How to do the Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
Step by step
- Stand tall holding a dumbbell in each hand in front of your thighs, knees softly bent.
- Push your hips straight back and let the dumbbells slide down the front of your legs.
- Keep your back flat and the weights close as your hamstrings stretch and load.
- Stop around knee height when you feel a strong hamstring stretch.
- Drive your hips forward to stand back up tall and squeeze your glutes.
The thing people get wrong
This is a hip hinge, not a squat - knees stay softly bent and still while the hips move back. Keep the dumbbells close to your legs.
Coaching cue
Let the stretch in the back of your thighs, not how low the weights get, tell you when to stand up.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Hamstrings, Glutes
- Secondary: Core, Forearms
What to do instead
Same job, different movement — useful if you don't have the equipment or it doesn't feel right today.
Daily Coach builds this into a real weekly plan. It picks the exercises for your equipment and experience, swaps around injuries you tell it about, and tracks what you actually lifted.