Split Stance RDL's: Ready for the 🔥

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💡 The barbells baby brother.

A few weeks back, I covered variations of the barbell deadlift and how each has its own pros and cons. However, I forgot to mention the split-stance RDL, also known as the B-stance RDL. This variation might just be the extra touch your routine has been missing.

What's the Split-Stance RDL?

It's a unilateral exercise—a fancy way of saying single-leg—where one foot is placed slightly behind the other. This small tweak puts significantly more load on the lead leg. Personally, I find the traditional barbell RDL using both legs gives me a great hamstring stimulus, whereas the split-stance RDL is a glute assassin.

How Does It Compare to the Traditional Barbell RDL?

While the traditional barbell RDL is an excellent exercise, the Split-Stance version offers some unique benefits:

• Reduced Lower Back Stress: Traditional RDLs can sometimes strain the lower back due to the axial load—another fancy term for how much weight goes through your spine. Due to the single-leg nature of the split stance, you're using much lighter loads, meaning less stress on the spine.

  
  

• Extra Glute Love: If you can't quite feel your glutes during the traditional RDL, the Split-Stance RDL will be an enlightening experience.

  
  

• Address Muscle Imbalances: Let's face it, years of favoring one side can lead to imbalances. If you've only ever done bilateral exercises (using both legs or arms), you might not even feel a difference. The Split-Stance RDL allows you to work each leg more independently, helping to ensure both sides get an equal amount of love.

  
  

Getting Started

Here's a quick video walkthrough of how to perform a Split-Stance RDL, but this is just one variation to try. You can also put your back leg against the wall or even on a bench. These small tweaks are worth trying to see which one works best for you.

Not sure why I switched to an Australian accent at 00:59 🧐

Pro Tips

Aim to keep your weight rooted through your lead leg; the back leg is there to aid in balance, not to perform the lift. This is where the wall and bench variations can come in handy.

Butt back, not down. This is a hinge, after all. Aim to reach your bum back and feel that stretch in your hamstrings and glutes. Again, having a wall behind you can be helpful to aim for.

It's all in the hips. Yes, that's a Happy Gilmore quote for you fellow movie geeks. The movement of any RDL should happen through your hips; bend at the hips, not the spine. If your butt is moving backwards and you feel that hamstring stretch, you're off to a great start.

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P.S. If you enjoyed this week's Thursday Three, please share it with a friend.

Thanks,

Jamie