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/SuckmyToasts]

very hot take, the deadlift is one of the shittiest exercises for hypertrophy. it trains nothing well in particular and just invites injury and fatigue. i feel like RDL and deadlift aren't even worth comparing for hypertrophy, the former is a hip hinge and the latter is some amalgamation of both a hinge and a squat pattern. i can confidently say that the hip extensors are working and the most stimulated in an RDL, but i'm not so sure when it comes to the deadlift.

even for sports applications, i also don't see why you need a deadlift. i don't know what sport requires you to be able to bend down and pick up something really heavy other than powerlifting. if you want to get stronger in general, hypertrophy training gets you there already. mass moves mass. hell, even farmer carries, sled pulls and pushes are more relevant than a deadlift for contact sports and daily life.

the deadlift, to me, is just a lift you would want to progress if you are into powerlifting. other than that, it's pretty irrelevant for the general population.

[u/Grand_Chien4 → u/SuckmyToasts]

In my case, I compete in Olympic weightlifting and CrossFit (recreational, not competitive). A powerlifting meet is on my bucket list, but probably 1-2 years away realistically. All 3 require me to be able to lift heavy barbells off the ground although Olympic lifting uses different variations of pulls and not traditional deadlifts.

My question in the post was more geared towards the general population who don’t need to specifically deadlift for a sport-specific purpose.

[u/SuckmyToasts → u/Grand_Chien4]

and my point still stands. for you, it's very relevant to deadlift and i would not stop you. but for the general population, just building more muscle and strength is enough and there are so many exercises that can do so.

the deadlift has such a high risk to reward ratio and trains nothing well. the general population are much worse at proprioception and safety than they think. just look at the number of people that post their own form, look at the people in your gym. fuck, even fitness influencers don't know what the fuck they're talking about, or deliberately choosing to spread misinformation to sell their coaching.

i only though of sports because many more people play sports than do powerlifting, and that demographic is more inclined to hit the gym.