RDL Tutorial

RDL Tutorial Summary

3 strategies for technical accuracy in a glute-biased RDL

1.Spinal Organization

  • Learn where the spine is in space and relative to itself, and what it feels like to be in those positions.

  • Use feedback from an partner, video, and/or object to build this awareness.

  • In a glute-biased RDL, the spine ought to stay fairly stable, and neutral. Of course, the lumbar spine will enter slight relative flexion as you lower the bar, and this is unavoidable. But the intention is to minimize this and keep the work in the glutes (and hamstrings secondarily) rather than flexing and extending the lumbar spine repeatedly under load. Again, doing so is not wrong for bad; it’s just not the intention here.

  • This is not a prerequisite to RDL, nor is it a necessary warmup. It is just a strategy to build an attribute that will enable more accurate technique.

2. Hip and Shoulder Organization

  • Learn where these major joints are in space and relative to each other.

  • Hips shift back in space, as weight balance shifts slightly to the heel.

  • Tension stays in the glutes, and you ought to feel a connection/tension in this tissue throughout the movement. Avoid locking the legs
    Shoulders stay stacked over the front of the the ankle, moving vertically.

  • Avoid ‘forward folding’ where shoulders move forward away from the shins. This places greater strain on the lower back (not bad, just not the intention).

3. Stop Early (at top and bottom)

  • Avoid overextending the spine at the top.

  • Stop the shoulder slightly forward of the pelvis.

  • Look about 1 meter ahead of your feet at lockout.

  • Keep tension in the glutes throughout; squeeze the glutes at the top, without extending the low back.

  • Use this finishing position to stay in touch with the glutes while bracing for the next rep.

  • If you have limited mobility in hip flexion. You can

  1. Start from a rack/safety arms and walk back, beginning with eccentric. This means you won’t have to start from the floor in a compromised position.

  2. Elevate the weights to appropriate height using boxes or safety arms.

  • At the bottom, stop the movement before the lumbar spine noticeably flexes. You can increase range of motion week by week, cm by cm, but don’t be overambitious. It’s more important that the tension stays in the glutes and hamstrings. If you exceed your current available ROM you will lose connection with the glutes, and the low back will bear much of that strain.

Start light with the load. Focus on technical accuracy, and add load conservatively week by week only if you can maintain sharp technical accuracy.