I have never done this lift before doing it on the TNT plan. While trying to keep my back straight and isolate the lift to my hips. I feel like I am isolating it but, I still slightly feel it, when I complete a set, in my lower back. Nothing major, but it tells me it is still involved in the movement.
You round your back slightly during your pull off the floor. That's probably where the back soreness is coming from.
Point your toes straight ahead during the RDL. There's no need to toe out since you're not pushing against any hip mobility issues for this lift.
You're bending your knees too much. After about a 10 degree knee bend at the top of the movement, stop bending at the knees and focus only on shifting the hips back. You shouldn't have to put the bar out and over your knees. It should travel straight down and your lower legs should remain completely vertical with no forward travel at all. You achieve this by putting your hips further back.
Your low back position during the set was fine.
Finish with a hard contraction of your glutes into the bar (f*** the bar).
__________________ Lisa Holladay, CSCS
Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.
--Thomas Carlyle
notice in the romanian deadlift, the knees are slightly bent, but do not move during the course of the deadlift. The lower back is doing most of the work (remember to keep that back arched correctly!)
Quote:
so instead of getting the weight back down to the floor, I lower it to more of a "full-arms reach"
and its more of a bending-over, rather than a lowering of the body??
if you like words rather than just videos - here is Dan John writing about RDL in this issue of his newsletter
Quote:
The
RDL is not a ballistic movement and in my
opinion requires a fair amount of focus when
doing them.
1) If possible start from blocks or on the pins outside of a power rack. This curbs the desire to mimic the SLDL.
2) Utilize a snatch grip.
3) Shins should be vertical to you the whole time. (Don’t bend your ankle joint at all!!)
4) Unlock your knees – just a little.
5) Slide the bar along your thighs. Keep contact.
6) Your weight should ALWAYS be on your heels. (lift your toes to get the feel)
7) Move the bar down by pushing your bum back as far as it can go.
8) Simultaneously, as you push your bum back, try to place your chin on the wall in front of you. Really work to jut your chin out there.
9) By moving your bum back and your chin forward, lower the bar to your patellar tendon and then stand up.
If you are doing these right, you should attain the feeling that your hamstrings want to pop off the back of your legs. I highly
recommend doing these for the first time with an empty bar. Trust me, it is enough weight to tie up your hammies. If you “feel it” in your lower
back, you are either moving your knee or ankle joints too much and not your hips. You should only be moving your hips, your ankles should be
fixed and even though your knees are unlocked, you should not be moving the ankle joint.
Again, if you feel an “X” forming across your hamstrings and they want to pop off the back of your legs. You are doing this correctly.
you can try this empty handed. Put your hands as fists on your thighs, with knees relaxed. Chin up - butt back - butt back - chin up - butt back - and as you do that your hands will be sliding down your thighs to just past your knees - when you get there - the back of your legs and your butt should feel like a taut bowstring ready to explode. At least those are the queues I use.
Once you are down, the lift part is pretty easy I think - just extend the hip and finish with the glutes as Lisa~ said.
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"Have fun and be determined to finish"-- Jack "UpNorth", 9.
You might want to also check out Dan John's tutorial here starting about 30:00 going to about 35:00 - the jump isn't part of RDL - but the lowering, butt back & tension is all part of RDL as I understand it.
(the whole video is interesting - but I wanted to point to where the RDL position is explained more).
__________________ my training log
"Have fun and be determined to finish"-- Jack "UpNorth", 9.
Here's a little mobility drill that Danny had me do, and I think it's a great way to get the feel for this kind of movement:
Take a broomstick or piece of PVC pipe and hold it against your back with one hand and above your head with the other hand. The stick should touch your tailbone, your thoracic spine and the back of your head. Keep that stick in place as you push your hips back and bend forward as far as you can without losing the arch in your lower back. The stick provides feedback for keeping your back aligned and how things should feel.
__________________
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a trick I like is to stand with your back against a wall, take a short step out, now try to touch your butt to the wall. Then take another step out and do the same, continue until you can barely touch the wall. just make sure to bend your knees slightly and keep the back straight.
I just started with RDLs this last week and it seems the only difference between them and the Stiff leg deads that I was doing is the slight knee bend. Is that correct or am I missing something again.
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It doesn't matter how fast you are moving if you don't know where you're going.
OK, tried this again over the weekend, and feel completely ackward. I watched the video and read and tried all the other hints.
I was still feeling it in my lower back, but it felt like I was "over-arching", because I was feeling it, in my back, even doing Bill's stick maneuver.
Also, I am straighting my legs on the explosive part of the lift, the "f***ing the bar" part. Am I going to fast through that part or is that normal as long as I reset my leg bend before the next rep?
But I do realize now that I am trying to lower the weight more than I should be. I didn't see the "just below the knees" until after the videos.
Critique on Romanian Deadlift form
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