Hip hinge: learning the deadlift and Romanian deadlift safely
The hip hinge is the movement of folding forward from the hips while the back stays long, and it is the basis of every deadlift. It trains the glutes, the hamstrings and the muscles along the spine, the posterior chain that long hours in a chair leave underused. The evidence on backs is more reassuring than its reputation. In a meta-analysis by Tataryn and colleagues of 8 trials and 408 people, 12 to 16 weeks of posterior-chain resistance training reduced pain and disability in chronic low back pain more than general exercise, with no difference in adverse events. The pain result was borderline, though. A Swedish trial by Aasa and colleagues found that high-load deadlifts and low-load motor-control exercise reduced pain similarly. So the deadlift is one good option, not a cure, and it is learned with a light load first.
Your deadlift working load
Enter your estimated one-repetition maximum for the deadlift or Romanian deadlift, and the number of repetitions you plan per set.
- Load for that number of reps to failure
- 63.2 kg
- Share of your maximum
- 79%
- Load leaving two reps in reserve
- 60 kg
Epley formula in reverse. Start with the load that leaves two repetitions in reserve, and adjust after the first session.
What the hinge trains, and why desk workers need it
Most of a working day happens with the hips bent and still. The hinge asks the opposite: the hips travel back, then drive forward to stand tall. A 2020 systematic review by Martín-Fuentes and colleagues found that in the conventional deadlift, the spinal erectors and the quadriceps were more active than the glutes and hamstrings. The Romanian deadlift, with straighter knees, shifted the emphasis towards the hamstrings. These are measures of muscle activity during the lift, not proof of long-term growth, but they help you choose a variation.
The hinge is also how you should pick up a heavy suitcase or a child. It sits second in the list of ten essential movements, right after the squat. The two look similar but differ: in the squat, knees and hips bend together and the hips drop; in the hinge, the hips go back and stay high.
The hinge, step by step (Romanian deadlift)
Start with a broomstick or a light pair of dumbbells. The steps below are standard coaching practice; no trial has tested a particular teaching drill.
- Stand tall. Feet hip-width apart, the weight against the front of the thighs, arms long.
- Soften the knees. Bend them slightly and keep that angle almost unchanged for the whole repetition.
- Send the hips back. Imagine closing a car door behind you with your bottom. The torso tips forward as a result.
- Keep the back long. Head, upper back and pelvis stay in one line. A broomstick held along the spine should touch the head, the upper back and the tailbone.
- Slide the weight down the legs. Keep it close, down to just below the knees or until the back of the thighs feels a strong stretch.
- Drive the hips forward. Squeeze the glutes and stand tall. Do not lean back at the top.
- Breathe between repetitions. Brace for each lift, then exhale at the top.
Once this feels natural, a coach can teach the conventional deadlift from the floor, which bends the knees more and starts each repetition from a dead stop.
Rounding the back: what the evidence says
Few questions cause more anxiety. A 2020 review by Saraceni and colleagues found low-quality evidence that more lumbar flexion during lifting was not a risk factor for developing or keeping low back pain. That finding concerns everyday lifting, not heavy deadlifts. It does not license a rounded back under a heavy bar.
Coaches still teach a controlled, near-neutral back for heavy loads. That is a convention built on experience, and a sensible one: it lets you lift the same way every time, and it makes it easier to see when fatigue is changing your technique. Neither "never round" nor "rounding is fine" is a fair summary of the research.
Deadlifts and back pain
NICE recommends exercise programmes for low back pain and advises against belts and corsets. A 2021 Cochrane review by Hayden and colleagues found that exercise therapy reduces chronic low back pain by about 15 points out of 100 compared with no treatment.
The deadlift has been tested directly. In the trial by Aasa and colleagues, 70 people with recurrent low back pain did either high-load deadlift training or low-load motor-control exercise. Pain fell similarly in both groups, and motor control did better on daily activity and movement control. A related analysis by Berglund and colleagues, from the same Swedish group, in 35 people, found that those who started with less pain, less disability and better back-extensor endurance benefited most from deadlifts. All the training was supervised by a physiotherapist with powerlifting experience. With current back pain, that supervision is part of the treatment, not an extra.
Choosing a working load
The calculator turns an estimated one-repetition maximum into a load for the number of repetitions you plan. It uses the Epley formula in reverse: the maximum divided by one plus the repetitions over thirty. With an estimated maximum of 80 kilograms and sets of 8, the load to failure comes out at about 63 kilograms. The second figure, leaving two repetitions in reserve, is the one to start with.
