What's the difference between a Romanian deadlift and a regular deadlift?

A regular deadlift lifts the bar from the floor with a bent knee start, and it works your legs, back and grip together. A Romanian deadlift (RDL) starts standing with the bar in your hands, pushes your hips back with only a small knee bend, and mostly trains your hamstrings and glutes. You use less weight for the RDL.

How the two lifts differ

Regular deadlift:

• The bar starts on the floor, so each rep begins from a dead stop.
• Your knees bend a lot at the start, so the quads help.
• You lift the heaviest weights of any exercise here.

Romanian deadlift:

• The bar starts at your hips, and you lower it to mid-shin or just below the knee.
• Your knees stay softly bent and mostly still.
• The movement is a hip hinge, so your hamstrings feel a big stretch.
• There's no dead stop. Reps flow with tension on the muscles the whole time.

Which one for what

• Max strength and total body power: regular deadlift.
• Bigger hamstrings and glutes: Romanian deadlift.
• Beginners: learn the RDL first, because the hinge is easier to feel with lighter loads.

Plenty of programs include both. A typical week might have heavy deadlifts once and RDLs on a leg day.

Lifting sessions from Apple Health count in League of Fitness, so a heavy deadlift day and an RDL day both go toward your daily match. Your head-to-head history with opponents also builds up over the weeks you keep turning up.

How to do an RDL

1. Stand with the bar at your thighs, feet hip width apart.
2. Soften your knees and push your hips back as if reaching for a wall behind you.
3. Slide the bar down your legs, keeping it close, until you feel a deep hamstring stretch.
4. Keep your back flat. Stop before it rounds.
5. Squeeze your glutes to stand up.

Start at about 50 to 60 percent of what you'd use for a regular deadlift.

Sharp lower back pain or pain behind the knee is a signal to stop. See a doctor or physical therapist if it doesn't go away.