How To Do The Stiff-Leg Deadlift (3 Easy-to-Follow Steps)

Even though the stiff-leg deadlift (SLDL) has many benefits, if performed in an improper form, it can lead to serious injuries. If you're a beginner, it’s recommended to start with lightweight or work with a personal trainer who corrects your form.

Here are the step by step instructions to make sure you perform the stiff-leg deadlift correctly: 

1 - Starting position.

Stand parallel to the bar and hold the barbell with a double overhand grip (palms facing you). Keep your hands shoulder-width, arms straight, and brace your core. Stand feet shoulder-width apart, legs straight.

Bend your knees very slightly, just short from being fully locked. Bring your shoulder blades together, and lift your chest and look straight ahead.

2 - With a slight bend in your knees, lean forward and lower the weight down towards the floor. 

Keep your back straight, and lean slightly as far as you feel comfortable without rounding your back.

Make sure the barbell remains close to your shins. Your hamstring flexibility will determine how far you can lean over.

3 - Stand back and squeeze your glutes.  

• Contract your lats. Flex at the top.
• Keep your core tight and repeat.

You can experiment with slightly wider and narrower (hip-width) stances until you find what feels best for you.

Stiff-leg deadlifts are a compound exercise that targets all major muscle groups in your body.

The legs are working harder than they would in a conventional deadlift but they aim to minimize the amount of quad engagement by opening up the angle of the knees.

Primary Muscles Worked

Glutes (Gluteus Maximus): The biggest muscle in the human body, your primary hip extender.

Hamstrings: SLDL emphasizes hamstring development, so bodybuilders, influencers, and models often favor it for aesthetic purposes.

Lower back muscles (Erector Spinae): According to studies, when compared to other variations, performing SLDL showed the greatest muscle activation in the Erector spinae.[1]

Secondary Muscles Worked

The stiff-leg deadlift activates other muscle groups as well. Your trapezius, forearms, and middle back activate to control the weight during the movement.

"This is a really great exercise that isolates your hamstrings. However, you are going to notice that you are going to start to fatigue your lower back as well."

- Scott Herman, Fitness Model, Entrepreneur & Influencer

In addition, it works your core as your abdominals contract to stabilize your body.

1 - Rushing the motion:

Far too often, lifters move too fast while going down. Rushing through the motion prevents you from maximizing your gains and increases your risk of injury.

So when you start going down, pace yourself and give your hamstrings, glutes, and legs a deep stretch. Keeping it slow is essential for maximum hamstring activation.

2 - Lifting too heavy:

SLDL is not an ideal exercise for lifting heavy weights since it may make you bend forward and round your back. Instead, go for light to moderate weights and high reps. If you’re a beginner, try using dumbbells until you learn to maintain a solid form.

3 - Rounding of the back:

If you round your back, you put a lot of stress on your lower back, and you risk injury. Before bending over, make sure to keep your shoulder blades together, core engaged, your eyes looking upwards, and your neck in a neutral position throughout the entire range of motion.
When you perform the SLDL, make sure there’s no movement in the spine itself.

4 - Bended knees:

Your knees don’t have to be fully locked either. However, they should remain rigid throughout the exercise (hence the name ‘stiff-leg’). Once you assume the position, your knees should not move.

The key 3 differences between the two variations are the following:

1 - Starting Position

Stiff-Leg deadlift:  standing position with the weight at hips level. From there, the lifter lowers the weight to the ground.

Conventional deadlift: the lifter positions the bar over his shoelaces and picks it up from the ground.  Here we are pulling with higher hips, less leg drive, vertical shins, and we are using mainly our back to lift the weight.

2 - Range of Motion

Since you don’t have to go all the way down to the floor, the range of a stiff-leg deadlift is shorter than that of a conventional deadlift.

3 - Leg Posture

The clearest difference between the two is that a stiff-leg deadlift requires your legs to remain straight (slightly bent). This puts even more emphasis on your glutes and hamstrings. Therefore, doing the stiff-leg variation hits your hamstrings harder than conventional ones.

1 - Romanian Deadlift (RDL)

Romanian deadlift and stiff-leg deadlift are often mixed since the difference between the two are nuances.

They mainly differ in the degree of knee flexion at the start of the movement and the proximity of the bar to the body [2] [3].

Essentially, the Romanian deadlift focuses more on hip flexion and less on hamstring activation.

Unlike the Romanian deadlift, the stiff-leg deadlift is a barbell pull from the ground and then a controlled drop to the top. The Romanian deadlift uses its loading portion to create a stretch reflex at the bottom.

As far as programming, both the RDL and SLDL are better used for moderate reps until the lifter gets more technically skilled.

Also Read: Romanian Deadlift Benefits