Romanian hard pulling: an in-depth look at the technique and its ever-expanding role
I have spent a great deal of time studying the Romanian hard pull (RDL) in its purest form, exploring its effectiveness and experimenting with various modifications to address specific exercise issues. What began as a simple hip exercise has evolved into a multifaceted workout that addresses a range of biomechanical issues, and this article is a reflection of that evolution.
In this article, I will revisit the basic technique of the RDL, addressing the remaining questions about what constitutes a “pure” version of the heel lift and how it works on a mechanical level. I’ll also delve into advanced methods of RDL such as contrast and group training, changing the traditional view of RDL as an accessory exercise.
RDL techniques and their impact on hamstring health
A common debate in the field of strength and conditioning is whether or not the hamstrings are activated during exercises such as Nordic curls. Is it really effective in stimulating the biceps femoris? It is well known that Nordic curls require significant knee flexion and stretching of the knee muscles. However, the RDL has a more complex movement pattern that requires simultaneous knee and hip forces, resulting in a unique stimulation effect.
McAllister et al. (2014) showed that the RDL activates the biceps femoris muscle well, with effects comparable to exercises such as glute-leg raises. Their conclusions coincide with my view that RDL and Nordic curls must be incorporated into a training program in order to optimize hamstring health.
Nonetheless, due to the light loading of RDL in many studies, most studies underestimate its true impact. For example, Boeckh-Behrens and Buskies (2000) excluded weight-bearing RDL testing due to “safety concerns”. Thankfully, in studies like McAllister’s, participants lifted twice their body weight. I think most people miss the point: the full potential of the RDL is not unlocked until the weight is deadlifted 80% and above, not during the 3×10 rep scheme that is common in most training programs.
Rethinking the RDL as more than just an assistive device
The RDL deserves more respect than it usually gets. It’s often relegated to the status of an “assisted exercise” and is usually performed with high repetitions at light loads. But when performed correctly and loaded properly, it has tremendous value in strength training. If you’re serious about developing your hamstrings, glutes, and posterior chain, you need to treat the RDL with the respect it deserves and push the limits with heavier loads and more focused execution.
I recommend delving deeper into RDL technique – a sport that requires only minor tweaks to bring about significant improvements. In fact, I encourage you to watch Mark Rippetoe’s video on the subject for a comprehensive overview.
Knee Angles and Movements
One area that often causes confusion is knee angle. Some coaches believe that keeping the knees slightly open (about 8-10 degrees) is optimal for “pure” RDL. The goal is not to have completely stiff knees, but to bend them slightly, pushing the hips back and promoting deeper hamstring extension. If the knees are too stiff, the barbell won’t stay close to the body, which creates unnecessary shearing forces in the back and affects balance. Keeping the barbell in contact with the legs is critical to maintaining mid-foot balance and overall good posture.
Advanced lifters may find that they can activate their hamstrings well even with a slight bend in the knees. This is because they can push their hips back with confidence, resulting in greater extension. Factors such as anatomy can also play a role. Athletes with larger hamstrings may bend their knees due to limb length and muscle mass.
Another key factor is arm length, which affects range of motion at the hinge. You won’t always be able to achieve the perfect depth based on any standard. For many lifters, stopping between the mid-calf and the bottom of the knee is ideal. While weightlifting straps are commonly used in the RDL, it’s important to remember that some athletes struggle to maintain a firm grip during prolonged or heavily loaded workouts.
Key Guidance for RDL Success
Here are some basic coaching tips to ensure you make the most of your RDL:
- Barbell setup: start with the barbell on top of the rack, just below the lockout position.
- Set up first: get in position before pulling the barbell off the rack to avoid hyperextension.
- Minimum Steps: Step back no more than 2-3 steps.
- Latissimus dorsi engagement: contract the latissimus dorsi muscles and focus on abdominal breathing.
- Relaxed knees: keep your knees slightly relaxed, not stiff.
- Hip Drive: Drive the movement with your hips and drive backwards.
