

I include helpful illustrations of both these exercises. Romanian Deadlift: Form Benefits, & Differences. You can read about these two movements in my article on Deadlift vs. I wrote a comparison between the deadlift and Romanian deadlift. However, in the Romanian deadlift, there is very little knee extension, and it’s taught more like a “pull from the hips”.

The starting position of a deadlift is taught as a “push off the floor” in order to extend from the knees first. The lifter will start from a standing position and hinge forward from the hips while trying to, at the same time, push their hips back and lean their shoulders forward. The Romanian deadlift is another deadlift alternative that focuses more on the glutes and low-back. This is why I recommend wearing straps to prevent any grip loss while performing this exercise. While your major muscle groups (glutes, low back, mid back) can tolerate this kind of overloading, your grip usually can’t. You can typically handle 10-30% more weight in the block deadlift compared with the deadlift. Return the barbell to the blocks and repeat.Your hips and knees should lock simultaneously.The barbell should remain on your thighs throughout the entire range of motion.Think about driving your hips toward the barbell by squeezing your glutes.Take a big breath, brace your core, squeeze your lats strong, and lift the barbell from the blocks.Aim to have your shoulders directly in light with the barbell, which will result in a slight forward torso lean.Walk up to the barbell and grip it just outside your thighs.Set up boxes so that the barbell starts at about knee height.
45 QUICK WORD REPLACEMENTS HOW TO
You can read more about the benefits of the block deadlift and how to program it in my Complete Guide To The Block Deadlift. You can also lift more weight in this alternative to the deadlift because it’s a shorter range of motion. In this top range of motion, you are placing a greater loading demand on the hip and back extensor muscle groups, primarily the glutes, spinal erectors, and traps. However, most people will set up the height to be around knee-level. The height of the blocks or pins will vary depending on how much range of motion you want to target. The lifter will deadlift off blocks, or in the absence of blocks, the safety pins inside a power rack. The block deadlift (sometimes referred to as the “ rack pull“) is a partial range of motion focusing exclusively on the top end of the movement. Open this article in a new tab and read it next! You can find more deadlift exercises and variations in my article on 12 Deadlift Accessories To Increase Strength & Technique. In some cases, I suggest pairing these exercises with another in order to get more benefit. Make sure to read my quick tips under each exercise. You may also want to isolate a single muscle group more, recognizing that the deadlift is a compounded movement and utilizes multiple muscles.ĭepending on the equipment you have available or your reason for wanting to find a deadlift substitute, you can pick and choose the most appropriate exercise below. However, there are several reasons why you might be searching for an alternative to the deadlift, including you have an injury that prevents you from deadlifting, you have some sort of technical limitations that doesn’t allow you to get into the proper deadlift position, or you’re simply looking for extra training variety. The deadlift targets the glutes, hamstrings, and low/mid-back.
