10 Best Romanian Deadlift Alternatives for Hamstring Strength

The Romanian Deadlift is done standing with a barbell. Ranked closest by our scoring: the Barbell Straight Leg Deadlift, the Wide Stance Stiff Legs and the Good Morning. Three harder versions, the Romanian Deadlift From Deficit, the Good Morning Off Pins and the Sumo Deadlift With Bands, are listed below as progressions rather than swaps.

If the only bar in your gym is loaded for someone else, or you train at home without one, the Romanian Deadlift is off the table today. The Barbell Straight Leg Deadlift is the closest swap because it uses the same bar and hinges your hips back the same way, lowering until you feel the stretch in your hamstrings. With a band instead of a bar, the Band Straight Leg Deadlift keeps that same standing movement going with nothing but the band under your feet.

Romanian Deadlift

Each substitute is scored on movement pattern, muscles worked, equipment and body position. Read how we rank alternatives

How to Do the Romanian Deadlift

The steps for the Romanian Deadlift itself, so you can judge how close each substitute below really is.

Hamstrings, with calves, glutes, lower back · Barbell · Intermediate · Compound

  1. Put a barbell in front of you on the ground and grab it using a pronated (palms facing down) grip that a little wider than shoulder width. Tip: Depending on the weight used, you may need wrist wraps to perform the exercise and also a raised platform in order to allow for better range of motion.
  2. Bend the knees slightly and keep the shins vertical, hips back and back straight. This will be your starting position.
  3. Keeping your back and arms completely straight at all times, use your hips to lift the bar as you exhale. Tip: The movement should not be fast but steady and under control.
  4. Once you are standing completely straight up, lower the bar by pushing the hips back, only slightly bending the knees, unlike when squatting. Tip: Take a deep breath at the start of the movement and keep your chest up. Hold your breath as you lower and exhale as you complete the movement.
  5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

The 10 Best Romanian Deadlift Alternatives

10 substitutes, ranked by how closely each one matches the Romanian Deadlift on movement pattern, muscles worked, equipment and body position. The higher the score, the less you change. Cards with a "How to perform it" link open to show the steps; every card title links to that exercise's own alternatives page. Harder versions are tagged as progressions and kept out of the top spot even when they score higher.

Each link re-ranks the list below for the kit it names. Pick one to hide the substitutes you cannot set up.

  1. Barbell Straight Leg DeadliftPlay demonstration

    1. Barbell Straight Leg Deadlift

    95% match

    Hamstrings · Intermediate · Compound

    It uses the same equipment and still works the hamstrings.

    • Barbell
    How to perform it
    1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing forward.
    2. Hold the barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
    3. Bend at your hips and lower the barbell towards the ground, keeping your back straight and your knees slightly bent.
    4. Lower the barbell until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
    5. Engage your hamstrings and glutes to lift the barbell back up to the starting position.
    6. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

    Sets and reps: 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Movement: stiff-leg hinge, the same as the Romanian Deadlift
    • Primary muscle: hamstrings, the same as the Romanian Deadlift
    • Equipment: free weights, the same as the Romanian Deadlift
    • Body position: standing, the same as the Romanian Deadlift
  2. Romanian Deadlift From Deficit

    Progression

    2. Romanian Deadlift From Deficit

    99% match

    Hamstrings · Advanced · Compound

    Pick this when you want a harder version that still works the hamstrings.

    • Barbell
    How to perform it
    1. Begin standing while holding a bar at arm's length in front of you. You can stand on a raised platform to increase the range of motion.
    2. Begin by flexing the knees slightly, and then flex at the hip, moving your butt back as far as possible, lowering the torso as far as flexibility allows. The back should remain in absolute extension at all times, and the bar should remain in contact with the legs. If done properly, there should be heavy tension felt in the hamstrings.
    3. Reverse the motion to return to the starting position.

    Sets and reps: 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Movement: stiff-leg hinge, the same as the Romanian Deadlift
    • Primary muscle: hamstrings, the same as the Romanian Deadlift
    • Equipment: free weights, the same as the Romanian Deadlift
    • Body position: standing, the same as the Romanian Deadlift
  5. Band Straight Leg DeadliftPlay demonstration

    5. Band Straight Leg Deadlift

    89% match

    Hamstrings · Intermediate · Compound

    A good swap when you have a band to work with, and it still works the hamstrings.

