Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing your thighs. Keep your back straight, engage your core, and slightly bend your knees. Hinge at your hips, pushing them back as you lower the dumbbells towards the ground. Keep your chest up and your gaze forward. Lower the dumbbells until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings. Pause for a moment, then use your hamstrings and glutes to raise your body back up to the starting position. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

How to perform the Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift using your dumbbell.
  2. Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your hamstrings.
  3. Reset. Reverse the movement under control and reset between repetitions, keeping your form crisp on every rep.

Coaching cues

  • Move with intent — every rep should feel deliberate, not rushed.
  • Drive force through your hamstrings rather than momentum.
  • Keep your breathing steady: exhale on the hard part, inhale on the reset.

Common mistakes

  • Using too much weight and losing positional control.
  • Cutting the range of motion short and missing the target muscle.
  • Letting your spine round or hyperextend instead of staying neutral.

Detailed cues, common mistakes, and demonstration video are available in the Fitly app.

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Variations of Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

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