For glute growth
For glute growth, deficit reverse lunge and Romanian deadlift score the same.
Deficit reverse lunge is easier on the joints; Romanian deadlift is easier to progress.
Both are good choices, and they train the glutes differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed. (Fonseca et al., 2014; Costa et al., 2021)
The research score comes from these, scored by hand from the studies. Lifter scores appear once an exercise has 10 ratings. How scores work
Deficit Reverse Lunge. The deficit lets you sink lower, stretching the glute of the front leg under load.
Romanian Deadlift. Loads the glutes and hamstrings at the bottom of the hinge, where both are stretched. Heavy sets tax the lower back.
For glute growth, deficit reverse lunge and Romanian deadlift score the same. Deficit reverse lunge is easier on the joints; Romanian deadlift is easier to progress. Both are good choices, and they train the glutes differently. Using both across your week covers more of the muscle than either alone: in studies, varied exercises grew parts of a muscle that one exercise missed.
Deficit reverse lunge is easier: it’s easy to learn, while Romanian deadlift takes some practice.
Deficit reverse lunge needs dumbbells and a weight plate, so a home gym covers it. Romanian deadlift needs a barbell, so for most people it’s a gym exercise.
Deficit reverse lunge: it rates Strong for joint and recovery cost in our research rubric, against Good for Romanian deadlift.