MyLiftsMove the hips back
Keep a small bend in the knees and let the hips move backwards as the torso tips forwards. The dumbbells travel near your legs rather than reaching out ahead. Stop the descent while you can maintain your trunk position; a lower dumbbell position is not automatically a better repetition.
- Pick up a manageable pair of dumbbells and stand with feet around hip width.
- Hold the weights close to the front or sides of your thighs and brace your trunk.
- Keep the knees slightly bent as you send your hips backwards and lower the weights near your legs.
- Pause the descent before your back position changes or the weights pull you out of control.
- Bring your hips forwards to return to standing smoothly, without leaning back at the top.
Choose a stopping point you can repeat
NASM describes the RDL as a hip hinge and prioritises spinal alignment over maximum depth. Rather than chasing the floor, use your first light set to identify where you can reverse the movement without turning it into a squat or rounding to reach farther.
If you cannot tell whether your hips or knees are doing most of the movement, practise the hinge without added load and ask a trainer for feedback. Adding weight to an uncertain setup makes the result harder to assess. The planned workout is a starting structure, not a reason to continue a repetition that you cannot control.
Separate load, grip and range in your notes
Record whether the number in your log is per dumbbell or combined. For example, “two 12 kg dumbbells; entered per hand” is clear. Keep that convention unchanged on later visits so a change in bookkeeping does not look like a strength increase.
Add a short note if grip ended the set before the hinge did. Also note intentional changes such as using lifting straps, pausing near the bottom or reducing the range while learning. Those details explain why two sets with the same weight might not be directly comparable.
Compare this exercise with your previous dumbbell RDL, rather than a conventional deadlift. Start a new baseline if you move to a different variation.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Bending the knees farther on every repetition until the hinge becomes a squat.
- Letting the dumbbells drift far in front of the legs.
- Reaching for the floor after the controlled hinge has already ended.
References and exercise instructions
Independent guidance from MyLifts. Equipment brands belong to their owners; no affiliation or endorsement is implied. Follow the instructions on your exact equipment and ask gym staff to demonstrate unfamiliar adjustments.
