Muscle Gain Forum

When I do RDLs, it feels like I’m just doing a bad deadlift. How do you tell the difference between the two?

RDLs start from the top and you push your hips back. Deadlifts start from the floor, so the movement feels different.

In RDLs your knees stay slightly bent and the focus is more on hamstrings. Deadlifts use more legs and back together.

The bar usually doesn’t touch the floor on RDLs. You lower it until you feel a hamstring stretch and come back up.

Think of RDLs as a hip hinge exercise. If you feel it mostly in your hamstrings and glutes, you’re doing it right.

That makes sense. I think I might be bending my knees too much and turning it into a regular deadlift.

Yeah bro keep the bar close to your legs and move your hips back. That usually fixes the form.

Try using lighter weight first and focus on the stretch in your hamstrings. Once you feel that, the movement clicks.

Also control the negative on RDLs. Slow lowering helps you feel the difference from a deadlift.

If your lower back is doing all the work, something’s off. You should feel RDLs mainly in hamstrings and glutes.