If it matters, I’m interested about this in the context of the effectiveness of, say, RDLs vs other exercises for glute hypertrophy.
Is it true that some people will inevitably hinge with the hamstrings more than the glutes?
If yes, is it possible to predict this–even just approximately–based on any observable anthropometric traits? What about unobservable anthro traits, like insertion points, etc?
thank you
Knowing which other exercises you’re comparing the RDL to would be extremely important if we’re going to talk hypothetical training responses, which I don’t love btw.
What do you mean by this?
While I am not sure what you mean by “hinge with the hamstrings more than the glutes” - I assume you’re referring to muscle activation or similar, which is not possible to predict based on anthropometry in most situations so, no.
Comparing with hip thrusts.
When I say “hinges with the hamstrings more than the glutes”, I mean “the hamstrings will take on a greater growth stimulus than the glutes”.
This is not hypothetical for me at the moment. I am trying to work out a way to train glutes with the equipment I have and I don’t have enough weight to make either DLs or hip thrusts hard without pauses. Since I can’t think of a way to do paused DLs that won’t fatigue my spine too much/not be excruciating, I am thinking that the best way to move forward would be doing hip thrusts with a 2-3 second pause at the top. As long as I’m getting within the vicinity of failure, this should work as well as ordinary hip thrusts, yes?
I asked this question because I was hoping it would help me guage how much I’m giving up by dropping a deadlift-type movement for the next few months at least
If you’re asking if there is interindividual variation with respect to training outcomes, sure.
Do you mean you couldn’t get close to ~ RPE 7 even if you did sets of ~30? Even if you did rest-pause work?. I also don’t think regular DL’s are great for hamstring or glute hypertrophy given the amount of fatigue they produce- for someone focused on hypertrophy only in this case.
I was doing RDL’s rather than regular DLs. Does change your assessment of their value for hypertrophy at all?
If by rest-pause you mean one really big set followed by short rests and then subsequent sets with a lot of fatigue built up, I don’t really know. I was hipthrusting in the mid-300s at the gym, and I have 200# at home. Maybe if I did a really, really long set I could get it to work this way. I’ll have to try it.
Are 3 second pauses at the top within the 10-20 rep range and at intensity of ~8 not going to work for hypertrophy? Why not?
I think RDL’s are much better for hypertrophy, yes.
I’d do a big set to near failure, then back offs with short rest (myoreps) or just big sets across (e.g. sets up to ~I30). Alternatively, you could do blood flow restriction stuff 
I wouldn’t do paused work for hypertrophy, but some tempo work or different exercises if you have to, e.g. single leg RDL, single leg hip thrusts, etc.
Thanks Jordan!