Liftworthy
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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/Glutes

Romanian Deadlift

Also called RDL

BarbellCompoundTakes some practice
Front
Back
Primary Secondary

Works

Hamstrings, Glutes

Also lower back, forearms

You need

Barbell

How to do itPictures · 3 steps
1Start
2Bottom
Main musclesAlso working
  1. 1Soft knees, push your hips back
  2. 2Bar slides down your thighs
  3. 3Stop when the hamstrings are stretched, back flat

Most common mistake

Bending the knees so much it becomes a deadlift.

Watch a demo

Good for

  • Ranked #3 for glutes
  • Loads the muscle while it’s stretched
  • Easy to keep adding weight

Compare with

vs Dumbbell Romanian Deadliftvs Stiff-Leg Deadliftvs Hip Thrust Machine
A
For soccer
#8 of 25
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Research
75
Scored by hand
Results
Soon
From the app
How lifters rate itBe the first
S
A
B
C
D
F
Why research scores it 75
TransferStrong
Injury protectionStrong
PracticalityStrong

Heavy hamstring and hip strength for sprinting, with a hinge that’s quick to learn.

Research behind these criteria

  • Transfer: Seitz et al., 2014 · Markovic, 2007 · Blagrove et al., 2018 · Rønnestad & Mujika, 2014
  • Injury protection: Lauersen et al., 2014 · van Dyk et al., 2019 · Harøy et al., 2019 · Webster & Hewett, 2018
How scores work

Machine taken? Swap to

  • SCopenhagen PlankBodyweight
  • SNordic CurlBodyweight
  • SBulgarian Split SquatDumbbell
  • ATrap Bar DeadliftBarbell

Takes

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needed to post
280