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Stiff leg deadlift is a variation of deadlift that places emphasis on the posterior chain, glutes and hamstrings, also to some extent on the hips.
It’s one of my favorite exercises for training these muscles efficiently. Stiff legged deadlifts are especially good at developing the lower back, hamstrings and glutes so if this is an area that you’re looking to improve, it’s definitely worth giving stiff leg deadlifts a try.
Stiff Leg Deadlift Muscles Worked?
Like Romanian Deadlifts, stiff-legged deadlifts can be a good exercise for “feeling the Muscles” in the legs.
The primary muscles that benefit from this movement are glutes and hamstrings. It is also great for lower back but in comparison to regular deadlift it places less stress on the lumbar spine because of the shorter range of motion.
Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlift Benefits
Dumbbell stiff leg deadlift is an awesome exercise for overall lower back strength, hamstring strength and size.
You can load it really heavy for low reps or lighter weights done with high reps to target the hamstrings specifically.
How To Do the Stiff-Leg Deadlift?
1. Stand tall with the dumbbells hanging on either side of your body, palms facing toward you legs.
2. Initiate the descent by bending at the knees and sitting back into your hips, keeping your shins vertical.
The knees will drift over the toes as you lower yourself down. This is okay as long as there are no weight restrictions on this exercise.
If there are, make sure to keep the shins closer to vertical so that the knee never goes past the toes during a set or during any part of a rep.
You can use lighter weights if need be for this reason but it is important to learn how to do stiff legged deadlifts properly first rather than skip them altogether because they’re too hard.
3. Lower the weights as far as you can while maintaining a neutral spine and still keeping your hips behind the ankles.
This will be at least parallel to the ground but maybe even slightly below it. Some people like to keep their trunk more upright during this exercise and pull back up from this position, which is fine as long as they don’t round their lower back excessively.
4. After reaching the bottom-most position explosively reverse direction by pushing your feet into the floor and coming right back up to lockout without compensating with any sort of momentum or jerking motions once again maintaining a neutral spine throughout
5. Repeat for reps, lowering the weight only down to the point you feel a good stretch in the hamstrings. At no point should you lose tension on your posterior chain muscles, even at the bottom of a rep.
Tip: Make sure to perform your reps explosively, even at the bottom of each rep where your posterior chain muscles are under tension
How Many Reps Should I Perform?
As with all lower body compound exercises, I recommend a majority of reps to be in the 8-12 range for maximum hypertrophy and strength gains in the lower body with some higher rep work done occasionally when focusing more on muscle endurance rather than maximal strength gains.
It’s also fine to do some sets as low as 4-6 reps if that feels better on any given day but just keep in mind that this movement is most beneficial when performed with challenging weights that maximize both strength and hypertrophy adaptations.
Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlift Mistakes?
One of the most common mistakes I see people make is performing stiff-legged deadlifts without full range of motion.
This may be because someone is trying to use too much weight and can’t get down low enough but it’s important that you learn how to do every variation of this exercise properly before increasing the load.
Another mistake people make (and sometimes this actually has to do with the first one) is not keeping their spine neutral during all parts of this exercise, even at the very bottom.
While rounding your back excessively will put you at a greater risk for injury, being too upright makes you unable to recruit your posterior chain muscles fully so it pays off to have some degree of trunk flexion throughout any variation you perform.
Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlift Variations
– 1. Kettlebell Stiff Leg Deadlift. This is performed similarly to the dumbbell version except that you hold a kettlebell by its horns, palms facing toward your legs.
You can use lighter weights for this variation if need be but make sure to keep the reps high and explosive.
– 2. Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlift Romanian Deadlift Variation. This is just like it sounds, lowering slowly into a deep stretch before reversing direction explosively being sure not to round at any point in this movement.
– 3. Trap Bar Stiff Leg Deadlifts. You really have no choice but to perform stiff legged deadlifts properly with the trap bar because of how wide apart your hands are so there is no real reason to switch over to something else.
– 4. Banded Stiff Leg Deadlift. Using bands to help pull the weight up is a great way to increase tension throughout the entire movement.
Keep In Mind
This variation isn’t for everyone because it can be difficult maintaining proper form under more challenging loads, but some people find it easier on their hips and lower back.
– 5. Seated Stiff Leg Deadlift. Performing stiff leg deadlifts while seated on a bench or box allows you to use lighter weights than if standing so this is one of my favorite variations for focusing on really feeling the target muscles working rather than just going through the motions with heavier weights that I know I can move well.
– 6 Alternating Bodyweight Stiff Leg Deadlift. This version doesn’t require any equipment. The movement is more difficult because you have to hold a static contraction for some time while using constant tension.
This variation is great if you want a core exercise with a lower back emphasis that will get your heart pumping and challenge your mental toughness as well.
Dumbbell Stiff Leg Deadlift Alternatives
– 1. Barbell Romanian Deadlift. This lower back unloading variation is very similar to the stiff leg deadlift.
The difference: you hold the barbell in front of you with your hands at shoulder width.
This makes it easier to maintain proper position throughout the set. Take advantage of this if anything about stiff leg deadlifts bothers you or causes pain.
– 2. Barbell Good Morning. This exercise has many benefits including increasing strength and size. One of my favorite uses for it is an alternative to stiff leg deadlifts. I do these when I need a break from stiff leg deadlifts.
Holding the bar low on your back forces you into better alignment than any other heavy compound exercise.
Make sure to do some lighter sets to get down the correct form before trying to do heavier sets.
– 3. Glute Ham Raise. I’m not sure there is any other single exercise that targets the posterior chain as well as this one.
If you’ve never tried to do them correctly then I suggest you practice the form before trying any significant weight. This can help you be sure that your positioning isn’t causing undue pain or discomfort.
– 4. Bulgarian Split Squat. This takes the dumbbell stiff leg deadlift alternative idea and turns it into a unilateral movement. There’s added benefit of recruiting even more muscle fibers because you must stabilize yourself throughout.
– 5. Reverse Hyper. You can use this piece of equipment as an alternative to stiff leg deadlifts. for those who have lower back pain from performing that exercise.
It also works great as a supplementary exercise. After your sets of stiff leg deadlifts are done use this to increase tension on the targeted muscles.
Conclusion
Stiff legged deadlifts are an essential compound movement for improving your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back.
If you have back pain or injuries, using dumbbells is usually your best option. This way you can avoid placing stress on that area.
Also remember that variety isn’t just limited to changing exercises. To maximum progress you should change the weight, sets, reps, or rest period at least every month or two.