- Barbell Path: Keep the barbell in close contact with your legs and use your latissimus dorsi throughout.
- Hamstring feel: use hamstring extension and feel to determine depth of descent.
- Neutral spine: if you feel like you need to open your spine to get to a lower position, then it’s usually deep enough.
- Glute activation: squeeze the tops of your glutes and press your big toes into the ground for stability.
By mastering these essentials and taking a focused, step-by-step approach to the RDL, you can unlock its full potential and make it the centerpiece of your training program, not just an aid. For more insights on how to enhance your workout routine, check out our guide on how to maximize your potential.
Perfecting the RDL Technique and Maximizing Results with Zera
When performing the Romanian hard pull (RDL), breathing and pulling muscle reset can sometimes become critical, especially when deadlifting. Cal Dietz and Chris Korfist revolutionized my approach to RDL training by advocating toes-up on descents and smart use of the big toe on ascents. At first, I was a bit hesitant, but their reasoning convinced me. The goal is to keep the ball of the foot firmly planted on the ground while subtly driving the big toe downward – a departure from the commonly held belief that curling the toes or the ball of the foot is the way to go. By keeping the ball of the foot firmly on the ground and pushing the big toe, athletes feel a more intense contraction of the gluteal muscles.
Adding the big toe drive to the RDL changes the game. Not only did the athletes feel the movement in their glutes, but barbell speed increased with the same load. As @WSWayland observed, this improvement in performance is an exciting development in the field of strength training. For a simple and effective guide to this concept, check out Roy Pumphrey’s demo. It begins with a classic RDL workout and then compares it to a workout that involves stepping the big toe into the ground. Despite the limitations of the iterative testing method, this is an excellent way to understand the differences. With future EMG studies, we can better understand if this phenomenon is neurological or simply driven by the athlete’s intent.
Common Mistakes and How to Correct Them
While the RDL may seem simple, there are a number of technical pitfalls that trainees often fall into, especially if there are problems with the hinge mechanism. Here are some key pitfalls and how to avoid them:
1. Opening the knees at the bottom
A common mistake is made when the trainee attempts to lower the height of the RDL movement, but pushes the knees forward in order to gain more depth. The correction lies in paying attention to proper hinge mechanics – cueing the athlete to push the hips back and feel the stretch in the hamstrings rather than relying on knee movement.
2. Barbell Drift.
This is usually caused by insufficient upper back engagement. By encouraging athletes to activate the back and latissimus dorsi, they can keep the barbell in close contact with the thighs throughout the movement. This is especially important at higher loads, as allowing the barbell to drift increases vertical forces on the spine.
3. T-Spine Flexion as a Depth Strategy
Inadequate hinge mechanics typically result in T-spine flexion when a trainee attempts to press down. This problem can be corrected by cueing the use of the same technique that prevents barbell drift. With heavier loads, the problem is usually a lack of upper back strength – a combination of rowing exercises and isometric horizontal pulling exercises can help with this.
4. Hyperextension
When performing very heavy RDLs, athletes may resort to lumbar extension in an attempt to stretch the hamstrings more deeply. While small degrees of stretching are tolerable, over arching the back can lead to lower back impingement and discomfort. Athletes are encouraged to maintain a neutral spine and take deep breaths before beginning exercise. This simple adjustment can make overstretching more difficult.
5. Hyperextending the Neck
Overstretching the neck may seem trivial, but it is often used as a strategy to maintain overall spinal extension. Athletes are encouraged to “tighten” their jaws and build strength in the middle back to avoid relying on neck extension to stabilize the spine. This strategy is especially common when performing the snatch squat.
6. Improper Grip Leads to T-Spine Collapse
When the grip is weakened, athletes often use the thoracic spine to go after the barbell, leading to upper back collapse. Ensuring proper grip width, using chalk or straps, and keeping the barbell close to the body can prevent this issue from affecting the effectiveness of the weight’s RDL.
