THE SINGLE LEG ROMANIAN DEADLIFT (Single LEG RDL)

“The single most important pattern for enhancing athletic performance” -Dr. John Rusin-Sports performance specialist and injury prevention expert.

With every client that I work with and regardless of their goals or level of fitness, I have to establish a foundation of strength that enhances their quality of life. This is done through a fitness test or what I like to call a success session which allows me to determine their movement basics.

Understanding and mastering the basics of exercise is a lifetime endeavour and more than enough to look, feel, and perform at elite levels.

It will also make life tremendously easier if you have a framework to which you can build a personalized exercise program for yourself, in order to have pain free, long-term and sustainable results.

4 MAIN LIFTING MOVEMENTS

· Pull

· Push

· ***Hip Hinge***

· Knee Bend

4 MAIN ATHLETIC MOVEMENTS

· Jumping/landing

· Throwing/striking

· Locomotion

· Rotation

Are you a workhorse or thoroughbred? Mastering these foundational lifting and athletic movements are downright essential to lasting success, which is the difference between a workhorse and a thoroughbred. Psst! You want to be a thoroughbred! :)

So where do you start?? The hip-hinge! Since it’s fundamental to movement, fulfillment, procreation, and the area where the largest and most powerful muscles are, that makes sense.

Here’s the kicker, the proper use of our hips has become somewhat of a lost art by the masses. This is also true, even of those who are at advanced levels of fitness. Think how well they’d perform at full potential of their mind and body’s abilities?? Imagine the injuries children involved in sports could avoid or overcome??

You can link knee, hip, lower back, and shoulder pain/injuries and decreases in athletic performance to lack of proper use of the hips. This can be credited to our sedentary lifestyle/occupation, and rounded posture, therefore, our mind and body have adapted to using our spine and knees in place of our hips. Yikes! They say age is just a number and this is NOT true. You’re only as old as your spine is and that’s why we and those we love need good spinal hygiene.

“The glutes are the cornerstone of our orthopedic health”

Dr.John Rusin Sports performance specialist and injury prevention expert.

When the biggest and most important player in movement quality, prehab/rehab, and spinal support start’s to take a back seat to the whole process, Houston we got a problem!

This leads me to my starting point with any and everyone who comes to me wanting to get strong, lean, and fit. I go over the basics of a hip-hinge pattern which is the ability to load the glutes and hamstring while keeping your spine tall/rigid/stable in the process.

“Before you can move dynamically, you must learn how to hold neutral positons and to do it well”

Dr Stuart McGill

(He’s a hero in lower back injury prevention/recovery in sports athletes and the most sought after specialist in the nation)

In truth, there is something that even precedes the Single Leg RDL in my foundations programming, and that’s called core strength/endurance. But, since the Single leg RDL checks off that requirement, being such a complete pattern, we can leave core strength/endurance for another topic.

“Core strength/endurance is the basis for bio-mechanical efficiency”

Farr Ramsahoye, PT, PNL1

Here’s 3 hip dominant exercises that allow the glutes to be the primary mover and stabilizer of the spine when coordinated with deep core stability.

The Hip-hinge pattern is the cornerstone to building a foundation of which a great body stands and performs to the best of its abilities for a lifetime to come. Mind and body working as one functional unit.

If you have any questions or would like access to my unique library of exercises for free. Please look me up on social media and I can be emailed at visionaryfitness4u@gmail.com.