7 Best Resistance Band Deadlift Variations & Their Benefits

Whether you train at home or in the gym, you can include the resistance band deadlifts in your training plan.

Resistance bands are excellent alternatives to dumbbells and barbells, allowing you to perform different deadlift variations by adjusting the tension level from light to heavy.

In this article, I’ll show you how to perform the following deadlift variations with resistance bands, what muscles they target, and when to incorporate them into your exercise program.

1. Suitcase Deadlift
2. Romanian Deadlift
3. Sumo Deadlift
4. Stiff Leg Deadlift
5. Single-leg Deadlift
6. Deficit Deadlift
7. Split Stance Deadlift

These resistance band deadlifts are easier to perform, less stressful on knees and lower back, and bolster posterior chain muscles.¹ Holmes, Clifton. (2019). Understanding the deadlift and its variations. ACSMʼs Health & Fitness Journal. 24. 10.1249/FIT.0000000000000570.

The 7 Best Resistance Band Deadlift Variations

1. Suitcase Deadlift

The resistance band deadlift is a compound exercise that simultaneously works on multiple muscle groups, particularly the quads, hamstrings, and lower back.

It involves lifting resistance bands from your sides (close to the body) using a neutral grip. This position reduces the stress on the lumbar vertebrae and effectively engages your legs, glutes, hips, and lower back.

If you’re a newbie wanting to learn conventional deadlifts, try the suitcase deadlift for a few weeks to bolster your foundational strength and learn to maintain the right posture during the conventional deadlift.

A suitcase deadlift involves the following steps:

1. Position your feet hip-width apart, wrap the band around your feet, and grasp the band’s ends in each hand with your palms facing the side quads.
2. Slightly bend your knees and lean forward until your shoulders are over your feet. Maintain a straight back by pulling your abdominal muscles back and keeping your chest up. That’s the starting position.
3. Push your feet down against the floor and lift your shoulder and back simultaneously until your hips are straight and you are in a standing position. That’s one rep.
4. Return to the starting position in a slow and controller manner and perform the desired number of reps.

Pro Tips: Keep your head in a neutral position throughout the movement. Hold your arms straight during the movement and pull the bands contracting your latissimus dorsi (lats).

2. Banded Romanian Deadlift

The resistance band Romanian deadlift (RDL) focuses on strengthening the posterior chain muscles, primarily the hamstrings.² Coratella, G.; Tornatore, G.; Longo, S.; Esposito, F.; Cè, E. An Electromyographic Analysis of Romanian, Step-Romanian, and Stiff-Leg Deadlift: Implication for Resistance Training. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 1903. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031903, ³Deadlift vs. Romanian Deadlift: Benefits of Each and How to Do – Medically reviewed by Daniel Bubnis, M.S., NASM-CPT, NASE Level II-CSS, Fitness — Healthline.com

It involves bending at your hips and keeping the knees as straight as possible so you can feel a nice stretch in your rear thigh.

The RDL also makes the hip and lower body flexible, reducing the risk of lower back injuries that happen during hip-hinging exercises.

Steps to perform the Romanian deadlift with a resistance band:

1. Put your feet shoulder-width apart and wrap the band around your feet.
2. Grab the ends of the resistance band in each hand with a neutral grip.
3. Moving your glutes backward, tilt forward until your hands reach below your knees. Try not to bend your knees while hinging forward.
4. Push through your heels and squeeze your backside to return to the upright position. That’s one rep.

Pro Tips: Stop before your back makes a round shape because when you return, you’ll feel more stress in your lower back than your hamstrings.

3. Banded Sumo Deadlift

The Sumo deadlift involves standing in a wider stance and keeping your toes out. This stance engages more of your outer quads and adductors (inner thighs) while minimizing the stress on the lower back, making it an excellent deadlift variation to add to your workout.⁴ Escamilla, Rafael F et al. “An electromyographic analysis of sumo and conventional style deadlifts.” Medicine and science in sports and exercise vol. 34,4 (2002): 682-8. doi:10.1097/00005768-200204000-00019

The wider stance has a shorter range of motion but it also allows you to lift bands with a higher tension level than the standard deadlift.

Besides bolstering your lower body, the Sumo deadlift also helps develop explosive strength if you do it quickly.

Steps to perform Sumo deadlift with a resistance band:

1. Place the band flat on the floor and step on it with your feet two times wider and your toes pointing out (sumo stance).
2. Hold the band firmly with a prone grip with your hands 5-6 inches apart and arms between your legs.
3. Bend your knees, take your hips back, and lean forward while keeping your back straight. That’s the lifting point.
4. Lift the band along with your back and hips until you return to the upright position. That’s one rep.

Pro Tips: Focus on driving your knees outward and keeping them aligned with your toes throughout the movement to any inward collapse of the knees.

