Romainian Deadlift form

[maxattack]

Is there a difference between a "Straight leg Deadlift" and a "Romainian Deadlift". I guess I never really thought about it before until I tried really focusing on my form the other day.

For the Romainian Deadlift I always keep my back arched, legs straight and tried to push my butt as far back as a could when lowering the weight to my fartherest depth....really feeling a stretch in my hamstrings.

I was watching some others, as well as a couple of vids on the internet, that showed a RDL as more of a bent-legged DL that more or less raised the weight using more of a "good-morning" approach.

I just never new if there was a difference between the two, or if one was better than the other?

[karky]

with the RDL you are suppose to bend your knees slightly.

[jvernacchio]

Read the article and watch the videos it should answer all your questions about the Romanian Dead Lift.

TESTOSTERONE NATION - BONUS ARTICLE: Perfecting the Romanian Deadlift

[rachael24]

Good post Jvern...that pretty much explains everything

[StuWard]

I usually refer people to this version: Barbell Straight-back Stiff-leg Deadlift

The key is a straight back. The knee can bend slightly.

Here if Fred Hatfield's description on how to do it:

"STIFF LEGGED DEADLIFTS
A lot of bodybuilders use stiff legged deadlifts to exercise their lower back. Because your lower back is more efficiently and effectively developed with back extensions, there is no need to do any other exercise for your lower back, and ESPECIALLY not stiff legged deadlifts!

Stiff legged deadlifts are particularly effective for developing your hamstrings (the back of your upper legs).
The traditional way of performing this exercise is to lower the weighted bar all the way down to your bootstraps while standing on a platform or bench with stiff legs (or knees slightly bent). In this way, it's believed, you'll get maximum effect on your hams. This may be true to a degree, but you're also going to unnecessarily expose your lumbar spine to injury. Those intervertebral discs down there come loose all too easily!

I believe that I've developed a better way. With barbell in hand, poke both your butt and belly outward. In this position, you look kinda like one of the "Keystone Cops" you see in the 1920s movies. This variation of stiff legged deadlifts has thus become known as "Keystone Deadlifts."

This seemingly strange position will prestretch your hamstrings because of the forward tilt of your pelvis the position entails. Then, while maintaining this position, slowly lower the barbell to around your knees, keeping the bar close to your legs during the descent and ascent.

You must NOT go more than an inch or two below your knees. By the time you reach your (slightly unlocked) knees, your hip joints have fully flexed, and further lowering of the bar is accomplished ONLY through hyperflexion of your spine -- a NO-NO!

You will feel a decided "burn" in your hams and glutes when keystones are done correctly. You should feel virtually no discomfort or stress in your lower back. If you do, experiment with the movement until you feel no discomfort at all.

The nice thing about doing stiff legged deadlifts this way is that you can use a far heavier weight, thereby getting better adaptive stress applied to the target muscles. All without any low back trauma at all!

One more important caution: NEVER do this exercise explosively! You'll risk pulling a hamstring or blowing out a lumbar disc. Bodybuilders are well-advised to steer clear of heavy deadlifting movements, as they are potentially dangerous to the lower spine."

[maxattack]

alright, thanks for the info. I was just a little confused if both were the same actual lift, just called a differnetly by some peopel. The T-nation link is great JV, thanks.....I had never seen that article before.

[Mon]

I have never figured out the difference between a RDL or stiff legged deadlift either. Bent Over Row and Rear Delt Row I was able to figure out. The animations for rdl and stiff leg deadlift look exactly the same over at exrx

[StuWard]

Originally Posted by Mon

... The animations for rdl and stiff leg deadlift look exactly the same over at exrx

They are exactly the same. Just 2 different names for the same exercise, 3 names if you count Fred Hatfield's name for them, "keystone deadlifts".

By the way, if you look closely at the animation at exrx for the rdl, the guy goes too low and his lower back starts to round. exrx is going through their library and fixing stuff like that but it's a big job considering it's run by part timers.

[Mon]

oh ok

[MAXX]

Actually, there are some differences in the way these lifts can be performed. Read this thread and the articles within to see the differences:

Stiff-Leg Deadlift

[StuWard]

They way the stiff legged deadlift was done in that article is nothing like what I was talking about. If you look at the exrx link the back is arched, the knees are unlocked and the barbell is lowered until the hamstring start to sretch, just like the rdl. The article actually called it a straight-legged deadlift, not stiff legged. Further down that thread there was discussion on the difference between a straight back deadlift and an RDL and there was a suggestion of unlocked knees vs slightly bent knees. I don't see this as a difference. As long as the back is not rounded and the knees are not locked you can call it a "straight back, stiff legged deadlift" or a "Romanian Deadlift".