How to Do B-Stance RDLs

When it comes to changing up your leg day, the B stance Romanian deadlift is one of those exercises that looks simple but can make a big difference.

It takes the basic Romanian deadlift and shifts most of the work onto one leg, while your other foot stays on the ground for balance. You get many of the benefits of single leg training without having to fight to stay balanced through every rep.

For lifters looking to build stronger glutes and hamstrings, work on imbalances between sides, or eventually progress toward single leg deadlifts, the B stance RDL is worth adding to your training.

What Is a B Stance Romanian Deadlift?

A B stance Romanian deadlift is essentially a Romanian deadlift performed with most of your weight on one leg.

Instead of standing with both feet beside each other, you move one foot slightly behind you. The front leg does most of the work, while the toes of your back foot stay on the floor to help you balance.

Think of the back leg as a kickstand. It's there to keep you stable, not to help you lift the weight.

This gives you a nice middle ground between a traditional Romanian deadlift and a true single leg RDL. You can focus more heavily on one side without balance becoming the limiting factor.

Why Use a B Stance?

The biggest advantage of the B stance is that it lets you put more emphasis on one leg at a time.

With a traditional RDL, both legs share the load. That's great for building strength, but it can also make it harder to notice when one side is doing more work than the other.

Move one foot back into a B stance and things change quickly. Your front leg now has to handle most of the load.

This makes the exercise useful for lifters who have a noticeable strength difference between sides or simply want to add more unilateral work without moving all the way to a single leg deadlift.

Muscles Worked by the B Stance RDL

The B stance RDL primarily works your hamstrings and glutes, with your spinal erectors and the rest of your posterior chain helping maintain position throughout the movement.

Your upper back, core, forearms, and grip also have to work to keep the weight controlled.

What makes this variation different is how that work is distributed. Because most of your body weight and the external load are supported by the front leg, you can place more emphasis on one side at a time.

Do a good set correctly and you'll usually know exactly which hamstring and glute did the work.

Benefits of B Stance Romanian Deadlifts

Build Strength One Leg at a Time

The B stance lets you put more work into one leg without sacrificing the stability you get from having both feet on the floor.

This can be especially useful if one side tends to take over during regular deadlifts or Romanian deadlifts.

Work on Strength Imbalances

Most lifters aren't perfectly symmetrical. One leg is usually a little stronger, more coordinated, or more comfortable than the other.

Bilateral exercises can sometimes hide those differences because the stronger side simply picks up more of the work.

Training each side individually makes those differences much harder to hide and gives you an opportunity to work on them.

More Stability Than a Single Leg RDL

Single leg Romanian deadlifts are a great exercise, but balance can become the limiting factor before your hamstrings and glutes have done much work.

The B stance solves a lot of that problem.

Your back foot gives you just enough support to stay balanced while your front leg continues doing most of the work.

A Good Step Toward Single Leg Deadlifts

If you've tried single leg RDLs and spent more time trying not to fall over than actually training your hamstrings, you're not alone.

The B stance RDL is a good progression between regular RDLs and the full single leg version.

You can learn to load one side at a time while still having that back foot available for balance. As your strength and control improve, you can gradually rely less on the back foot before progressing to a true single leg RDL.

How to Perform a B Stance Romanian Deadlift

Start with a light weight until the stance feels natural. You can perform the exercise with dumbbells or a barbell.

Stand normally, then move one foot slightly behind you. Keep the toes of the back foot on the floor and most of your weight on your front leg.

Your back foot is there for balance. Don't turn the exercise into a regular two leg RDL by pushing hard through it.

Before you start the rep, brace your core and keep your torso tight. As the weight gets heavier, some lifters prefer using a lever belt to give them a solid surface to brace against and help maintain that tight position throughout the lift.

From there, push your hips backward and keep the weight close to your body as you lower it.

Your front knee should stay slightly bent. Continue hinging until you feel a good stretch through the hamstring of your front leg. How low you go will depend on your mobility and ability to maintain a strong position.

Once you reach the bottom of the movement, drive through your front foot and bring your hips forward until you're standing tall again.

That's one rep.

How Much Weight Should You Use?

Don't worry about going heavy the first time you try B stance RDLs.

Even if you can move serious weight on a traditional RDL, the B stance changes how the load is distributed. Start lighter than you think you need and get comfortable with the movement first.

Once you can keep your balance, maintain a solid hip hinge, and feel the front hamstring and glute doing most of the work, start adding weight gradually.

If you're trying to figure out where your pulling strength should be in general, read our guide on how much you should deadlift.

Common B Stance RDL Mistakes

Putting Too Much Weight on the Back Foot

This is probably the easiest mistake to make.

Your back foot should help you balance, but it shouldn't be doing much of the lifting. If you're pushing hard through both feet, you've basically turned the movement back into a regular RDL with an awkward stance.

Keep most of your weight over the front leg.

Turning the Movement Into a Squat

The Romanian deadlift is a hip hinge, not a squat.

Keep a slight bend in your front knee, then push your hips backward as you lower the weight. If your knees keep bending and your hips start dropping straight down, you've changed the movement.

Going Too Heavy Too Soon

There's no prize for loading this exercise as heavily as possible.

If adding weight causes you to lose your balance, shift onto the back leg, or change your technique, you've gone too heavy.

Control the movement first. Load it second.

Rounding Your Back

As you hinge, maintain a strong torso position and keep the weight close to your body.

Don't chase extra range of motion by reaching farther toward the floor once you've reached the limit of your hip hinge.

For more on deadlift technique, read our guide to common deadlifting mistakes.

How to Add B Stance RDLs to Your Workout

B stance RDLs work well as an accessory movement after your main lower body exercise.

You might perform them after squats or deadlifts when you want additional hamstring and glute work without loading another heavy bilateral movement.

A good starting point is 2 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps per leg. Keep the reps controlled and focus on getting a strong stretch through the hamstring rather than simply moving as much weight as possible.

As you get more comfortable, you can increase the weight, adjust your rep range, or slow down the lowering portion of each rep to make the exercise more challenging.

Exercises That Pair Well With B Stance RDLs

You don't need to build your entire leg day around one movement.

B stance RDLs work well alongside squats, lunges, hip thrusts, traditional Romanian deadlifts, and other lower body exercises.

The important thing is understanding what the exercise brings to your program.

If you already have plenty of heavy bilateral work in your routine but want more direct work for each leg, the B stance RDL fits nicely.

Should You Try the B Stance RDL?

If regular Romanian deadlifts are already working well for you, there's no reason to replace them completely.

The B stance RDL is simply another tool you can use when you want to put more emphasis on one side at a time.

It's particularly useful if you're trying to work on strength differences between your legs, want more direct hamstring and glute work, or aren't quite ready for full single leg Romanian deadlifts.

Start light. Keep most of your weight on the front leg. Use the back foot as a kickstand. And don't turn it into something more complicated than it needs to be.

Get those things right and the B stance RDL can become a very useful addition to your lower body training.