You've been doing Romanian deadlifts religiously for months, following your program, hitting the gym consistently. But your hamstrings still look the same, your glutes aren't changing, and you're starting to wonder if something's wrong with you.
Let's get something out of the way: it's not that Romanian deadlifts don't work. It's that most people are doing them wrong.
At Hideout Fitness in Irvine, we see this all the time. People think they're nailing their RDLs, but they're actually missing the whole point of the exercise. And it's costing them serious gains.
This isn't about being perfect. It's about understanding what actually matters so you can stop spinning your wheels.
Romanian Deadlift Form Mistake #1: You're Rounding Your Back
This is the big one. The mistake that makes us cringe every time we see it.
When you round your back during Romanian deadlifts, you're basically turning one of the best posterior chain exercises into a back injury waiting to happen.
What's really happening:
- Your hamstrings and glutes get almost no work
- Your lower back takes all the stress
- You miss out on the hip hinge pattern that makes RDLs so effective
Most people do this because they're trying to touch the floor or they're using too much weight. Your ego wants to get that bar all the way down, but your body can't handle it.
The fix: Keep your chest up and shoulders back. Think about pushing your hips back, not dropping down. If you can't keep your back straight, you've gone too far.
Romanian Deadlift Mistake #2: You're Squatting Instead of Hinging
Most people turn Romanian deadlifts into some weird squat-deadlift hybrid. If your knees are bending a lot and you're dropping straight down, you're missing the entire point.
Romanian deadlifts are about the hip hinge. That means:
- Your hips move back first, not down
- Your knees stay in the same position throughout
- You should feel it in your hamstrings, not your quads
When you squat instead of hinge, your quads take over and your hamstrings just go along for the ride.
The fix: Practice the movement without any weight. Stand a foot away from a wall, face away from it, and try to touch your butt to the wall while keeping your chest up. That's the movement you want.
Romanian Deadlift Mistake #3: The Bar Drifts Away From Your Body
The bar should stay close to your body throughout the entire movement. And we mean close, like almost scraping your legs.
When the bar drifts forward:
- You lose all your mechanical advantage
- Your lower back has to compensate
- The exercise becomes way harder than it needs to be
The fix: Think about dragging the bar down your legs. You should almost feel it making contact as you lower and raise the weight.
Romanian Deadlift Mistake #4: You're Going Too Low (Or Not Low Enough)
There are two range of motion mistakes we see constantly:
- Going too low: Trying to touch the floor when your body can't handle it. Romanian deadlifts aren't supposed to touch the ground; that's a conventional deadlift.
- Not going low enough: Barely moving through any range of motion because you're scared or unsure.
The right range of motion is wherever you can maintain good form while feeling a stretch in your hamstrings. For most people, that's around mid-shin level.
The fix: Lower the weight only as far as you can while keeping your back straight and feeling your hamstrings stretch. Don't worry about what it looks like. Worry about what it feels like.
Romanian Deadlift Mistake #5: You're Rushing Through the Movement
Romanian deadlifts aren't a race. When you rush through them, you miss out on the eccentric (lowering) part, which is where a lot of the muscle-building happens.
What you should do:
- Take 2-3 seconds to lower the weight
- Pause briefly at the bottom
- Drive through your heels to come back up
The fix: Count in your head as you lower the weight. This forces you to slow down and actually feel the muscles working.
How to Actually Progress Your Romanian Deadlifts
Here's how to get better without messing up your form:
- Start with bodyweight: Master the hip hinge pattern before you add any weight.
- Use dumbbells first: They're more forgiving than a barbell and let you find your groove.
- Add weight slowly: 5-10 pounds at a time, not 20-25.
- Focus on time under tension: Slow down your reps before you add more weight.
- Record yourself: Seriously. Film your sets from the side so you can see what you're actually doing.
Romanian Deadlift Form Checklist
Before every set:
- Feet hip-width apart
- Slight bend in knees (keep it there)
- Chest up, shoulders back
- Bar stays close to your body
- Hinge at hips, don't squat
- Go down until you feel the hamstring stretch
If you can't check all these boxes, either use less weight or work on your mobility.
How Hideout Fitness Fixes Your Romanian Deadlifts
Look, you could keep trying to figure this out on your own. Most people do.
But at Hideout Fitness in Irvine, we've helped hundreds of people finally nail their Romanian deadlift technique. We know exactly what to look for, how to fix it, and how to help you progress without getting hurt.
We're not trying to make Romanian deadlifts more complicated than they need to be. We just want you to do them right so you actually see results.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.jpg)
.png)
.png)