    • Band
    How to perform it
    1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and place the band around your feet.
    2. Hold the band with both hands, palms facing your body, and keep your arms straight.
    3. Engage your core and maintain a slight bend in your knees.
    4. Slowly hinge forward at your hips, keeping your back straight and chest lifted.
    5. Lower the band towards the ground while keeping your legs straight.
    6. Pause for a moment at the bottom, then squeeze your glutes and hamstrings to return to the starting position.
    7. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

    Sets and reps: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Movement: stiff-leg hinge, the same as the Romanian Deadlift
    • Primary muscle: hamstrings, the same as the Romanian Deadlift
    • Equipment: a band, not free weights
    • Body position: standing, the same as the Romanian Deadlift
  6. Kettlebell One-legged Deadlift

    6. Kettlebell One-legged Deadlift

    87% match

    Hamstrings · Intermediate · Compound

    Pick this when you want to work the hamstrings one side at a time.

    • Kettlebell
    How to perform it
    1. Hold a kettlebell by the handle in one hand. Stand on one leg, on the same side that you hold the kettlebell.
    2. Keeping that knee slightly bent, perform a stiff legged deadlift by bending at the hip, extending your free leg behind you for balance.
    3. Continue lowering the kettlebell until you are parallel to the ground, and then return to the upright position.

    Sets and reps: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps on each side.

    Why this matches
    • Primary muscle: hamstrings, the same as the Romanian Deadlift
    • Equipment: free weights, the same as the Romanian Deadlift
    • Body position: standing, the same as the Romanian Deadlift
    • Balance: harder to stay steady on than the Romanian Deadlift

Why You Might Need a Romanian Deadlift Alternative

You skip the Romanian Deadlift for ordinary reasons: the only bar is in someone else's hands, your gym stocks no barbell, or you train at home with a band and a kettlebell. The Romanian Deadlift asks you to push your hips back with your knees only slightly bent and your back staying flat as you lower and lift a loaded bar, and it is the loaded bar, not the movement, that most lifters cannot get on demand. A band loads the same standing movement with nothing more than the band under your feet, and it pulls hardest at the top of the lift rather than at the floor. A kettlebell moves the load to one hand and puts you on one leg, which trains balance a two-footed barbell lift does not. The Wide Stance Stiff Legs changes only your stance.

How to Choose the Right Romanian Deadlift Substitute

If a bar is free, the Barbell Straight Leg Deadlift changes almost nothing: same bar, same standing lift, same stretch and load through the hamstrings. Without a bar, the Band Straight Leg Deadlift moves that same standing lift onto a band you stand on and hold at arm's length, and a band gets harder to pull the further it stretches, so the top of the lift feels heaviest. The Kettlebell One-legged Deadlift trains one leg at a time, and the Romanian Deadlift From Deficit adds range from a platform. Good Morning Off Pins is a different lift with the same hinge: the bar sits across the back of your shoulders on pins set at stomach height, you start already bent to near parallel, and you drive your hips forward to stand up before lowering the bar back to the pins.

Romanian Deadlift FAQ

Can I do the Romanian Deadlift at home?

Not with a bar unless you own one, but you can keep the same standing lift with the Band Straight Leg Deadlift or the Kettlebell One-legged Deadlift. Both load your hamstrings the same way, and the kettlebell version also has you work one leg at a time, which builds balance on its own.

Which swap trains one leg at a time?

The Kettlebell One-legged Deadlift. Working one leg at a time asks more of your balance than the two-legged bar version, and it suits fixing a side that lags before you go back to a bar. It uses a kettlebell instead of a barbell, so it packs away and travels easily too.

How do I make this lift harder once it feels easy?

Stand on a small platform for the Romanian Deadlift From Deficit, which lets the bar travel further and stretches your hamstrings more before you stand up. Good Morning Off Pins puts the bar across the back of your shoulders instead of in your hands, with the pins set at stomach height so every rep starts from the bent-over position and you drive your hips forward to stand.

Which alternative packs down to the least equipment?

The Band Straight Leg Deadlift needs only a resistance band, because you stand on it and hold the ends, so it travels and stores easily. It keeps the same standing lift as the Romanian Deadlift, and a band gets harder to pull the further it stretches, so the top of the lift is where you feel it most.

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