The Romanian Deadlift (1 Arm, 1 Leg Opposite) Exercise is a great variation on a classic movement that will strengthen your glutes, back and hamstrings. It will also lengthen your hamstrings while challenging your stability and balance.
The Romanian Deadlift (1 Arm, 1 Leg Opposite) Exercise forms part of the Golf Strength and Endurance series of innovative and dynamic exercises that are designed to efficiently increase your stabilising strength – supporting proper body alignment, movement patterns, and energy transfer within the golf swing, and helping to prevent injuries.
Equipment
This exercise requires a dumbbell.
This is dedicated strength exercise, so choose a weight that is heavy enough to make the movement challenging, but enables you to complete all of your repetitions (reps) with proper form. The last couple of reps should be very difficult, but make sure that you can perform them properly.
If you are performing this exercise as part of a Golf Loopy Train like a Champion System programme workout, you should be able to complete the prescribed number of reps in the allotted time with proper form – adjust your tempo accordingly.
See How Much Weight Should I Lift? for more information.
Figure 1. Romanian Deadlift (1 Arm, 1 Leg Opposite) Exercise Video.
Steps
- Start by standing on your right foot with your knee slightly bent, holding a dumbbell in your left hand in an overhand grip.
- Hinge at the hip, lowering the dumbbell as your left leg lifts behind you.
- Return to a standing position by contracting your hamstrings and glutes.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
- Switch to standing on your left foot with the dumbbell in your right hand and repeat.
Keep your shoulder blades back and down, your abdominal muscles engaged and your back flat throughout. Keep the dumbbell close to your front leg all the way down and back up.
Your torso and back leg should move as one unit – fire the glutes of your back leg to keep it straight and in line with your torso.
You should feel it working your glutes, hamstrings and back.
Variation
There are a number of interesting variations on the Romanian Deadlift (RDL) in the Golf Loopy Train like a Champion System that offer a variety of challenges, you can see them all by clicking here.
If you have any questions or comments about this or other articles on Golf Loopy, please send us an email.
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