The Landmine Split Stance Romanian Deadlift by Dan Bernardin

The Romanian Deadlift (RDL) is one of our five exercises in our pillar of max strength development and although we only have five key exercises, we have many variations of each. This can be explained perfectly with a quote from the book The Art of War by Sun Tzu, “There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard”. Variation is an important component in strength training, as each exercise variation will achieve different adaptations in slightly different ways. Here are 5 ways the Landmine Split Stance Romanian Deadlift (LSSRDL) is different from a Barbell RDL.

1. Increased stability – it is suggested this exercise is both a combination of a fixed/free weight exercise as the bar is fixed against the wall or in a landmine device. This means the athlete will have an increased level of stability which is good for beginner athletes or transitioning from bilateral (double leg) RDL’s to Unilateral (single leg) RDL’s.
2. The bar path – it travels on a fixed arc which effectively forces your body to move around the bar, this means your hips travel backwards into the correct position to activate the posterior chain effectively. This is perfect for athletes who tend to allow the bar to move away from their body during a Barbell RDL or beginner athletes learning the correct movement technique.
3. The bar path – also travels inside the leg that is working (front leg) and this will cause some rotational forces in which the athlete must resist, this will place more emphasis on the lateral hamstring (biceps femoris) which is the most commonly injured muscle in the hamstring complex.
4. The direction of force – as the bar is set up against a wall or in a landmind device in front of you, there is an ability to increase the amount of horizontal force without thrusting your hips into a bar.
5. Increased anti-rotation – the LSSRDL can be performed with the bar either directly in front of the athlete or perpendicular to the athlete. This will induce greater amounts of rotational force, which will require the athlete to resist these forces to maintain a neutral position. Anti-rotation forces will also increase core, glute and hamstring activation.