HamstringsBarbellIntermediate

How to Do a Romanian Deadlift

By Bryan Alger, Co-Founder of Gravitus

· Updated Oct 1, 2026

A Romanian deadlift (RDL) is a barbell hip hinge that starts standing. Hold the bar against your thighs, keep your knees softly bent and push your hips back, sliding the bar down your legs to mid-shin, then stand up. It trains the hamstrings, glutes and adductors. Most lifters do 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps.

Sets x reps 3 x 8-10

Median 10-rep weight 18582.5 lbkg men 10045 lbkg women

Muscles Hamstrings, glutes, adductors

Vs your deadlift 80%, the median

Romanian Deadlift start and bottom positions

1Start. Stand tall with the bar against your thighs, hands just outside your legs, knees soft and abs braced.
2Bottom. Push your hips back and slide the bar down your legs until your hips stop moving, then drive them 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 Romanian deadlift

How far down to go and how much to bend your knees work the same way as in the dumbbell Romanian deadlift: your hips set the depth, not the floor. What changes with a barbell is the bar path, the grip and how much weight you can load.

Set the bar in a rack at mid-thigh height, or deadlift it from the floor once to start the set.
Grip the bar palms down with your hands just outside your thighs. Stand up with it resting against your thighs, feet hip-width apart.
Unlock your knees into a soft bend, brace your abs and pull your shoulders back so the bar presses into your legs.
Push your hips straight back and slide the bar down your thighs and past your knees, keeping it on your legs.
Stop when your hips stop moving back, usually with the bar at mid-shin. Drive your hips forward and drag the bar back up your legs to stand tall.

Bar path

Should the bar touch your legs?

Yes. Keep the bar on your legs, or within an inch of them, from the top of the rep to the bottom and back. It should move in a straight vertical line over the middle of your feet. Every inch it drifts forward puts it an inch farther from your hips and lower back, so the same weight loads them more and tips you toward your toes.

Three things keep it close:

Lats. Pull your shoulders back and down, as if bending the bar into your thighs.
Shins. Keep them close to vertical. If your knees slide forward as the bar passes them, the bar has to swing around them.
Clothes. Long socks or pants stop the knurling scraping your shins, which is why many lifters let the bar drift.

What to do

Film a set from the side. If you can see daylight between the bar and your shins at the bottom, take weight off until you cannot.

Gravitus data

How much weight should you Romanian deadlift?

On Gravitus, the median man lifts 185 lb (82.5 kg) for 10 reps on the Romanian deadlift, and the median woman 100 lb (45 kg).

Men, typical 185 lb for 10 reps

Most lift: 135 to 230 lb
Top 10% lift: 275 lb or more
Starting out: under 135 lb

Women, typical 100 lb for 10 reps

Most lift: 65 to 130 lb
Top 10% lift: 160 lb or more
Starting out: under 65 lb

Men, typical 82.5 kg for 10 reps

Most lift: 60 to 102.5 kg
Top 10% lift: 125 kg or more
Starting out: under 60 kg

Women, typical 45 kg for 10 reps

Most lift: 30 to 60 kg
Top 10% lift: 72.5 kg or more
Starting out: under 30 kg

One-rep max / 10-rep weight, rounded to 5 lb (2.5 under 40). From 16,599 men and 6,614 women who log the Romanian deadlift on Gravitus, computed Sep 27, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
Percentile	Men	Women
25th	180 / 135 lb	90 / 65 lb
Median	245 / 185 lb	130 / 100 lb
75th	305 / 230 lb	175 / 130 lb
90th	370 / 275 lb	210 / 160 lb

One-rep max / 10-rep weight, rounded to 2.5 kg (1 under 20). From 16,599 men and 6,614 women who log the Romanian deadlift on Gravitus, computed Sep 27, 2026 (Brzycki). Methodology
Percentile	Men	Women
25th	82.5 / 60 kg	40 / 30 kg
Median	112.5 / 82.5 kg	60 / 45 kg
75th	137.5 / 102.5 kg	80 / 60 kg
90th	167.5 / 125 kg	95 / 72.5 kg

These are barbell numbers. If your grip gives out before your hamstrings, your log will read low; use straps. Compare yourself to your own log.

Gravitus data

How your RDL compares with your deadlift

80%Median RDL max vs the same lifter's deadlift max

66-94%Middle half of lifters

12,000+Lifters who log both

Among lifters who log both lifts on Gravitus, the median estimated RDL max is 80% of their deadlift max: 79% for men and 86% for women (September 2026). The often-quoted 50 to 70% is too low for most people. Only 31% of lifters sit under 70%.

To use it, multiply your deadlift max by 0.8. A 300 lb (135 kg) deadlift predicts a 240 lb (110 kg) RDL max, which is about 180 lb (80 kg) for 10 reps. The stiff-leg deadlift runs lower: 72% of the deadlift and 91% of the same lifter's RDL.

These figures compare each lifter's best logged set on each lift, converted to a one-rep max with the Brzycki formula.

Anatomy

Muscles worked

HamstringsExtend the hip and carry the most load at the bottom. The semitendinosus works harder than the biceps femoris (McAllister 2014).

Primary

GlutesExtend the hip, hardest as you drive up from the bottom.

Primary

Adductor magnusHelps extend the hip from the bottom.

Secondary

Spinal erectorsHold your back flat without moving it.

