Romanian deadlift is a basic exercise used to develop the strength of the muscles of the back of the thigh and the gluteus maximus muscles. With the right technique, this effective exercise helps to simultaneously strengthen both the core muscles and the lower body. Unlike other basic exercises on the lower body, which put significant stress on the front of the thigh and knees, Romanian traction focuses most of the physical work on the muscles responsible for hip extension.
The exercise was named after the Romanian weightlifter, Vlad Nicolae, who used this exercise to develop lagging muscles in classical traction.
Consider the main advantages that the Romanian deadlift provides.
A large number of muscles involved
Despite the fact that the exercise is mainly aimed at the growth of muscles in the back of the thigh, buttocks and lower back, the abdominal muscles, which act as a stabilizer, are also included in the process. The combination of many muscles in one movement leads to a greater release of hormones, stimulation of the central nervous system, as well as an increase in the number of calories burned.
Improving results in other basic exercises
The muscle groups involved in performing Romanian traction also work to a large extent in basic exercises. The inclusion of Romanian traction in the training program, in turn, will improve performance in squats and deadlifts.
Focus on the back of the thigh
Often, especially during squats and lunges, quadriceps get most of the load, and the back of the thigh remains underdeveloped. This can cause the so-called muscle imbalance, which, in turn, can lead to rupture of the hamstring. To date, this injury is one of the most common in sports, for this reason it is worth paying attention to all muscle groups.
Romanian Deadlift: Exercise Technique
Consider the algorithm:
- Put your legs a little narrower than the width of your hips, keep your back straight, look forward and bend slowly to take the barbell off the floor (or from the rack). Place your arms approximately shoulder width apart. With a slight bend in the knees and shoulders, laid back, mentally visualize the muscles that you are going to stimulate.
- Slowly lower the bar down while pushing your hips back. Be sure to lower the bar as much as you can, without hurting your back, but also feeling the target muscles stretch. As an indicator, the bar should be lowered at least below your knees.
- Throughout the movement, keep your knees bent, look forward and do not tilt your neck down. At the lowest point of movement, take a strong breath and point your hips forward, while activating your hip joint.
- Repeat this sequence of movements.
The number of repetitions and approaches
How many do you need to do?
- In order to improve muscle endurance, Romanian cravings should be performed in the range of 15 to 20 repetitions in 2-3 approaches.
- When the main goal is muscle strength, it is recommended to do 10 to 12 repetitions in 3-4 approaches.
- If there is an additional task of increasing muscle strength, then 6-8 reps of 4-5 approaches is the best program to use.
Common mistakes when doing the exercise
Consider the main mistakes that athletes make when performing the Romanian deadlift.
1. Full straightening of the legs.
Straightening the legs during the Romanian deadlift will result in less inclusion of the muscles of the back of the thigh, and can also lead to potential injury. To avoid this, make sure that when performing the exercise, the knees are slightly bent, which allows you to perform the full range of motion, while receiving good stretching.
2. Rounding of the back.
Both Romanian traction and regular traction pose a serious risk to the muscles of the lower back, for this reason it should be noted that a slight deflection in the back should be supported in any case. Excessive deflection in the lower back compresses the front discs of the spine: the larger it is, the greater the compression of the discs.
3. Shortened range of motion.
In many exercises, you may not be able to perform the full range of motion, but the target muscles will be tense one way or another. To fully realize the benefits of Romanian traction, the barbell or dumbbell (depending on what is used) should be lowered as low as possible to ensure full hamstring stretching.
To achieve this range of motion, you may need to reduce the current weight you use or develop the hamstring and flexibility of the back with the help of isolating exercises (for example, hyperextension, bending the legs in the simulator lying down).
4. Neck twists.
When doing the exercise, keep your neck in a natural position. Do not turn it to look in the side mirror - there is a high risk of deformation of the cervical spine. You will have enough time to look at yourself after the end of the working approach.
5. The lead is too far from the legs.
You should try to keep your barbell or dumbbells as close to your body as possible to prevent excessive back stress.
6. The use of mixed grip.
The use of the so-called mixed grip increases the load on the tendon of the biceps of the arm, turned outward. In addition, using a mixed grip, you risk injuring your shoulder, forearms and spine. Use in this case a direct grip or special belts.
7. Conducting training of the front and back of the thigh in one day.
Often when trying to combine the training of hamstrings and quadriceps, one of the muscle groups may either remain without proper study, or not be stimulated with the same intensity due to excessive load.
To prevent this, try splitting the two muscle groups into two different sessions and connecting them to a smaller muscle group. Try combining quadriceps and calves or quadriceps and abs on one day, and hamstrings and buttocks or hamstrings and calves on another.
Classical and Romanian deadlift: the difference
Romanian traction is considered a sparing kind of deadlift. Between repetitions, the bar does not have to be returned to the floor, so the exercise does not overload the lower back once again.
The main difference between the classic and Romanian deadlifts are the target muscles. The choice of exercise will depend on your sporting goals.
When performing traditional traction, almost the entire body is switched on, which allows lifting heavier loads than when performing Romanian traction. In classical traction, quadriceps work much more; in Romanian, the main emphasis is on the back of the thigh.
Romanian traction will help improve strength performance, as well as flexibility in the hips and buttocks. If your goal is to lift large weights to increase strength and muscle mass, then classic traction may be the best choice.
Exercise options
Sometimes in gyms you can meet the performance of the Romanian deadlift with dumbbells, but this often leads to a shift in the load: it goes from the lower back to the gluteal muscles, while the difficulty of doing the thrust increases. This exercise is preferable to perform for those who want to work out the gluteal muscles in isolation. Romanian deadlift for girls is mostly done with dumbbells.
You can also do traction with a dumbbell or weight on one leg. This variation of the exercise will help develop coordination, eliminate the imbalance in the development of muscles of the right and left sides of the body.