Supermax Deadlift Squats and Preventing Hamstring Injuries
Supermax deadlift squats are an important part of the compression strengthening training cycle, which is designed to apply maximum stimulus in the shortest amount of time. By training with supramaximal deadlifts, you maximize muscle activation and build strength, while also helping to mitigate potential hamstring injuries.
Proper posture becomes even more important when training with hypermaximal loads. By avoiding the common technical mistakes mentioned above, athletes can safely incorporate weighted RDLs into their training programs while minimizing the risk of injury.
One strategy that muscle physiologists are really interested in is how to promote rapid adaptation and reduce the need for repetitive training that we often see as a result of focusing on the same contraction patterns at submaximal loads. Time is a valuable resource that is always in short supply. But what about this approach? It’s not for the faint of heart or the inexperienced.
It is through this method that I made great strides in my Romanian hard pull training. Supermaximal weighted hard pulling is the highest intensity this training can achieve. It’s a full-body challenge that requires all parts of the body to be at their best-including the scapulae, the posterior muscle chain, grip strength, and the ability to cope with the massive spinal shear forces that come into play when lifting weights.
Video 1: Weightlifting requires impeccable technique and progressive overload training. Use weights that are nearly impossible to lift with concentric efforts alone.
In my opinion, one of the key advantages of the supramaximal deadlift RDL is that it promotes optimal elongation of the hamstring bundles. This quality of extension is difficult to achieve with the common RDL variants we see today. I’ve talked before about the relationship between strength and stability during low-speed exercise. Single-leg RDLs are widely praised for their injury prevention or rehabilitation efficacy, but if you want to achieve significant structural changes, single-leg RDLs are not enough. In order to achieve meaningful, high-quality adaptations, you need loads – lots of loads – and single-leg RDL won’t accomplish that.
As @WSWayland pointed out, to achieve truly meaningful change, you need to be subjected to massive loads, and single-leg training can’t accomplish that. Share to X
By utilizing bilateral assistance, we can maximize hamstring strength. Carl Valle also commented on this, saying, “Another reason why I avoid performing too many single-leg deep squats is that I have to take into account the level of fatigue in my lower back as well as time constraints. If I perform three sets of squats with three weights, with typical rest intervals in between, it’s far more efficient than performing six sets of squats to ensure that both legs are similarly loaded for the workout. Even if the other leg is ready, the lower back is still in use and needs rest.”
While I advocate the supramaximal deadlift RDL, there are some important factors to consider. If an athlete is new to RDL, it is important to start with a regular RDL and train with submaximal loads and moderate centrifugal cadence to build endurance. High-speed runners need to be extra careful because this exercise increases hamstring tension. Combining this exercise with top speed running may result in poor results. Care must be taken if combining these two exercises.
Overload training is best followed by superspeed centrifugal training with assistance (discussed later). This type of training is best done out of season or when you are furthest away from competition. One of the major benefits of the supramaximal load training method is that it helps athletes improve their tolerance through repetition. However, its downside is that it can lead to extreme soreness in some individuals. This method is more suitable for athletes who train for longer periods of time. In my experience, I usually do these workouts in the second or third year with athletes who have spent multiple seasons on vacation with me.
There are two main methods I use to schedule ultra-extreme centrifugal movements: pausing between mid-range and ultra-extreme isometrics, and pausing between mid-range and knee. We avoid single extreme movements because they require descending and concentric lifting, which can be dangerous if the technique fails. Instead, we take a double or triple as a base and increase the load by 25% to bring the lift to the super limit.
Typically, athletes perform a single exercise for 7-10 seconds. This maintains anaerobic activity while ensuring enough time to be under tension. After each exercise, two assistants will help return the barbell to the starting position. Weightlifting bands are permitted for these exercises.
Zera RDL Training Philosophy: continuously improving methods to enhance performance
Incorporating the Romanian hard pull (RDL) into your training program is more than just a grip challenge; it’s also about activating the posterior chain. Given the mindless nature of this movement, I often combine it with exercises such as heavy KB swings or light pull-ups to amplify the effect.