The American College of Sports Medicine suggests 8 to 12 repetitions for novices, and 1 to 12 for advanced lifters with an emphasis on heavier sets of 1 to 6. It advises adding 2 to 10% when you exceed your target by one or two repetitions. Treat the result as a first guess. Studies by Shimano and colleagues and by Nuzzo and colleagues show that the number of repetitions possible at a given percentage varies between exercises and people, and that lower-body lifts usually allow more. If you do not know your maximum, the guide to strength training for executives explains how to start from a comfortable load instead.
Common mistakes
- Squatting the weight up. The knees bend too much and the hips drop. Keep the shins nearly vertical in the Romanian version.
- Letting the weight drift forward. It loads the lower back. Keep the bar or dumbbells brushing the legs.
- Looking up at the ceiling. It arches the neck. Fix your gaze a metre or two ahead on the floor.
- Leaning back at the top. Finish by squeezing the glutes, not by bending backwards.
- Adding load before the pattern is stable. A calculated weight is not proof that you are ready for it.
Progressions and regressions
- Regressions: the broomstick drill against a wall; a hip thrust or glute bridge on the floor; a kettlebell deadlift from a raised surface.
- Progressions: the Romanian deadlift with heavier dumbbells; the single-leg Romanian deadlift; the conventional deadlift from the floor, then the barbell once a coach has seen your form.
A 20-minute version at the office or hotel
- Warm-up, 4 minutes. Ten glute bridges, ten broomstick hinges, ten bodyweight squats.
- Romanian deadlift, 7 minutes. 3 sets of 10 with dumbbells or a loaded backpack, three seconds down.
- Single-leg hinge, 5 minutes. 2 sets of 8 per leg, a hand on the wall if needed.
- Glute bridge hold, 4 minutes. 3 holds of 30 seconds.
After a day of meetings, this pairs well with the breaks described in sitting all day.
Warning signs
Learn the hinge with a light load and stop for sharp pain or pain that runs down the leg. Numbness around the groin or buttocks, loss of bladder or bowel control, or weakness in the legs needs urgent care: the NHS advises calling 999. If you currently have back pain, start under a physiotherapist or a qualified coach.
A coach who watches the first sessions saves months of guesswork. You can join the Club and ask for one who trains clients with desk-bound backs.
Questions
Is the deadlift safe if I have had back pain before?
It can be, under supervision. In a Swedish trial of people with recurrent low back pain, supervised deadlift training reduced pain as much as motor-control exercise. Those with less pain and better back endurance at the start benefited most. Begin with a physiotherapist or a qualified coach, use a light load, and stop for sharp or radiating pain.
What is the difference between a deadlift and a Romanian deadlift?
The conventional deadlift starts from the floor with more knee bend, and each repetition begins from a dead stop. The Romanian deadlift starts standing, keeps the knees softly bent and lowers only to just below the knees. A 2020 review found it puts relatively more emphasis on the hamstrings than on the spinal muscles. Most beginners learn the Romanian version first.
Should I wear a lifting belt for deadlifts?
For back pain, NICE advises against belts and corsets and recommends exercise programmes instead. For a healthy lifter training with moderate loads, a belt is not needed to learn the movement. Build the pattern and the trunk control first. Whether experienced lifters should use a belt for maximal attempts is a question for a coach.
How heavy should my first Romanian deadlift sets be?
Light enough to finish every set with two or three repetitions in reserve and an unchanged back position. For many beginners that means a broomstick first, then a pair of light dumbbells. Add weight when the target repetitions feel easy, by 2 to 10% at a time, as the ACSM suggests for progression.
Sources
- Tataryn et al.: posterior-chain resistance training versus general exercise for chronic low back pain, a meta-analysis (Sports Med Open, 2021)
- Aasa et al.: low-load motor control exercises versus a high-load lifting exercise for low back pain, a randomized trial (J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, 2015)
- Berglund et al.: which patients with low back pain benefit from deadlift training? (J Strength Cond Res, 2015)
- Hayden et al.: exercise therapy for chronic low back pain (Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2021)
- NICE guideline NG59: low back pain and sciatica in over 16s, recommendations
- Saraceni et al.: to flex or not to flex? Lumbar flexion during lifting and low back pain, a meta-analysis (J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, 2020)
- Martín-Fuentes, Oliva-Lozano and Muyor: electromyographic activity in deadlift exercise and its variants, a systematic review (PLoS One, 2020)
- American College of Sports Medicine: progression models in resistance training for healthy adults (2009)
- Shimano et al.: repetitions at selected percentages of 1RM in free-weight exercises, trained and untrained men (J Strength Cond Res, 2006)
- Nuzzo et al.: maximal number of repetitions at percentages of the one repetition maximum, a meta-regression (Sports Med, 2024)
- NHS: back pain