4. Stiff Leg Deadlift

The stiff leg deadlift (SLDL) is one level higher exercise than the Romanian deadlift as it involves bending your torso as far as your flexibility allows unlike RDL (where you lower the weight about shin level).

The SLDL reinforces the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back, makes the posterior chain flexible, and improves hip mobility.

Follow these steps to perform the resistance band SLDL:

1. Stand on the band with your feet hip-width apart.
2. Hold the band firmly with a neutral grip.
3. Keep your hands about shoulder-width apart and arms straight at your sides.
4. Pushing your butt back (assume you are closing the door with your glutes), tilt forward as far as possible.
5. Hold for two seconds at the bottom, feel the stretch in your hamstrings, and then return to the standing position by driving your hips forward and squeezing your glutes. This is your one rep.

Pro Tips: Generate strength through your legs to stand back. Avoid pulling the band with your arms as it can make this exercise less effective.

5. Single-leg Resistance Band Deadlift

The single-leg deadlift is a great exercise for anyone who wants to work on their overall strength, balance, and stability.

It requires you to lift one leg behind you as you lean your torso forward and use your other leg to return to the upright position.

This unilateral deadlift exercise bolsters lower body strength and improves your ability to hold the body in an unstable position.

The single-leg resistance band deadlift also allows you to work more on your inferior legs and helps you fix strength imbalance.

A single-leg deadlift involves the following steps:

1. Stand on the band with your feet together.
2. Grasp the ends of the band in each hand with your palms facing each other.
3. Hinge forward and lift your right leg backward until your leg and torso are aligned or parallel to the floor.
4. Pushing your left foot into the ground, bring your right leg and upper body into the standing position. That’s one rep.

Pro Tips: Maintain a tight core and straight back throughout the movement and keep your head and neck aligned with your back.

6. Deficit Deadlift

A deficit deadlift is an advanced lower-body exercise that involves standing on an elevated object (cs inches) and pulling the band from a deeper position than a conventional deadlift.

This deeper position helps improve lower body flexibility and bolster your posterior chain strength.

Performing this deadlift with a resistance band before the plate-loaded deadlift enhances your performance and minimizes the risk of injuries.

Follow these steps to perform a banded deficit deadlift:

1. Place the band under a box and stand on it.
2. Grab the band’s ends with a neutral grip and keep your arms straight by your sides.
3. Bending your knees, hinge at your hips as long as your flexibility allows.
4. Push through your feet and extend your hips simultaneously to return to the start. That’s one rep.

Pro Tips: Start by doing it on a one-inch elevated object if you’re doing it for the first time. Gradually increase height and tension level as you progress.

7. Split Stance Deadlift

The split stance deadlift is the final one on this list. It involves lifting the band from a staggered stance, allowing you to engage one leg at a time and build unilateral strength.

It also improves balance and flexibility and trains your legs with a different technique.

The staggered deadlift instructions:

1. Stand with one foot slightly forward and the other back. The toes of your back foot should lightly touch the ground for balance.
2. Hold the band in front of you with both hands and maintain an upright posture.
3. Push your hips back and lower the band, keeping a slight bend in your front knee.
4. Lower the weight until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings or it’s just above the floor.
5. Drive through your front heel to stand up, squeezing your glutes at the top without overextending your back.

Pro Tips: Use the front leg to stand back up while keeping your rear leg firmly to maintain stability. You can also bend your knees softly to avoid wobbling.

Finishing it Off

Resistance bands are good alternatives to dumbbells and barbells. They provide decent resistance and a full range of motion, allowing you to perform various exercises in a limited space, including the Romanian, Sumo, suitcase, stiffed leg, single-leg, and staggered deadlifts.

The different resistance band deadlifts strengthen hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and core, and improve balance, coordination, and stability, making them a great addition to any workout program.

I also recommend checking these detailed conversions on Reddit about how to utilize resistance bands for performing deadlift exercises.

References

• 1
  Holmes, Clifton. (2019). Understanding the deadlift and its variations. ACSMʼs Health & Fitness Journal. 24. 10.1249/FIT.0000000000000570.
• 2
  Coratella, G.; Tornatore, G.; Longo, S.; Esposito, F.; Cè, E. An Electromyographic Analysis of Romanian, Step-Romanian, and Stiff-Leg Deadlift: Implication for Resistance Training. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 1903. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031903
• 3
  Deadlift vs. Romanian Deadlift: Benefits of Each and How to Do – Medically reviewed by Daniel Bubnis, M.S., NASM-CPT, NASE Level II-CSS, Fitness — Healthline.com
• 4
  Escamilla, Rafael F et al. “An electromyographic analysis of sumo and conventional style deadlifts.” Medicine and science in sports and exercise vol. 34,4 (2002): 682-8. doi:10.1097/00005768-200204000-00019