Dumbbell RDL (Romanian Deadlift) Form ❌✅

24 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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0:51

In this instructional YouTube clip, trainer Eric Roberts highlights three common mistakes people make when performing dumbbell Romanian deadlifts and provides corrective cues. First, he advises pulling the ribs down and keeping them stacked over the belly button rather than lifting the chest, which maintains a neutral spine and protects the lower back while emphasizing glutes and hamstrings. Second, he recommends holding the dumbbells at an angle by the sides instead of in front, preventing lower‑back rounding. Third, he suggests bending the knees slightly instead of locking them out to create a more glute‑biased movement. The video concludes with a prompt to follow for more fitness tips.

Chapters

Stop doing this on your dumbbell Romanian deadlifts. It's ruining your gains. Most people try to keep their chest up on the way down, and this ends up arching and hurting your lower back. So instead, keep your ribs pulled down, stacked over your belly button. So now on the way down, you keep your back neutral and work more of your glutes and hamstrings. Second, most people hold the dumbbells in front of them, which makes you end up rounding your lower back. So instead, move the dumbbells at an angle by your side. This way, when you go down, you'll keep the correct posture. And last, most people keep their knees too straight and locked out, and instead, to work more of your glute, bend your knees to do more of a glute-biased RDL. And be sure to follow for more tips.