Secondary

Lats and upper backKeep the bar pressed against your legs.

Stabilizer

ForearmsHold the bar. Often the first thing to fail without straps.

Stabilizer

Grip

Grip and straps

DefaultDouble overhandBoth palms facing you, hands just outside your thighs. Use it until your grip fails before your hamstrings do.

Heavy setsStrapsTie your hands to the bar so they stop being the limit. The best choice for most working sets.

No strapsHook gripThumb trapped under your fingers. Secure, but it hurts over sets of 8 or more.

AvoidMixed gripOne palm forward, one back. It holds more, but the bar turns in your hands and one shoulder gets pulled forward.

In women deadlifting 80% of their max for 3 sets to failure, straps added reps with no loss of bar speed and less grip fatigue (Trahey 2023). In men, strapped sets moved faster, felt easier and left more grip strength (Jukic 2021). Both studies used the conventional deadlift. An RDL set never puts the bar down, so your grip works for the whole set.

Compare

RDL vs stiff-leg deadlift vs deadlift

Attribute	RDL	Stiff-leg deadlift	Deadlift
Each rep starts	Standing, bar at your thighs	Standing or from the floor	From the floor
Knees	Soft, held still	Close to straight	Bend and straighten
Bar goes to	Mid-shin	As low as you can reach	The floor
Weight vs your deadlift	80%	72%	100%

Verdict

The RDL for hamstrings, the deadlift for the most weight. At the same load, the deadlift drew more glute and quad activity than the RDL (Lee 2018). The stiff-leg deadlift is the RDL with straighter knees and a little less weight. For the knee-angle research, see the dumbbell RDL guide.

Programming

Sets, reps and progression

3Sets

8-10Reps

1-3Reps left

8 and 10 are the most logged RDL rep counts on Gravitus, and 3 sets is the most common. Stop each set 1 to 3 reps short of failure, before your back rounds or the bar leaves your legs. Do RDLs once or twice a week. On a deadlift day, do them after the deadlift with less weight.

A barbell lets you add small amounts. When every set reaches 10 reps, add 5 to 10 lb (2.5 to 5 kg) and drop back to 8.

Form

Common mistakes

Letting the bar drift off your legsThe farther it hangs in front, the more your lower back holds. Pull your shoulders back and drag the bar down your thighs and shins.
Bending your knees as the bar passes themThe rep turns into a deadlift and your quads take over. Set the knee bend at the top and keep your shins close to vertical.
Letting your grip pick the weightIf your hands give out before your hamstrings, use straps instead of a lighter bar.
Using a mixed gripThe bar turns in your hands and pulls one shoulder forward. Use double overhand and add straps when it slips.
Putting the bar down every repThat is a stiff-leg deadlift. Start from a rack at mid-thigh and keep the bar off the floor for the whole set.

Variations

Romanian deadlift variations

Dumbbell Romanian deadliftA dumbbell in each hand instead of a bar. Easier to set up, and its guide covers how far down to go.

Snatch-grip Romanian deadliftHands wide on the bar. Your upper back works harder to hold it, and the bar ends higher on your legs.

Deficit Romanian deadliftStand on a low platform. Only adds range if the plates reach the floor before your hips stop moving back.

Single-leg Romanian deadliftOne leg at a time, usually with dumbbells. Trains balance and evens out your sides.

Trap bar Romanian deadliftHandles at your sides instead of a bar in front, so there is no bar path to manage.

Stiff-leg deadliftKnees closer to straight, often from the floor. Gravitus lifters use 91% of their RDL weight.

Good morningThe same hinge with the bar on your upper back. No grip limit, but much lighter loads.

FAQ

Questions people ask

What muscles do RDLs work?

The hamstrings and glutes, with the adductor magnus helping extend the hip. Your spinal erectors hold your back flat, and your lats, upper back and forearms hold the bar against your legs. Of four hamstring exercises tested, hamstring activity was highest in the RDL and the glute-ham raise (McAllister 2014).

Is RDL push or pull?

A pull. It is a hip hinge that trains the back of your body, so it goes on pull day in a push, pull, legs split, or on leg day with your hamstring work.

Should I use straps for Romanian deadlifts?

Yes, on any set where your grip fails before your hamstrings. In deadlift studies, straps added reps and cut grip fatigue without slowing the bar (Trahey 2023, Jukic 2021). Do your warm-up sets without them if you also want to train your grip.

How much should my RDL be compared to my deadlift?

About 80% of your deadlift max. That is the median among 12,000+ Gravitus lifters who log both, and most sit between 66% and 94%. The median is 79% for men and 86% for women. A 300 lb (135 kg) deadlift predicts a 240 lb (110 kg) RDL max.

Why is it called Romanian deadlift?

Romanian weightlifting champion Nicu Vlad did the lift at a 1990 clinic at the Sports Palace gym in San Francisco, working up to triples with 250 kg (550 lb). Neither he nor his coach, Dragomir Cioroslan, had a name for it; it was how Vlad strengthened his back for the clean. Gym owner Jim Schmitz suggested the Romanian deadlift, and the name stuck (Schmitz).

How much weight should I Romanian deadlift?

For 10 reps, the median on Gravitus is 185 lb (82.5 kg) for men and 100 lb (45 kg) for women. The strongest quarter lifts 230 lb (102.5 kg) and 130 lb (60 kg) or more.

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