Landmine Romanian Deadlift

Instructions for proper form

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding the landmine barbell with both hands in a neutral grip. Keep your chest up and shoulders back throughout the movement. From this standing position, hinge at your hips and push your butt back while keeping a slight bend in your knees. Lower the barbell down along your shins, ensuring your back remains straight and your core engaged. Drive through your heels to return to the starting position by extending your hips forward.

Common mistakes to avoid

Avoid rounding your back, bending at the waist instead of the hips, and letting your knees extend excessively. Keep the movement controlled and don’t jerk the weight to lift it.

Benefits

Specific benefits of the exercise

Strengthens the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. Improves hip hinge mechanics crucial for various other exercises.

Expected results and timeframe

With consistent training 2-3 times per week, you can expect increased strength in the hamstrings and glutes within 4-6 weeks, along with improvements in overall lower body stability and mobility..

Who this exercise is best for

This exercise is best for novice lifters looking to build strength in the posterior chain, as well as athletes needing to improve their hip hinge technique for sports performance.

Scientific studies supporting its effectiveness

Studies show that exercises targeting the posterior chain, such as the Romanian Deadlift, significantly improve strength and power output in lower body movements, which is essential for athletic performance and injury prevention.

Variations

Beginner modifications

For beginners, reduce the weight or perform the exercise without added load. Emphasize on practicing hip hinge mechanics using just the barbell or a dowel.

Advanced progressions

For more advanced athletes, increase the weight or incorporate a single-leg variation of the Romanian deadlift, or perform the exercise on an unstable surface to engage stabilizing muscles more effectively.

Integrations

Complementary exercises

Incorporate complementary exercises such as glute bridges, leg curls, and back extensions to enhance the development of the hamstrings and glutes.

Super set recommendations

Pair the landmine Romanian deadlift with exercises like squats or lunges in a superset for maximum lower body engagement.

Sample workout routines

Sample routine: 1) Landmine Romanian Deadlift – 3 sets of 10 reps 2) Barbell Squats – 3 sets of 8-10 reps 3) Seated Leg Curls – 3 sets of 12 reps 4) Calf Raises – 3 sets of 15 reps.

Exercise combinations

Combine with upper body exercises like bent-over rows or overhead press on the same day to balance muscle engagement.

Best time to do this exercise in your workout

This exercise can be performed early in your workout after dynamic warm-ups, as it requires significant energy and focus for effective execution.