In this guide, I’ll focus on the three-phase integration model originally proposed by Cal Dietz, and then transition to my revised approach to overload training. Let’s dive into the core principles and changes that can enhance your RDL training program.
Original Three-Stage Integration (Table 1)
Table 1 demonstrates the classic three-phase integration method originally proposed by Cal Dietz as the submaximal loading method. This method is still effective for athletes who have been training for a shorter period of time and can progressively build strength and athleticism. I still use this model with athletes new to the sport.
Supramaximal Load Training for Advanced Athletes (Table 2)
As my experience and the age of athletes training has increased, I have developed a supramaximal load training method. Table 2 demonstrates this updated model, which emphasizes the use of heavier loads in periodization and training design. This method is well suited for athletes who are ready for more intense stimuli that produce systemic adaptations more quickly.
By employing training programs withnear-maximal or supramaximal loads, athletes can significantly improve their fitness and enhance their athletic performance, but only if they are executed carefully. The key is the balance between progression, intensity and recovery.
Advanced techniques: comparison, clustering and RDL
I recently added contrast/compound and cluster methods to RDL programming. At first, I just used RDL as a supplementary exercise. But soon I realized its potential for improving performance and began to incorporate more dynamic approaches to tap into that potential.
If you are unfamiliar with these techniques, we recommend you read the articles on clustering and comparison training to understand how they can improve performance. For reference, you can read articles detailing the versatility of clustering as well as Joel Smith’s article on complex and contrast training, which are particularly useful.
Video 2: Overcoming Stagnation with Isometric RDL and KB Swings
Integrating isometric exercises into your training routine is an effective strategy to help athletes break through bottlenecks. These exercises can stimulate strength gains across a specific range of motion, and the banded KB swing can either complement the isometric RDL or be used on its own for a change of pace.
When I realized that the RDL was not only a supplemental exercise, but also had performance-enhancing potential, I began to incorporate contrast and compound strategies. These methods allowed me to achieve higher scores on the Velocity-Force (V/F) spectrum. Contrast training specifically utilizes the augmentation effect, where a heavy loaded movement is followed by a similar movement that is faster and mechanically similar, thus counteracting the deceleration effect from the heavy eccentric movement.
Examples of contrast training methods
Here are some examples of contrast training paired with RDL:
A1) RDL: 4 x 3
A2) Weighted KB Swing or Dimel Hard Pull: 4 x 5
French Contrast Training Method:
A1) RDL: 4 x 3
A2) Banded KB Swing: 4 x 5
A3) Overdrive Squat: 4 x 3
A4) Horizontal center ball jumps (assisted ): 4 x 5
Enhanced Combinations
A1) RDL: 4 x 1,1,1,1
A2) Mid-range ball toss: 4 x 1,1,1,1
(alternating between single movements with moderate rest in between)
French Comparative Strengthening Clinic (FCPC)
A1) RDL: 4 x 1,1,1,1
A2) Banded KB Swing: 4 x 1,1,1,1
A3) Overhead Pull: 4 x 1,1,1,1
A4) Horizontal center ball jump (assist ): 4 x 1,1,1,1
(alternating between single movements with moderate rest in between)
The FCPC method is the most comprehensive and intense of all of these methods and is best suited for athletes preparing for high intensity training. It is a performance-focused method that combines strength, density and functional demands to maximize strength and power output.
Explore other RDL variants
The RDL series is not limited to traditional hard pulls. Variants such as single-leg RDL , Zercher good mornings and dumbbell RDL offer more options for training. Experiment with different mechanics and speed applications to target specific areas of the posterior chain , whether it’s strength, hypertrophy or flexibility** . Each variant allows for new adaptations and challenges the body in different ways.
Extreme Duration RDL
The Extreme Duration RDL provides another way to increase the duration of sustained compression of the posterior chain, resulting in longer stimulation of the posterior chain, which can be used for specific strength endurance training goals.
Conclusion.
By transforming RDL from a mere assistance exercise to a core performance driver, you can achieve significant results using advanced methods such as contrast training, cluster training, and overload training. These strategies not only target strength and explosiveness, but also produce systemic adaptations that accelerate athletic performance when applied correctly.
