How To: Romanian Deadlift vs Straight Leg Deadlift

The RDL and SLDL are supplemental lifts for the deadlift. They use much of the same muscle mass and close to the same range of motion. So what's the difference?

The RDL starts from the rack at about the height of your mid thigh. You take the bar out of the rack, step back, unlock your knees slightly, and bend at the hips to slide the bar down your legs. The lifter must maintain a rigid back and fixed knees during the entire movement.

The SLDL starts from the floor, with the bar over the middle of the lifter’s feet, just like the deadlift. The “stiff legged” or “straight legged” deadlift is a little bit misleading, as few lifters will be able to deadlift from this position with completely straight legs. To set up for the SLDL, unlock your knees only enough to allow you to set your back. Your goal is to set up with vertical shins.

----------------------------------------------------------------

This is Barbell Logic, where we believe that health and fitness should be approached with simplicity, logic and reason.

We focus on strength, health & longevity. Our goal is to present strength & fitness in a systematic logical progression. This channel aims to be a breath of fresh air in the fitness industry. Our teaching methods and programming for strength are simple, hard and effective.

We will cover topics under the umbrellas of barbell training, conditioning and nutrition. We'll show you that barbell training is for everybody.

Join us for a lifetime of success under the bar. This is the foundation of our journey together.

Get Matched with a Professional Strength Coach today for FREE!

[heatyoass]

Love it. Best video to explain difference with no fluff. Doesn't need to be 15 minutes to explain.

[chiyaogeneshen]

Short and to the point and actually know the difference, too many fake gurus on YouTube

[marym.]

Would love to see a longer side by side video comparing deadlift and stiff legged deadlift. I don’t see a difference! Thanks for the content!

[manuelgarcia]

Awesome! I had lower back soreness during a light-weight straight leg deadlift session. But I usually don't get lower back soreness with mid-heavy Romanian Deadlift.

[majorpuggington]

Short, sweet & to the point. Great video, thanks.

[kirkgolembiewski]

1:24 woah woah we’re doing valium now????

[Sam-kirs]

Love it! Clear explanation and nice points of attention. 🙏🏻

[Typhoon]

Good video, disagree on 5 x 3 though.

[isabellewellman]

Thank you! Super easy to follow and great “whys” to each!

[marianagonzalezeusse]

Really easy to understand, thanks a lot!!

[paulinehosry]

Is it mandatory to lift the bar straight away from the floor after touching the ground while doing many reps? Or can i take few seconds ( thanks )

[danielgarity]

What the…was that a carol baskin reference at the very beginning? 😂

[Gunther-mtbk]

Sooo. One go to the floor. The other stop at the knee.

[limitisillusion]

So it's an rdl is a partial range of motion straight leg deadlift minus half a rep. Seems like a pointless distinction.

[Sienn]

When you were saying the sets and rep ranges, does that mean you recommend using more weight on the RDL and less the SLDL?

[GetUnwoke]

So the RDL is basically a deadlift without a dead stop?

[lokokrz.gaming]

Any reason why my lower back is sore? This my first time doing this stiff dead lift. Did i do it wrong?

[sammyttheg]

Rdl does not need to start from the top

[jhall]

For an SLDL, is the descent slower than for a regular deadlift?

[marym.]

If somebody uses the term ‘deadlift’ that’s the same as stiff legged dead lift? Based on your video I guess I have been trying to do SDLs, not realizing that’s what it was called.