Romanian deadlift
3 sets of 8-10 hip hinges with a weight, 2 min rest. Flat back, slight knee bend.
- Slot
- Strength
- Focus
- General strength
- Time
- 12 min
- Intensity
- Moderate intensity
- Injury risk
- Moderate injury risk
- Equipment
- Barbell, Dumbbell
How to do it
Stand holding a barbell or two dumbbells in front of your thighs. With a slight bend in your knees, push your hips back and lower the weight along your legs until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, keeping your back flat. Squeeze your glutes to stand back up. Do 8-10 reps per set, 3 sets, with 2 minutes rest.
Run it now
The same timer as the app: a five-second get-ready, then every round and rest counted down with a beep. Keep this page open while you train.
Romanian deadlift
0:00 / 12:05
Ready
12:05
3 rounds
3 sets of 8-10 hip hinges with a weight, 2 min rest. Flat back, slight knee bend.
High risk: read the protocol, stop if anything feels wrong.
- 3
- rounds
- 2:00
- rest
- 12:05
- total
Done.
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Take the quizWho it's for
Climbers who want stronger hamstrings, glutes and lower back for heel hooks, big moves and keeping your body tight on steep ground. It suits people who have learned to hinge at the hips, which is worth a session with a coach if you haven't. If your back is sore now, get a physio to look at it first.
Common mistakes
- Rounding the back. Keep it flat the whole way down. Stop where the stretch in the hamstrings stops you, not where the weight touches the floor.
- Bending the knees into a squat. Keep the slight bend fixed and push the hips back. When the knees keep bending, the legs take over from the hamstrings.
- Letting the weight drift away from the legs. Keep the bar or dumbbells close, brushing your thighs on the way down. Weight out in front loads your lower back.
- Leaning back at the top. Stand tall and squeeze your glutes to finish. Leaning back past upright puts the load on the lower back.
How to progress
Learn the hinge with light dumbbells until three sets of 10 feel smooth, with a clear stretch in the hamstrings every rep. Then add weight and drop back to eight. Keep the 2 minutes rest. Once a week is enough for most climbers, and it leaves your hamstrings sore for a day or two at first, so keep it away from the day before a heel-hook session.
When it fits
The training periods this exercise fits into in Blok Sessions.
Base Lots of easy climbing, good movement and aerobic fitness.
Strength Stronger fingers and pulling, with weight you control.
Power Explosive moves, momentum and coordination.
Power Endurance Keep your power through one hard move after another.
Performance Peak for a trip or a comp: focus, reading problems, trying hard.
Deload Train less, let your fingers recover, keep moving.