Hamstrings exercise
Band Stiff-Leg DeadliftHow to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Hamstrings, Glutes
- Also works
- Lower back
- Equipment
- Band
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
How do you do the Band Stiff-Leg Deadlift?
- Stand on the middle of a band, feet hip-width, a handle in each hand.
- Keep your knees almost straight and your back flat.
- Hinge at your hips, sliding your hands down your legs to about mid-shin.
- Stop when you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings.
- Drive your hips forward to stand tall against the band and squeeze your glutes.
Cues
- Hips back, chest proud.
- Hands stay close to your legs.
- Squeeze your glutes at the top.
Common mistakes
- Rounding the back.
- Squatting instead of hinging.
- Leaning back at the top.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
The version in our demo
A stiff-leg deadlift with a tube band: stand on the middle of the band with a handle in each hand. The band is slack at the bottom and stretches as you stand, so the top (hip lockout) is the hardest part. F's barbellstifflegdeadlift is the barbell version.
Starting position
Stand on the middle of the band, feet hip-width, toes forward. Hold a handle in each hand, arms straight, hands just outside the legs. Knees almost straight, shoulder blades set.
The movement
Hinge at the hips with a flat back, pushing the hips back a little, the hands sliding down close in front of the legs to about mid-shin, until the trunk is nearly parallel to the floor or the hamstrings stop you. Drive the hips forward against the band to stand tall and squeeze the glutes.
Breathing
Breathe in and brace before the hinge, breathe out as you drive up against the band.
Tempo
0.45 s standing, about 1.8 s down, a touch, about 1.4 s up.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knees | 4° standing → 14–15° at the bottom | ≤ 20° (stiff legs, not locked) | |
| Trunk from vertical at the bottom | 80° | 70–90°, back flat | |
| Hands at the bottom | 2–8 cm below the knee, close in front of the shins | knee to mid-shin | |
| Arms | straight (elbows ≤ 17°) | never pulling | |
| Band | from under each mid-foot past the outside of the foot to the hand, 1.7–2.4 cm clear of the legs | never through a leg |
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Band Stiff-Leg Deadlift is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
Sources
- ExRx.net, "Barbell Straight-back Straight-leg Deadlift" (lower by bending at the hips with the knees and back straight to a mild hamstring stretch; no bouncing)
- ACE Exercise Library, "Romanian Deadlift" (hip hinge, flat back, load close to the legs)
- NSCA, Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 4th ed. (2016)
