Some information on RDL's

I don't do RDL's often, but some research has made me aware that I do them incredibly wrong.  There are other's that can describe what an RDL (Romanian Deadlift) is much better than I can, but to oversimplify it, it's a form of deadlifts where you concentrate on using hamstring tension to lift the bar.  You don't bend your knees nearly as much as you would during a regular deadlift.  And believe me, your hammy's will get seriously sore afterwards. 

Anyway, as I was saying... I've been doing them completely wrong.  Check out this post on 70's big:

http://www.70sbig.com/blog/2011/06/the-rdl/

I highly, highly recommend you check out that post. Here are the points of emphasis that the author gives. 

Points of Emphasis

1. Start in the hang
2. Un-lock knees
3. Push hips back
4. Don’t let knees go forward
5. Keep the bar back
6. Once the back angle is arbitrarily parallel, or the hamstrings are sufficiently stretched (you’ll know), reverse the movement
7. Drive the heels through the ground
8. Continue to keep the bar back and not let the knees go forward
9. Return to the hang position

I use entirely too much weight, and I end up bending my knees way too much.  And I let the weight drop too far low. To quote the 70's big article, I end up just doing a shitty deadlift.

I plan on doing regular deadlifts this weekend, but early next week I'm going to give RDL's a try... the right way.  Tonight I'm overhead pressing.  I'll post my sets tomorrow.

If I don't see you, have a Merry Christmas everybody.  Enjoy a christmas cookie or 7.