HamstringsDumbbellsBeginner

How to Do a Dumbbell RDL

By Bryan Alger, Co-Founder of Gravitus

· Updated Sep 30, 2026

A dumbbell RDL (Romanian deadlift) is a hip hinge. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, keep your knees softly bent and push your hips back until they stop moving, usually with the dumbbells at mid-shin, then stand up. It trains the hamstrings, glutes and adductors. Most lifters do 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps.

Sets x reps 3 x 8-12

Median 10-rep weight, per dumbbell 7032.5 lbkg men 5022.5 lbkg women

Muscles Hamstrings, glutes, adductors

Depth Dumbbells to mid-shin

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift start and bottom positions

1Start. Stand tall with a dumbbell in each hand in front of your thighs, knees soft and abs braced.
2Bottom. Push your hips back with a flat back until they stop moving, dumbbells at your shins, then drive your hips forward to stand up.

Watch 3 video demonstrations

Video 1 of 3

Find more video demonstrations in the Gravitus app

Technique

How to do a dumbbell RDL

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, a dumbbell in each hand in front of your thighs, palms facing you.
Unlock your knees into a soft bend and brace your abs. Keep that knee bend for the whole rep.
Push your hips straight back and let the dumbbells slide down the front of your legs. Your back stays flat.
Stop when your hips stop moving back, usually with the dumbbells between your knees and mid-shin.
Drive your hips forward and stand up tall. Stop upright, without leaning back.

Depth

How far down should you go?

Go down until your hips stop moving back with your back still flat. The bottom is the part of the rep that counts most. The dumbbells hang straight down, so the further you lean, the further they sit in front of your hips and the harder your hamstrings and glutes work. Your hamstrings are also longest there: bending the hip to 90 degrees lengthened the biceps femoris long head from 35.0 to 41.0 cm (Kellis 2021). The curves are modelled for dumbbells hanging under your shoulders.

Load and stretch on the way down modelled, knees soft

Load on your hips. Zero standing, 71% of the peak halfway down, highest with your torso flat.

Hamstring stretch. Grows all the way down. Stopping early cuts it.

What to do

Keep your knee bend fixed and let your hips set the depth. Bending the knees 45 degrees gave back 40% of the stretch the hinge added (Kellis 2021). Training the hamstrings at long lengths grew them more than at short lengths, 14% vs 9% over 12 weeks of leg curls (Maeo 2021).

Gravitus data

How much weight should you use for dumbbell RDLs?

On Gravitus, the median man lifts 70 lb (32.5 kg) per dumbbell for 10 reps on the dumbbell RDL, and the median woman 50 lb (22.5 kg).

Men, typical 70 lb per dumbbell for 10 reps

Most lift: 50 to 90 lb
Top 10% lift: 120 lb or more
Starting out: under 50 lb

Women, typical 50 lb per dumbbell for 10 reps

Most lift: 32.5 to 70 lb
Top 10% lift: 95 lb or more
Starting out: under 32.5 lb

Men, typical 32.5 kg per dumbbell for 10 reps

Most lift: 22.5 to 40 kg
Top 10% lift: 55 kg or more
Starting out: under 22.5 kg

Women, typical 22.5 kg per dumbbell for 10 reps

Most lift: 15 to 32.5 kg
Top 10% lift: 45 kg or more
Starting out: under 15 kg

One-rep max / 10-rep weight, per dumbbell, rounded to 5 lb (2.5 under 40). From 7,060 men and 3,981 women who log the dumbbell RDL on Gravitus, computed Oct 7, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
Percentile	Men	Women
25th	65 / 50 lb	45 / 32.5 lb
Median	95 / 70 lb	65 / 50 lb
75th	120 / 90 lb	95 / 70 lb
90th	160 / 120 lb	130 / 95 lb

One-rep max / 10-rep weight, per dumbbell, rounded to 2.5 kg (1 under 20). From 7,060 men and 3,981 women who log the dumbbell RDL on Gravitus, computed Oct 7, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
Percentile	Men	Women
25th	30 / 22.5 kg	20 / 15 kg
Median	42.5 / 32.5 kg	30 / 22.5 kg
75th	55 / 40 kg	42.5 / 32.5 kg
90th	72.5 / 55 kg	57.5 / 45 kg

Weights are per dumbbell. Grip often gives out before your hamstrings do; use straps when it does. Compare yourself to your own log.

Anatomy

Muscles worked

HamstringsExtend the hip and are stretched most at the bottom. Straighter knees stretch them more.

Primary

GlutesExtend the hip, hardest as you start to stand up from the bottom.

Primary

Adductor magnusWorks as a hip extensor. Its fibers are built for more than twice as much hip extension torque as adduction torque (Takahashi 2025), which is why your inner thighs can get sore.

Secondary

Spinal erectorsHold your back flat without moving it.

