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Hi I'm Nikki Metzger and today I'm going to talk about Straight Leg Romanian Deadlifts. This move targets your hamstrings, your glutes, and your lower back. It's a super effective [functional strength training] move if it's done right.
So first I'm going to demo this without dumbbells. You're going to roll your shoulders back, over exaggerate sticking your chest out, soft bend in your knees, hinge it forward (sending your butt behind you). Then once you feel that pull in your hamstrings, you're going to power it on up, squeezing that booty.
Now I'm going to add dumbbells. When you add dumbbells or a barbell, make sure you're picking those up with your legs, not your back. So again: shoulders are rolled back, over exaggerate sticking the chest out, soft bend in those knees, hinge it forward, keep the weights close to your legs (like you're scrapping your shins). And again, as soon as you feel that pull that's as far as you need to go, and power it on up, squeezing that booty.
The biggest things I see done wrong in this move are rounding in the back. People are more concerned about touching their toes and they start looking at the ground and letting that back round. You know that's not going to make your low back feel too good. [Here are a few mobility training tips to relieve lower back pain if need]. Another thing I see is, people locking in their legs and not keeping that soft bend. So they're locking, and then hyper extending into that movement.
Keep these tips in mind and let me know if you have any other questions because when you do the Straight Romanian Deadlift right, it is one of the best moves for you.
About the Author: Nikki Metzger is a Nike Master Trainer, Certified Personal Trainer, Fitness Nutrition Specialist and was just named Women's Health Magazines Next Fitness Star! She is the owner of BODI, a high intensity gym in Scottsdale Arizona. Her training methods are functional, effective and efficient and she thinks nothing is better than leaving a training session dripping in sweat and feeling awesome! www.scottsdalebodi.com | Facebook & Instagram: @nikkimetzger / @scottsdalebodi | Twitter: @nikkiBODI / @scottsdalebodi