Explore and experiment with these techniques to refine your RDL execution and always customize your program based on your athlete’s training age and goals. For more insight on maximizing potential through proper training methods, you can read this article on our website.
Exploring Extreme Duration RDL Variations with Zera Equipment
I’ve been experimenting with the Extreme Duration RDL, starting with lightly loaded small dumbbells and dumbbell plates and then gradually transitioning to barbell variations. In this movement, weighted extensions are an excellent way for trainees to feel the hamstrings really engage in the hinge movement. As long as you maintain a neutral spine and avoid overloading the lower back, the results will be noticeable. Unlike using overloaded RDLs, submaximal loads in extreme duration RDLs are usually held under tension for 30 seconds or more. In my experience, these exercises can be used as good total body preparation (GPP) exercises or even as part of the final phase of hamstring rehabilitation.
RDL with Overdrive Eccentric RDLs and Drop Catch RDLs
When training athletes that require high speed movements, it is critical to develop high speed hamstrings to match. I typically combine RDLs with weights with regular training and then transition to superspeed movements. In these variations, the athlete actively accelerates the barbell toward the ground, sometimes with the aid of elastic bands. This combination of elastic response and rapid contraction and relaxation yields heavy structural gains from overload training and adds an important neural component.
As for the catapult RDL snatch, while it’s not a true eccentric overload exercise due to its lighter weight, it’s still a great tool to use in many environments, especially outside of speed-focused athletes.
Sumo RDL
Sumo RDL may be considered a bit of a loser in the RDL community, but it is gaining some well-deserved recognition. Due to the wider stance, there is a greater stretch of the adductors in the movement, increasing hamstring engagement.The Sumo RDL also helps to address many of the common technical issues I see in my trainees. By guiding them to move their arms between their legs, the movement becomes more natural and intuitive. This is a great supplemental exercise for sumo hard pullers, and it can be a game changer for athletes who prefer this position.
If the sumo stance works for your athlete, it’s worth a try. Ensure that foot placement and stance width matches the individual’s body structure for optimal performance.
Snatch Grip RDL
I mentioned the Snatch Grip Strength RDL in a previous article, but didn’t go into it in depth. This variation can be a good alternative to the traditional RDL in training. it requires a greater range of motion and presents a significant challenge to the stability and strength of the T-spine. The Snatch Grip RDL can serve as the perfect introductory workout for athletes who lack the posterior shoulder, lat, and T-spine strength required for the traditional RDL.
Although it places less load on the lower body due to upper body limitations, it is still very effective. Therefore, it’s not a bad choice when athletes need to stay efficient but avoid overworking the lower body. For athletes who enjoy working out, but don’t need the intensity of a traditional RDL, this variation provides a great balance.
When using a grip RDL, I recommend setting up with pads or grips. This is because the J-hooks on the rack can interfere with barbell positioning, especially if you are attempting a top-down setup and need to return the barbell to the grippers afterward.
Mastering the RDL
After years of training, I’ve learned not to get too attached to any one exercise. However, the RDL has been a training priority for a long time because of the deep understanding that comes from performing this exercise with attention to detail. I learned this movement long before the term “hinge” became popular, but in many ways they are the same concept. I remember once attending a seminar where a well known trainer was explaining the principles of his “hinge” and I couldn’t help but think “it’s just an RDL”. Of course, the word “hinge” sounds more fashionable, but at the end of the day, no matter what you call it, the key is to master the movement.
I’ve been coaching long enough to know that obsession with any single exercise can have its drawbacks, but as @WSWayland says, obsession also brings the potential to discover deeper insights. As I began experimenting with three-phase training and exploring it more deeply, my curiosity grew, especially about the different contraction patterns. I hope the concepts I’ve shared here will help you realize the full potential of a simple yet powerful RDL. Remember, combining the athlete’s abilities with the right approach is key. With the right balance, the RDL can be the cornerstone of their training for years to come.
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