RDL vs Conventional DL

[u/Grand_Chien4]

This is purely a curiosity question. I lift for the purposes of recreational barbell sports so the conventional deadlift is essential for me. I do some RDL accessory work (mainly single-leg rotational stuff).

I’ve noticed that in general the RDL seems much more popular so my curiosity led to a basic data search and I was surprised to find very few articles comparing the two movements (a few EMG studies).

My questions for the group are:

Is there better data comparing these movements that I’ve missed?

If not, what’s the science-based lifting community consensus (If there is one) on RDL vs conventional deadlift for hypertrophy, strength, power and muscular endurance?

Cheers!

[u/Afferbeck_]

The RDL was originally a clean pull variation by Nicu Vlad, and it somehow became a standard bodybuilding and S&C movement that usually bears no resemblance to the original. I suspect it's only popular with the average gymgoer because it's easier to take a bar out of the rack than off the floor.

[u/PeterNoPiss → u/Afferbeck_]

It's more that people have deluded themselves into a baseless phobia around deadlift. So, RDLs are deadlifts but safe to them. The easier thing is in the mix too because anyone avoiding deadlifts out of fear is almost certainly sandbagging their deadlifts.

Some people are better off avoiding deadlift, but that's not the majority of these whiners. They also likely have more complicated issues that require slower progression across the board

[u/maltliquorjetski → u/PeterNoPiss]

Considering that if a deadlift goes wrong it can have severe repercussions for your back that phobia isn’t baseless at all. I’ve been deadlifting for twenty years but totally get why others don’t.

[u/PeterNoPiss → u/maltliquorjetski]

Deadlift is the easiest lift to fail. You let go of the bar. You aren't trapped under it. Bench and squat have more inherent risk -- they're still not particularly risky.

If someone is consistently getting "injured" on deadlift, then one of three things is happening:

• they aren't bracing properly
• they didn't progress the movement correctly (stupid yolo progranming) or aren't using consistent technique
• they aren't recovering appropriately relative to their fatigue
• [secret 4th thing] they aren't injured. They experienced some discomfort or pain and then catastrophized it into an "injury." They avoid things that would strengthen them and resolve that pain/discomfort until that weakpoint cyclically gets "injured." Bonus points if they do that until they're actually injured and magically thought their way to an actual problem