How to do a Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology
About Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
Workouts with Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
Target muscles worked
Instructions for Proper Form
This exercise is a variation on Romanian Deadlifts. Like other Romanian Deadlifts, this is a compound exercise that primarily targets your hamstrings and glutes. The use of dumbbells can help with some limitations in mobility, and is a great starting point for anyone working towards performing Deadlifts or Romanian Deadlifts with a barbell.
- Stand upright with your feet shoulder width apart while holding a pair of dumbbells next to your hips.
- Push your hips back while keeping your knees slightly bent as you lower the dumbbells to the ground. The dumbbells should fall aligned with your feet throughout the movement.
- Continue lowering the dumbbells to the ground bringing your hips back as far as you can while keeping your back straight throughout the movement.
- Return to the starting upright position, stand tall and repeat.
Fitbod workout plans
Take the guesswork out of training.
Follow a personalized plan that adapts as you get stronger.
Generate My PlanCommon Form Mistakes
Going too Low
While your knees are going to bend a bit as you drop your hips back, limit your range of motion to as low as your hip hinge allows. Hamstring flexibility is the deciding factor in how low you should go.
Rounding Your Back
Rounding your back will allow you to reach closer to the floor, but also increases your risk of injury, and reduces the effectiveness of this exercise. Focus on keeping your shoulders back, and your lower back braced to support your spine. Hamstring flexibility is the deciding factor in how low you can go.
Weight & 1 Rep Max Calculator
Average Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift standards by male, female, weight, age and height
Use this calculator to see Fitbod's possible first recommendations for you. This would be your starting line, based on more than 4.5 billion logged sets from 1.1 million users.
- beginner8reps20lbs1 Rep Max25lbs
- intermediate8reps30lbs40lbs
- advanced8reps35lbs45lbs
Enter your stats to calculate your Reps & Weight
Alternative Exercises to Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
1. Romanian Deadlift
98.6 mSCORESWAPPED 12,701 TIMESRomanian Deadlift is a variation on the more standard Deadlift. It’s a compound exercise that primarily targets your glutes, and hamstrings. Unlike the standard Deadlift, this variation focuses mostly on driving your hips forward to raise the weight, and restricts movement in your knees. This is a great exercise for building strength, and can translate well to other exercises that utilize a hip hinge.
- Intermediate
- Hamstrings
- Barbells
2. Seated Leg Curl
98.8 mSCORESWAPPED 12,025 TIMESSeated Leg Curl is a weighted, isolation exercise that targets the hamstrings. Because a vast majority of lower body exercises tend to be compound movements, this exercise is a great way to isolate the hamstrings for building muscle mass, and developing strength. The use of a machine restricts your range of motion, and adds stability, allowing you to focus on exertion more than stabilizing the movement.
- Beginner
- Hamstrings
- Leg Curl Machine
3. Deadlift
98.7 mSCORESWAPPED 7,218 TIMESDeadlift is one of the three powerlifting movements. It’s a compound exercise that primarily targets muscles in the rear chain (backside of the body), and is great for developing strength in these muscles. It’s a staple in most programs, and is often used as a metric for tracking strength.
- Intermediate
- Hamstrings
- Barbells
4. Lying Hamstrings Curl
95.8 mSCORESWAPPED 6,682 TIMESLying Hamstring Curl is a weighted, isolation exercise that targets the hamstrings. There’s a relatively short list of isolation exercises for lower body muscle groups. Because of this, this is a great addition to a lower body workout in order to build strength and muscle mass in the hamstrings specifically. The use of a machine restricts your range of motion, and adds stability to the movement, allowing you to focus on exertion rather than stabilizing the movement.
- Beginner
- Hamstrings
- Leg Curl Machine
5. Smith Machine Stiff-Legged Deadlift
84.6 mSCORESWAPPED 4,468 TIMESSmith Machine Stiff-Legged Deadlift is a variation on the more standard Romanian Deadlift. Like other Romanian Deadlift variations, this is a compound movement that primarily targets the glutes and hamstrings. The use of a Smith Machine restricts your range of motion, and adds stability to the movement. This allows you to focus on exertion, or learning the movement rather than focusing on stability.
- Beginner
- Hamstrings
- Smith Machine
6. Single Leg Romanian Deadlift
80.8 mSCORESWAPPED 3,485 TIMESSingle Leg Romanian Deadlift is a variation on the more standard Romanian Deadlift. Like other Romanian Deadlift variations, this is a compound movement that primarily targets the glutes and hamstrings. Performing this exercise on one leg, is a great way to identify, and help address, discrepancies in mobility, strength, and stability between sides. This is a great exercise for anyone looking to improve their ability to perform a large number of other compound lower body movements like Squats, Lunges, or even Olympic lifts.
- Intermediate
- Hamstrings
- Dumbbells
7. Kettlebell Sumo Squat
87.3 mSCORESWAPPED 3,305 TIMESKettlebell Sumo Squat is a squat variation. Like other squat variations, this exercise is a compound movement that targets the hamstrings, glutes and quads. Positioning your feet wider than you would for a standard squat helps to recruit the inner thigh, as well as help individuals with mobility limitations.
- Intermediate
- Hamstrings
- Kettlebells
8. Kettlebell Swing
87.3 mSCORESWAPPED 2,669 TIMESKettlebell Swing is a compound, explosive movement that primarily targets the hamstrings and glutes. This is a great exercise for improving power and explosiveness. It's especially helpful in developing glute drive which can help improve a number of different exercises, and sport performance.
- Intermediate
- Hamstrings
- Kettlebells
9. Dumbbell Good Morning
63.8 mSCORESWAPPED 1,905 TIMESThe Dumbbell Good Morning is a strength exercise that focuses on the posterior chain, including the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. Holding a dumbbell at chest level or placing two dumbbells on the shoulders, you hinge at the hips and lean forward with a straight back, then return to the starting position. This movement emphasizes hip mobility and back strength, improving posture and stability. It's a versatile exercise suitable for all fitness levels, offering a low-impact alternative to enhance lower back and hamstring flexibility and strength.
- Beginner
- Hamstrings
- Dumbbells
10. Good Morning
90.4 mSCORESWAPPED 1,675 TIMESGood Morning’s are a compound exercise that primarily target muscles in the rear chain (backside of the body), but especially the hamstrings, and lower back. While this can be an effective exercise, there is some risk to performing this exercise with a loaded barbell on your back. If you’re unfamiliar with this exercise, try starting with a dumbbell variation as you learn the movement.
- Intermediate
- Hamstrings
- Barbells
- Squat Rack