso reaches toward the floor and left leg lifts straight back behind you. Only lower until you feel a slight pull in right back of leg; you don’t have to lower weight to ground, but keep weight close to body.
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4. Repeat for reps. Then switch sides.
   

Monique Lebrun

Monique LeBrun is a health and fitness editor who is based in Easton, Pennsylvania. She covers a wide range of health and wellness topics, with a primary focus on running performance and nutrition. Monique is passionate about creating content that empowers runners to become the best versions of themselves. As an avid runner and parent, she loves spending time outdoors with her daughter, who often accompanies her on weekend runs as her personal mini run coach.

Kristine Kearns

Associate Health & Fitness Editor

Kristine Kearns, a writer and avid runner, joined Runner’s World and Bicycling in July 2024. She previously coached high school girls cross country and currently competes in seasonal races, with more than six years of distance training and an affinity for weightlifting. You can find her wearing purple, baking cupcakes, and visiting her local farmers market.