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Elevated Platform Barbell Romanian Deadlift being performed with proper form
Elevated Platform Barbell Romanian Deadlift demonstration video — proper form for the full movement.

How to do an Elevated Platform Barbell Romanian Deadlift

Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology

About this exercise

Sets Logged
20,293
Popularity Rank
735th
Difficulty
Advanced
Hamstrings Strength
79 mSCORE 57th
Equipment Required

Workouts with Elevated Platform Barbell Romanian Deadlift

    Target muscles worked

    Primary Muscles
    Hamstrings
    Secondary Muscles
    Lower Back, Back, Glutes

    Instructions for Proper Form

    By elevating the platform, this variation of the Romanian Deadlift (RDL) significantly increases the range of motion, targeting the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back with enhanced intensity. The elevated position promotes a deeper stretch and greater muscle activation, making it a powerful exercise for improving posterior chain strength and flexibility.

    1. Position the platform on the ground.
    2. Stand on the platform with your feet shoulder-width apart.
    3. Position your hands on the barbell so they are wider than your shoulders and grasp the barbell with an overhand grip.
    4. Engage your core, straighten your back, and keep your chest up to maintain proper form.
    5. Hinge your hips back and fold forward to lower the barbell until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
    6. Hold this position for a moment.
    7. Raise yourself back to standing by engaging your glutes and hamstrings to drive your hips forward.

    Weight & 1 Rep Max Calculator

    Average Elevated Platform Barbell 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.

    • beginner
      8
      reps
      45
      lbs
      1 Rep Max
      55
      lbs
    • intermediate
      8
      reps
      60
      lbs
      75
      lbs
    • advanced
      8
      reps
      75
      lbs
      95
      lbs

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    Alternatives & Variations to Elevated Platform Barbell Romanian Deadlift

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    1. 1. Romanian Deadlift

      Photo of Romanian Deadlift being performed
      98.6 mSCORESWAPPED 402 TIMES

      Romanian 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.

    2. 2. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

      Photo of Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift being performed
      97.6 mSCORESWAPPED 368 TIMES

      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.

    3. 3. Deadlift

      Photo of Deadlift being performed
      98.7 mSCORESWAPPED 184 TIMES

      Deadlift 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.

    4. 4. Seated Leg Curl

      Photo of Seated Leg Curl being performed
      98.8 mSCORESWAPPED 154 TIMES

      Seated 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.

    5. 5. Smith Machine Stiff-Legged Deadlift

      Photo of Smith Machine Stiff-Legged Deadlift being performed
      84.6 mSCORESWAPPED 106 TIMES

      Smith 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.

    6. 6. Lying Hamstrings Curl

      Photo of Lying Hamstrings Curl being performed
      95.8 mSCORESWAPPED 102 TIMES

      Lying 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.

    7. 7. Single Leg Romanian Deadlift

      Photo of Single Leg Romanian Deadlift being performed
      80.8 mSCORESWAPPED 77 TIMES

      Single 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.

    8. 8. Kettlebell Sumo Squat

      Photo of Kettlebell Sumo Squat being performed
      87.3 mSCORESWAPPED 74 TIMES

      Kettlebell 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.

    9. 9. Good Morning

      Photo of Good Morning being performed
      90.4 mSCORESWAPPED 67 TIMES

      Good 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.

    10. 10. Sumo Deadlift

      Photo of Sumo Deadlift being performed
      88.9 mSCORESWAPPED 67 TIMES

      Sumo Deadlift is a variation on the more standard Deadlift. Like other Deadlifts, this is a compound exercise that primarily targets muscles in the rear chain (backside of the body), and especially hamstrings and glutes. While this exercise receives some criticism, it’s a perfectly valid choice for building strength, and a great addition to your leg days.