I start this topic that deals with these two excercises and i will focus on a few issues/questions.
1)What are the different muscle groups that one works and the other doesn’t?
2)When and how do you incorporate these excercises(reps, volume, training day, etc.)?
3)What is the strength relation between them for you? How stronger are you on the regular deadlift compared to the Romanian version?
4)Do you use straps when you perform them? If so, how much less would you manage to lift going “raw” without strap support?
I mostly use Romanian Deads without any strap support, so my grip fails alot before i reach failure(my grip strength has improved alot though over time, with my personal best on Romanians being 175kgx5). My usual rep range lies between 3-7 and i often go slow, especially on the negative part.
Volume varies between 2-5 sets, performed on the leg day. Rarely when switching to high volume training, i train them separately, combined with regular deadlifts and trap and side delt excercises.
[quote]guaglione wrote:
I start this topic that deals with these two excercises and i will focus on a few issues/questions.
1)What are the different muscle groups that one works and the other doesn’t?
2)When and how do you incorporate these excercises(reps, volume, training day, etc.)?
3)What is the strength relation between them for you? How stronger are you on the regular deadlift compared to the Romanian version?
4)Do you use straps when you perform them? If so, how much less would you manage to lift going “raw” without strap support?
[/quote]
RDL places more emphasis on the hamstrings, I know that’s where I feel them most
I include deadlifts on back day and RDL on leg day, what reps I do just depends on what kind of workout I happen to be doing, it differs.
I am stronger on the deadlift, but not by much, maybe if I used straps I would be stronger on the RDL
Like I said, I never use straps, but for RDL I prolly should, regular deadlift I never found a need for them as I re-adjust my grip on every rep (helps me to not bounce the weight)
Exactly, the RDL is used as a hamstring builder. obviously its still going to work your traps and forearms though.
Pretty much everything the other guy said is right on.
only thing i want to add is that obviously youre deadlift numbers will be higher than your RDL numbers because the movement for both is different. theres just no way a prime hamstring builder is going to provide more weight lifted than a movement which works like 80% of your body.
For me personally I never go below 6 reps (usually 8-20 reps) in romanian deadlift and never above 5 reps in deadlift (usually between 1-3 reps). I don’t think low reps serve my purposes in romanian deadlift. If I want to go heavy I use rack pulls or other variations of deadlift.
As for the weights…I normally use something like 100-140kg (for high reps) in the romanian deadlift (my max deadlift is now 220kg). So I work with weights somewhere around 50-70% of my deadlift most of the time (for reps though).
On the other hand if I wanted I could probably pull close to my max deadlift using romanian deadlift form as my deadlift relies mostly on my strong back…but doing it I’d consider too risky.
And for the straps I always use them when I do reps even in the other deadlift variations. I never had any problems doing max deadlifts without straps for singles (using mixed grip).
I use Romanian deadlifts from time to time, usually in leg workouts though, but not always.
If you want a big back and some big size gains, the regular deadlift is best since you can use more weight.
Also if grip is a problem why not use straps?
I didnt use them at all, I have recently been convinced by their results. They allow you to go past the point where your grip starts to give out and that means one thing… GROWTH.
As long as you are not aiming to increase grip strength get them on, why short change your back workouts?
[quote]irishpowerhouse wrote:
I use Romanian deadlifts from time to time, usually in leg workouts though, but not always.
If you want a big back and some big size gains, the regular deadlift is best since you can use more weight.
Also if grip is a problem why not use straps?
I didnt use them at all, I have recently been convinced by their results. They allow you to go past the point where your grip starts to give out and that means one thing… GROWTH.
As long as you are not aiming to increase grip strength get them on, why short change your back workouts?[/quote]
For some reason i do not include regular deads in back workouts. However, i focus very intensely on rows(mostly barbell rows). I perform two different bb rows, one with a wide grip, where i raise the bar up to my chest, and the other with a closer grip, raising the bar to the abdominals.
If i start incorporating regular deadlifts into my back training, i will almost certainly(after a point) start using straps. Grip usually fails, especially when you go to a moderate/high rep range so it should be necessary to aid your grip somehow so that you won’t limit yourself.
I actually do deads with DBs a lot. You feel more comfortable letting your arms hang wherever they feel right, and at the top, you can get a little extra squeeze in between your scapulae.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I actually do deads with DBs a lot. You feel more comfortable letting your arms hang wherever they feel right, and at the top, you can get a little extra squeeze in between your scapulae.
S
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A long time ago i used to regulardly do stiff leg deads with dumbells. For some reasons they provided much more comfort that way.
However it’s tough to find 70-80kg dumbells(152-176lb).
The most i would use then fos sldl’s(i was weaker though at the time in all aspects of training) would be up to 110lb dumbells for 5+ reps.
RDL’s are my favorite lower body exercise, lifting with my old team the coach was too fucking stupid to know what a posterior chain was, so I train it as hard as I can now. Not only did I gain some mass in places I never had mass, but the hip extension in it has helped me out in sports.
[quote]Kulturkampf wrote:
RDL’s are my favorite lower body exercise, lifting with my old team the coach was too fucking stupid to know what a posterior chain was, so I train it as hard as I can now. Not only did I gain some mass in places I never had mass, but the hip extension in it has helped me out in sports. [/quote]
RDL’s are indeed a great excercise on all accounts.
I love it and aside all the usual benefits strength/muscle wise, it has helped me build a stronger grip. I started using straps one week ago and before that my grip would always fail before the rest.
Let me just say how much confusion i’ve seen from many people who train seriously but confuse sldl’s with rdl’s.
The way i would describe rdl’s:
You do a regular deadlift but instead of landing the bar on the ground you lower it about halfway between knee height and ground, while bending your knees freely.
Sldl’s are when you lower the bar almost until the ground with knees VERY slightly bent.