Why You Feel RDLs in Your Lower Back | Form Fix, by The Movement System on YouTube. 1 min 1 s.
- Video length
- 1 min 1 s
- Time to do it
- 10 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 7
What you need
Steps
Stand with feet hip-width apart, the bar over your midfoot or dumbbells in front of your thighs. your knees slightly and keep that bend fixed for every rep.
Take a breath into your belly, brace your core and set your spine neutral. Keep the bar or weights close to your legs the whole time.
Push your hips straight back, not down. Your torso tips forward as the weight slides down your thighs. Picture closing a car door behind you with your butt.
Keep your knees in place. Do not push hips and knees back together. Your shins should stay vertical or lean slightly forward over your toes.
Stop lowering when you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, usually around mid-shin. Keep your back flat and do not let it round to go lower.
Stand up by driving your hips forward, not by pulling with your lower back. Squeeze your glutes at the top and stay tall without leaning back.
Film one set from the side. Check that your shins stay near vertical and the weight stays close to your legs, then adjust your hinge on the next set.
Tips and common mistakes
A stretch or tingling behind the knee is usually nerve tension, not your hamstrings working, so reset and keep the shins vertical.
Practice the hinge with a dowel held against your back: it should touch your head, upper back and tailbone the whole time.
Start with an empty bar or light dumbbells and add weight in small jumps only when the pattern stays clean.
Use a spotter or rack pins when you go heavy, and stop the set if you feel sharp lower back pain rather than muscle work.
Questions
Why do I feel Romanian deadlifts in my lower back?
Usually because your hips and knees travel back together, so your lower back takes over the lift. Keep the shins vertical, push the hips back and keep the weight close to your legs.
How heavy should I go?
Start with an empty bar or light dumbbells. Add weight only when you can hold a flat back and vertical shins for every rep of the set.
How low should the bar go?
As low as your hamstring flexibility allows with a flat back, often around mid-shin. Going lower by rounding your back defeats the point of the exercise.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