Secondary

Forearms, upper back, coreHold the dumbbells and keep them close to your legs.

Stabilizer

Compare

RDL vs stiff-leg deadlift vs conventional deadlift

Attribute	RDL	Stiff-leg deadlift	Conventional deadlift
Starts from	Standing	Standing or the floor	The floor
Knee bend	Soft, 34 degrees on average	Almost straight	Deep, 85 degrees on average
Works most	Hamstrings, glutes	Hamstrings, a little more glute	Glutes, quads, hamstrings

Verdict

For hamstrings, the RDL. In a barbell study it matched the conventional deadlift for hamstring activity with less than half the quad activity (Lee 2018). It drew more semitendinosus activity than the stiff-leg deadlift, which drew more glute (Coratella 2022). Use the conventional deadlift to lift the most weight.

Research

RDL claims the research does not back

Many RDL guides repeat the same advice. Four common claims are wrong or unsupported:

Bend your knees 10 to 15 degrees. Lifters in a barbell RDL study averaged 34 degrees of knee bend, against 85 in the conventional deadlift (Lee 2018). Soft knees means about 30 degrees, set at the top and held.
Straight knees limit the hamstring stretch. It is the other way round. The straighter your knees, the longer your hamstrings (Kellis 2021).
Dumbbells are easier on your lower back. With a dumbbell in each hand, the weights hang under your shoulders like a bar. No study has compared back loading between the two.
RDLs build a strong lower back. Your erectors hold your spine still, they do not move it. Ten weeks of RDLs raised lifters' RDL max by 16% without increasing their lower back strength on a lumbar extension machine (Fisher 2013).

No study shows that a wide stance targets the inner hamstrings either.

Programming

Sets, reps and progression

3Sets

8-12Reps

1-3Reps left

Do RDLs once or twice a week, after squats or on their own leg day. Stop each set 1 to 3 reps short of failure, before your back starts to round. In one study, 6 weeks of RDLs twice a week grew the hamstrings by 10%, as much as Nordic curls (Crawford 2025).

Add reps before weight. When every set reaches 12, move up 5 lb (2.5 kg) per dumbbell and drop back to 8. When you run out of dumbbells, slow the lowering to 3 seconds or switch to a deficit or single-leg RDL.

Form

Common mistakes

Bending the knees on the way downIt turns into a squat and your hamstrings stretch less. Set a soft bend at the top and keep it.
Rounding your back to reach lowerDepth comes from your hips. Stop when they stop moving back, even if the dumbbells are above your shins.
Letting the dumbbells drift forwardThe further they are from your legs, the more your lower back holds. Keep them against your thighs and shins.
Cutting the bottom shortThe bottom is where the load and the stretch peak. Go all the way to where your hips stop.
Leaning back at the topThere is no load standing up, so there is nothing to squeeze. Stand tall and start the next rep.

Variations

Dumbbell RDL variations

Deficit dumbbell RDLStand on a plate or low step for more range. An RDL on a step drew more glute, semitendinosus and erector activity than one on the floor (Coratella 2022).

Single-leg dumbbell RDLOne leg at a time. Harder with the same dumbbells, and it trains balance.

B-stance dumbbell RDLBack foot on its toes as a kickstand, most of the weight on the front leg. Easier to balance than single-leg.

Dumbbell stiff-leg deadliftKnees almost straight for more hamstring stretch.

Barbell Romanian deadliftThe same hinge with a bar. Heavier loads and smaller jumps.

FAQ

Questions people ask

What muscles do dumbbell RDLs work?

The hamstrings and glutes move the weight, with the adductor magnus helping as a hip extensor (Takahashi 2025). The spinal erectors hold your back flat, and your forearms, upper back and core hold the dumbbells in place.

How far down should you go on a dumbbell RDL?

Until your hips stop moving back with your back still flat. For most lifters that puts the dumbbells between the knees and mid-shin. Do not bend your knees more to get lower; that shortens the hamstrings instead of stretching them.

Is dumbbell RDL better than barbell?

Neither grows the hamstrings more. With a dumbbell in each hand the weights hang under your shoulders like a bar, so the hinge is the same. The barbell loads heavier with smaller jumps. Dumbbells need no setup and make deficit and single-leg versions easier.

Do dumbbell RDLs work lower back?

Only to hold your spine still. Ten weeks of RDLs raised lifters' RDL max by 16% without increasing their lower back strength on a lumbar extension machine (Fisher 2013). Add back extensions if you want a stronger lower back.

How much weight should I use for dumbbell RDLs?

For 10 reps, the median on Gravitus is 70 lb (32.5 kg) per dumbbell for men and 50 lb (22.5 kg) for women. The strongest quarter lifts 90 lb (40 kg) and 70 lb (32.5 kg) or more.

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References