Strength

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Hold the dumbbells in front of your thighs, keep a slight bend in your knees, move your hips back as the dumbbells travel close to your legs, then tighten your glutes to stand tall.

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Practice moving your hips back and standing tall with dumbbells to work your glutes and the backs of your thighs.

Get ready

  1. Set one dumbbell securely outside each foot and confirm that the handles and ends are not loose.
  2. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, bend your hips and knees while keeping your back steady, grip both dumbbells, and press through your feet to stand with the dumbbells in front of your thighs.
  3. Keep a slight bend in your knees and gently brace your abdomen while breathing. Keep your shoulders away from your ears.

How to do it

  1. Inhale and brace your abdomen, move your hips back and tip your upper body forward. Keep the dumbbells close to your thighs and lower legs as you lower, with your back steady.
  2. Stop at a clear but comfortable stretch behind the thighs, or before your back position changes. Exhale, press through your feet and tighten your glutes to stand, completing one repetition; do not hold your breath throughout the set.

Finish the movement

  1. After the final repetition, bend your hips and knees while keeping your back steady and lower both dumbbells beside your feet with control; do not drop them.

Rest

Rest about 60 seconds between sets, or about 120 seconds between sets of these exercises when the session includes both a deadlift and an unsupported bent-over row. Take longer if needed.

Make it easier

  • Use lighter dumbbells; lower only to around knee level; you may first practice without weights: keep knees slightly bent, move your hips back, then stand upright.

Make it harder

  • Optional: Increase the weight slightly only while the movement stays controlled and, after the set, you are still confident you could complete at least 2 more repetitions with the same controlled form.
  • Optional: Take about 3 seconds to lower.
  • Optional: Pause briefly at your lowest stable position.

Common mistakes

  • Turning the movement into a squat with excessive knee bend; letting the dumbbells drift away from the legs; rounding the back; pushing the hips and lower back too far forward at the top.

When to stop or adjust

  • Sharp or worsening pain in the lower back, hips, or back of the thighs; grip that cannot safely control the dumbbells; inability to keep the dumbbells close or the spine steady.