Perhaps in each and every gym out there on the planet, you will see people exercising on the deadlift. This exercise can be extremely beneficial for your muscles and posterior chain, allowing for those muscles to develop and grow.
There are multiple deadlift variations out there to choose from, and all of them can help your body a lot if you invest enough time and effort. But now it’s time to speak about the Romanian deadlift, which is abbreviated as RDL.
Using a Smith Machine can allow you to isolate certain areas of your body. Taking advantage of such a machine is the right way to go if you wish to build muscle.
How to do the RDL
Doing the Romanian deadlift can be a bit difficult at first, but the more you practice it, the more your body will try to adapt. It’s an unwritten law of nature.
- Position yourself near and in front of the Smith Machine with the bar set positioned roughly hip height and your feet approximately hip-width apart.
- Grap the barbell using an overhand grip while your hands are about a shoulder-width apart.
- LLift the barbell up and out of the pins.
- Roll your shoulders down and back so that your back remains flat. You will have to maintain this position throughout.
- Make a slight bend in your knees as you will start to hinge at your keeps while you keep your core tight and chest tall. You don’t have to bend your knees anymore as long as you hinge.
- Through the path, you should keep the bar close to your legs.
- When the bar reaches roughly mid-shin, you need to press through the heels to start standing back up.
- You must continue to keep your back flat while you push the hips forward to end in the starting position.
Incorporating Romanian deadlifts (RDL) into your regular workout schedule is something pretty much anybody can do, whether they’re powerlifters or not.
If you’re a beginner when it comes to this exercise, you should focus on nailing down the hip hinge. This means to bend at the hips to position your butt back with your spine straight.
Another good idea is to practice the hinge by using a light barbell or even a dumbbell. You can further do single-leg Romanian deadlifts by not using any weights. In this way, you can strengthen both sides of the body. Only after that, you can incorporate the Romanian deadlift by using a heavy barbell.
Romanian deadlifts or simple deadlifts?
You may wonder what’s the difference between Romanian deadlifts and classical deadlifts. Well, there’s more than just one, but one of the most important differences is where you begin with the weight. In case of RDLs, you begin by holding the weight at your hips. Also, the Romanian deadlift can be performed with only a little bend in the knees, which is not the case for the usual deadlifts.
The spine should remain neutral
When and it you decide to perform the Romanian deadlift, you should focus on your gaze roughly two feet in front of you during the entire movement. Romanian deadlifts are also called stiff-leg deadlifts and for a good reason. The torso and shoulders need to lower, while they will have to further rise at the same time with the barbell. In this way, the shoulders will be prevented from rounding forward.
Exercising regularly is one of the best ways for us to remain healthy throughout our lives, along with eating healthy and getting enough sleep at night. All doctors recommend these habits, which means that they should know something.
