Band Resisted Romanian Deadlift

Band Resisted Romanian Deadlift Exercise

The band resisted Romanian deadlift exercise strengthens the musculature of the posterior chain (glutes and hamstrings), hips, and core. Heavier band resisted deadlifts also strengthen the muscles of the lower, mid and upper back, scapula stabilizers, upper arms, and forearms.

The band resisted Romanian deadlifts is a great exercise for women who are looking to master the hip hinge so they can perform more advanced deadlifts variations. The Band Resisted Romanian Deadlift (RDL) is also a fantastic deadlift variation for anyone who has a hard time keeping their lats tight and stiff, and their shoulder blades back and down while they perform deadlifts, and it is also great for grip strength. This band resisted exercise is also very convenient as it requires minimal equipment and can be done anywhere, anytime.

Equipment needed:

You need a resistance band to perform this exercise.

Ability level:

Beginner

Beginners should start out by mastering the hip hinge movement. This can be done with a broomstick or wooden dowel. You have two options. One is to position the broomstick so it’s touching your tailbone, upper back, and head, and to perform Romanian deadlifts. The second is to hold the broomstick like you would a regular barbell, and perform Romanian deadlifts. With this variation, the broomstick should travel up and down your legs and along your body the entire time. With both of these variations, if you are hinging your hips properly, the dowel will not leave the points of contact on your body. Once you have mastered this, you can add in band resistance, but start with low tension.

Intermediate

Women of an intermediate fitness level can perform band resisted deadlifts with a much heavier resistance. If a full body workout is being performed, this deadlift variation for women can be paired with some type of pushing or pulling movement, but don’t pair it with any exercise that will compromise grip strength, or one that will fatigue the core muscles. This deadlift variation may also be used as part of a conditioning circuit, or as a way to warm the body up before lifters perform heavier deadlifts with dumbbells, kettlebells, or a barbell. Intermediate lifters might perform 2-4 sets of 6-12 reps of the band resisted Romanian deadlift. Lifters can also perform negative reps and really focus on the eccentric component.

Advanced

Women of an advanced fitness level can perform the band resisted Romanian deadlifts the same way as described for intermediate lifters.

Benefits of Band Resisted Romanian Deadlifts:

Band resisted Romanian deadlifts provide many benefits. How a woman chooses to use this deadlift variation is highly dependent on her overall technical ability and experience, how much weight is being used, the set/rep scheme used, where it falls in the workout, what it’s paired with, and what the rest periods are. In general band resisted Romanian deadlifts can be used to do any or all of the following:

• teaching women how to master the hip hinging movement
• increasing lower body strength, primarily in the hamstrings and glutes
• increasing upper body strength in the lats, traps, upper arms and forearm
•  increasing core strength in the erectors, scapula stabilizers, and the anterior core
• building muscle, especially in the hamstrings and glutes
• increasing speed and power, which will be beneficial to running, jumping, and other sports specific movements
• increasing performance in the weight room
• increasing athleticism and sports specific performance
• increasing your ability to perform daily tasks
• fat loss (if your diet and exercise routines are conducive to fat loss)
• conditioning (if used as part of conditioning circuits)
• increasing flexibility
• convenient as they required minimal equipment

How to perform a Band Resisted Romanian Deadlift:

• Place a resistance band so it is under your mid foot, and stand on it. Grab onto the band with both hands. The band should be in line with the side of your legs.
• Set your feet so they are about hip width apart and facing straight ahead, and keep a slight bend in your knees. About a 15-20 degree angle is optimal.
• Before you go, take a deep breath into your belly (360 degrees of air around your spine), brace your core (I like to pretend that I am about to block a soccer ball with my stomach), and lightly tuck your rib cage towards your hips (close the space in your midsection).
• Now push/hinge your hips backwards as far as you can (while maintaining a neutral spine and not bending at the waist or rounding the upper back).
• You can pretend that a rope is attached around your hips and is pulling you backwards, or pretend that you are trying to reach back with your glutes and touch a wall that is behind you. You should feel tension in your hamstrings the entire time. It is crucial that you maintain a neutral spine at all times.
• Once you feel a mild stretch in your hamstrings, return to the starting position by driving through the mid-back of your feet (but keep your toes down) and pressing your body away from the floor, squeezing your hamstrings and glutes, and pushing your hips forward. Even if you don’t feel a stretch in your hamstrings, if you feel your spine rounding, this is a sign that you have gone too low. With this (and many exercises), lower doesn’t always mean better.
• As you return to the starting position, lock out by squeezing your glutes, extend your knees by squeezing your quads and hamstrings, brace your core, and actively tuck your rib cage towards your hips (close the space in your midsection).
• Create tension in your upper body by squeezing your upper arms into your arm sides. You can even pretend that you are crushing something in your armpits. Also, bring your shoulder blades together and down and pretend that you are tucking each one in the opposite back pocket of your pants. This is what you will be required to do when you are performing any loaded deadlift variation.
• Keep your chest up for the entire lift but do not over arch your back. You can pretend that you are showing the logo on your shirt to a person who is standing in front of you.
• Keep your chin tucked and neck in neutral alignment. Many lifters make the mistake of looking up.
• Reset, and repeat.
• When you deadlift, wear flat shoes, or bare feet