King of the Hinge — RDL

There are many thoughts and opinions on the “King of Exercises” in the sports performance world which can cause quite the debate. So I have decided to narrow my category down to the hinge and my absolute favorite exercise — the RDL (Romanian Deadlift).

The RDL is a major posterior chain exercise that primarily targets the lower back, glutes, hamstrings, and calves as well as secondary activation of quadriceps, core, adductors, traps, and more. We see a lot of underdeveloped posterior chains in our 6th -12th grade developmental programs. Athletes want to run faster and be more explosive in competition, yet neglect the muscles that make the motor go.

While max-effort sprints and jumps are highly important to speed and power development, we must train and strengthen the body to meet those high-force demands. The RDL can be a prime exercise selection in this process that will not only strengthen the athlete but provide a hinge technique, that when taught correctly, can pave the way for greater development in many other exercises.

The key point here — when taught correctly. This exercise can go sideways really quick, especially with our younger athletes who are still working through coordination and proprioception factors. This will take time and needs to take time or it can do much more harm than good. We have all seen the knees locked, almost hyper-extended, or the “pooping dog” curve in the upper back. This exercise will require patience and repetition that is appropriately progressed. One of the best in the business, Dylan Stubbe, lays out our progression and cues at Performance Course below.

The hinge progression (Top of the Knee, Below the Knee, Mid-Shin) slows down the movement into three positions which allows the coach more time to see faults and in which phase of the movement they occur.

Some athletes struggle in the beginning to unlock the knees or initiate the hips backward. Others handle phase one easily while struggling once the barbell passes over the knee cap. This progression will provide each athlete the opportunity to notice and work through those faults along with the coach.

Once an athlete has a solid foundation in this hinge pattern, you can get more creative in the implementation. For me, the RDL is a core movement in all of our programs. The control that an athlete must have to move the weight through the eccentric phase and then redirect through the concentric without a bounce or cheat is hard to compare to in other lifts.

Many coaches will add the RDL as an accessory lift in the back half of the program with increased volume. I like to keep it in the front half as a core movement that we can load up the intensity at a lower rep range. This tends to offset the soreness many athletes feel when the exercise is placed as an accessory with high volume. The higher intensities also strengthen many of the muscles of the lower and upper back to maintain a straight spine through the movement.

There are also many different variations you can implement once an athlete has a solid foundation built for a hinge off of the standard RDL. There are staggered and single leg variations with a dumbbell, barbell, or landmine set up.

There are no “perfect” exercises, but man does the RDL come close! The hinge movement pattern is a must for athletic development and the RDL, when progressed and taught correctly, can pave the way for major growth in athletic performance both in the weight room and on the field/court. Start placing more emphasis on the RDL in your program to train and develop the GO muscles that are required to perform in any and every sport!