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Liftworthy

Every exercise ranked by research, by lifters and by results. Find what’s S-tier for your goal, then train it.

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Explore/Hamstrings

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Also called Dumbbell RDL

DumbbellCompoundEasy to learn
Front
Back
Primary Secondary

Works

Hamstrings

Also glutes, lower back

You need

Dumbbells

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
1Start
2Bottom
Main musclesAlso working
  1. 1Dumbbells in front of your thighs
  2. 2Push your hips back as the dumbbells slide down your legs
  3. 3Stop at a deep hamstring stretch

Most common mistake

Squatting the weight down instead of hinging.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Top 10 for hamstrings
  • Loads the muscle while it’s stretched

Compare with

vs Romanian Deadliftvs B-Stance Romanian Deadliftvs Stiff-Leg Deadlift
A
For hamstrings
#5 of 18
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Research
81
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 81
Target tensionStrong
Loaded stretchExcellent
ProgressionStrong
Low costStrong

The same deep hamstring stretch with dumbbells: less tiring than the barbell version, though the weight jumps are bigger.

Research behind these criteria

  • Target tension: Zabaleta-Korta et al., 2021 · Kinoshita et al., 2023
  • Loaded stretch: Maeo et al., 2021 · Maeo et al., 2023 · Pedrosa et al., 2022 · Kassiano et al., 2023
  • Progression: Plotkin et al., 2022 · Pelland et al., 2026
  • Low cost: Schoenfeld et al., 2021 · Refalo et al., 2023
How scores work

Machine taken? Swap to

  • SSeated Leg CurlMachine
  • SStanding Leg CurlMachine
  • ALying Leg CurlMachine
  • AB-Stance Romanian DeadliftDumbbell

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