It’s Training Tip Tuesday and you know what that means, another new exercise designed to up your workouts! Today we are talking about the walking RDL.
The walking RDL (walking Romanian deadlift) is a variation on a b-stance RDL. It’s excellent for training imbalances between legs and tests your core strength and coordination.
Ready to learn this lower-body stabilizing move? Let’s go!
Setting up the Walking RDL
To perform this exercise you’ll need a pair of dumbbells and, well, space to walk around.
If you haven’t already mastered the standard deadlift, b-stance RDL, or aren’t familiar with a single-leg RDL yet, take a moment and familiarize yourself with those first.
Now that you have your dumbbells and you’re familiar with the hip-hinge movement of an RDL, let’s take it for a walk!
Performing the Walking RDL
Take one foot and step out about one foot in front of you.
From here, keeping your back flat, abs braced, and your chin neutral, hinge your hips backward.
Your back leg should be acting as a sort of kickstand, with only about 10% of your body’s weight on it.
Drive your hips forward to return to standing.
Step out on the opposite leg and repeat the entire move on the opposite side.
The slower you go, the more power you will experience in this exercise- so, GO SLOW!
Repeat for as many total “steps” as desired (usually 8-10/leg).
Things to Look Out For
When performing a walking deadlift two major issues tend to crop up.
First, it’s tempting to let the weights fall forward away from your shin and allow their weight to pull your body forward. This will decrease your hip hinge significantly and limit the glute and hamstring growth benefit of this exercise.
Instead, keep the weights as close to your shins as possible, forcing your hips to hinge backward in order to lower them.
Another issue to look out for is a rounded back. If you don’t have extensive hamstring flexibility this is something to be particularly vigilant about.
To prevent this, go slowly, checking in with your form in a mirror to ensure your back stays flat. If you do have tighter hamstrings, that will limit the depth of your hip hinge. But, I assure you, your glutes and hamstrings will still work and over time this mobility will improve.
So, commit to good form and you’ll be well on your way to an excellent glute burn.
If you’d like a video for reference, check out Coach Amber’s walking RDL play-by-play video, here.
Want more training tips, free workouts, and other fitness habits to up your game? Give these DWL favorites a read: The Secret to Warming Up for Dance Auditions… The Right Way!, The Stair Down: An Adjustable Stair Workout, Training Tip Tuesday: Hammer Curls