Strength exercise
Dumbbell Romanian deadlift
A hip hinge holding a dumbbell in each hand. A slow lower builds strength through the hamstrings, glutes, and the muscles along the spine.
Also called: dumbbell RDL, DB RDL
- Type
- Strength
- Equipment
- Band or dumbbells
- Area
- Lower back
- Level
- Advanced
- Starting dose in Remedy
- 3 sets of 10, lowering over 3 seconds
How to do it
- Stand tall holding a dumbbell in each hand in front of your thighs.
- Soften your knees and hinge at the hips, sliding the weights down close to your legs.
- Take about three seconds to lower, keeping your back long.
- When you feel a strong hamstring stretch, usually around mid-shin, drive your hips forward to stand.
Form cues
- Hinge with a long back.
- Lower for 3 seconds, then stand.
- The last two reps should feel hard.
Common mistakes
- Letting the dumbbells drift away from your legs.
- Rounding the back at the bottom to go lower.
Easier and harder versions
- Easier: Banded Romanian deadlift
- Harder: Kettlebell deadlift
Why it helps a sore back
It is one of the main loaded hinges in Remedy’s later weeks for people with dumbbells.
How Remedy uses it
In the app it is called Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift. Remedy is more likely to pick it if you say your back is bothered by bending or lifting or working out. A typical starting dose is 3 sets of 10, lowering over 3 seconds, and the program adjusts reps as the weeks go on. Every exercise in the app has a demonstration video.
General fitness information, not medical advice. Stop any exercise that causes sharp pain, or pain, numbness, or tingling spreading down a leg.
Get a back program you can actually keep
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