Stop F*cking Up RDL's (PROPER FORM!)

Do you know how to do an RDL? If not, you're in luck. In this video, I am going to show you exactly how to perform RDL’s so that you can perform the exercise every time without making a single mistake. Remember, it's not just what exercise you do, but how you do them that matters the most and I want to make sure that you get the RDL form right every time you do them.

Step 1 of this RDL guide is using where you grab the bar:

If you take too narrow a grip on the barbell then you are likely going to run out of room for your hands when you lift the bar to the top. You want to avoid taking too wide of a grip however since that is going to make it difficult for you to engage your lats and keep the lift tight and stable from the bottom to the top. The ideal grip width on the RDL is to have your hands just outside your knees so that your biceps are touching them.

Step 2 of this Romanian Deadlift guide is making sure that the lats are kept tight throughout the lift.

Building off of what was just pointed out, you want to make sure that you not only tighten the lats as if you are doing a straight arm pushdown at the start of the movement, but that you keep them that way throughout the entire movement. Tightness of the lats is key to making sure that the bar doesn’t drift out in front of you and cause your form to breakdown. Drifting of the bar too far forward is going to cause unnecessary strain on the low back as we will point out later.

Step 3 of this RDL’s tutorial is using keeping the right cue in mind when lifting the bar up.

Never think of the RDL as a vertical movement if you want to do it right. Instead, think of it as a horizontal movement where the forward motion of the hips from a hinge position is what “lifts” the bar off the ground. If you think vertical, the tendency may be for you to pull too much with the extensors of the lower back rather than properly loading the glutes and hamstrings with a hinge.

Step 4 of this facepull tutorial is the hinge:

Arguably, the most important biomechnical element of a proper RDL is making sure you execute the hip hinge correctly. Here is a visual if you have a hard time knowing what this is supposed to feel like. Take your hands and place them along the inguinal creases that run down the upper portion of your thighs. From here, imagine closing an open drawer behind you using your butt only. This will require that your pinkies fold into the crease and are hidden between the lower abdomen and the upper thigh.

Step 5 of this Barbell RDL how-to is the path of the bar on the way down and up.

If the hinge is performed correctly, you will find that the bar path is nearly vertical straight up and down throughout the lift. If you don’t hinge back enough the bar will naturally want to drift too far forward as mentioned earlier which will cause you to put too much stress on the low back extensor muscles. This will also cause a crooked bar path which will be a dead giveaway to anyone watching you perform the lift from the side.

Step 6 of this RDL how-to is the finish:

Remember what was pointed out before. You must move the bar to the top and finish with your hips in full hip extension. The only way to do this is to think of this as a forward and back exercise rather than an up and down one. The hips must finish fully extended by concentrating on recruiting the glutes to drive them there.

Step 7 of this RDL instructional is to understand how to do dumbbell RDL’s if you prefer using them.

The place that you carry the dumbbells is critical to getting the dumbbell RDL right. You don’t want to carry them out in front of your body. This will, like with the barbell, create too much strain on the lower back. You also don’t want to carry them directly at your sides. This will make the biomechanics of this posterior chain glute and hamstring exercise feel awkward. Instead, you need to angle them at 45 degrees and place your hands on your thighs. Keep them there throughout as you let them ride up and down as you perform the rep.

For more exercise guides and how-to instructionals, be sure to subscribe to this channel here on YouTube and remember to turn on your notifications so that you never miss a new video when it's published.

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[GymGarageMan]

Been following Jeff's tips last few years helping me get in even better shape in my mid 50s!!!

[vancecarlson]

14 months ago I strained my lower back from rdls. I have recovered from it a week later and just now found out how to engage my hamstrings and glutes with this exercise. Thank you Jeff for making this vid. RDLs ain’t nothin to play wit.

[hayden]

This is easily your best series. Full quick dedicated video to one specific lift. Especially the crucial lifts!

[christianpohlenz]

Very helpful.

If you can then pull the drawer open again, you have the perfect sphincter strength.

[Arachne]

I watch this every few months to refresh and make sure I’m not f***ing these up.

[LongSack-jjgs]

1:01 feet placement for balance

1:23 your chest for their acid spine

1:37 glutes to neutralize the spine from below

2:00 hinge properly

3:00 Anterior pelvic tilt when lowering

3:23 roll on your thighs

3:51 how far down to lower

4:30 how to raise from the down position to the up position (you not lifting the bar up)

[BreachSheff]

This has been a godsend, I've been struggling with losing balance during RDL's whilst doing the hip hinge so hoping this will help me solve that

[jsteele]

Never stop being you Jeff. You’re pretty awesome.

[getalonghome]

I love these how-tos. More, please! Thanks, Jeff!

[hirangunn]

Jeff crossed off another one. as always, so easy to follow. thanks for the years of helping ppl

[JanelDuRoss]

Wow, thank you so much for referring to the inguinal crease! I never knew if I was doing the RDL correctly, plus knowing it’s an APT. Thank you Jeff!

[Philippe-yz]

Thank you so much for this video. I struggle with RDL for YEARS. Never understood this exercise in spite of deadlifting +200kg. And FINALLY, i think for the first time of my life, i did sets of RDL, controled and totaly felt in hamstring and without low back fatigue or pain. The pinky cue is amazing... totally worked for me. thank you so much.

[nicholasrosa]

0:59 made me do a double take, I thought he was BONED 💀

[jolenec.]

This helped tremendously! No more strain in my lower back. Would be so appreciative of more how tos please and thank you!!

[ImQuna]

Learning to lift weights and all the different exercises are really difficult alone as it is hard to catch what exactly you are doing wrong. These videos really help so much to correct the mistakes and I can never thank Jeff and Jesse enough for making these free for all! Thank you!

[salvadorlopez]

Jeff still out here reading minds! Thank you brother for the quality videos 🙏

[lourdesmontoya]

This was incredibly helpful. Fairly new to working out with weights and see RDLs but never felt the burn and knew I was doing them right. Had to do a quick search so I don't harm my body. ❤

[shewhrn]

Raising the clavicles was easy... the hip motion was a little more difficult, but the tip to imagine pushing in a drawer with your butt... GOLD! It immediately felt like I was doing it correctly. I'm a cyclist and a newbie to weights. Resistance training using 4 to 6 reps is something that Dylan Johnson preaches (it doesn't have to be to volitional failure, but your legs should feel hamburgered after 3 sets... in cyclists, the benefit isn't so much the building of muscle as it is the neuromuscular training that happens to improve the coordination of muscle engagement as resistance training teaches you to be more efficient by improving the coordination and engagement of other muscle fibers, which generalizes to the pedal stroke). Some other advice Dylan gives, which was really critical to being able to follow your advice: Newbs should start out doing 20 to 25 reps with low weight. This also turned out to be a golden nugget of advice as that repetition gave me many opportunities to focus on form. Going straight to a lot of weight would have been too distracting (and I almost certainly would have hurt myself).

[dwaynemadsen]

Great instruction AND a Jesse cameo? This just gets better and better! Thank you for sharing and stay safe.