What's the Difference Between a "Romanian" Deadlift and a Normal Deadlift?

Deadlifts are a fantastic exercise for strength, muscle development and power, particularly and recruit many muscles to perform! Primarily for the glutes and hamstrings, you will also recruit your back, core and stabiliser muscles.

They are incredible for helping people to develop their posterior chain which is often weak and train to bend over and pick up heavy objects correctly.

There are many variations of the deadlift but the two most commonly confused are the difference between the Romanian and the Normal Deadlift!

ROMANIANS
A Romanian Deadlift begins from a standing position, and you hinge over, lowering the weight below your knees, before driving back up with glutes and hamstrings. There is an eccentric (lowering) portion of the exercise which is great for hamstring strength at a lengthened position. But overall weight is less than what can be leveraged from a conventional deadlift.

CONVENTIONAL
A conventional deadlift is performed with the weight starting on the floor. The weight is lifted and dropped, so while this means you can lift more weight and develop plenty of strength and power it doesn’t involve an eccentric or lowering portion.

Both are fantastic to incorporate into your training for different reasons!