Hamstrings exercise
Barbell Stiff-Leg DeadliftHow to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Hamstrings, Glutes
- Also works
- Lower back, Forearms
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
How do you do the Barbell Stiff-Leg Deadlift?
- Hold the bar against your thighs, hands just outside your legs, feet hip-width apart.
- Unlock your knees slightly and keep them at that bend.
- Push your hips back and lower the bar down your legs with a flat back.
- Stop when your back is about parallel to the floor or your hamstrings won't let you go further.
- Drive your hips forward to stand tall.
Cues
- Hips back, not down.
- Bar close, sliding down your legs.
- Flat back, long neck.
Common mistakes
- Rounding your back to reach the floor.
- Bending your knees into a squat.
- Letting the bar swing out in front.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
The version in our demo
The stiff-leg deadlift: knees nearly straight (soft, about 20° at the bottom), neutral spine, the trunk hinging to parallel with the floor.
Starting position
Stand tall holding the bar at arm's length against the thighs, overhand grip just outside the legs, feet hip-width (heels about 24 cm apart), toes out a little. Shoulder blades set, chest up, neck in line with the spine.
The movement
Unlock the knees slightly and push the hips straight back. Keep the knees at the same small bend while the trunk tips forward with a flat back and the bar slides down the front of the legs. Lower until the back is parallel to the floor (or the hamstrings stop you), then drive the hips forward to stand tall without leaning back.
Breathing
Breathe in and brace at the top, hold it on the way down, breathe out near the top.
Tempo
0.45 s standing, 1.9 s down, a brief touch at the bottom, 1.5 s up.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knee flexion, top → bottom | 4° → 20° | ≤ 25° at the bottom | |
| Shin | to vertical at the bottom | 0–6° forward | |
| Trunk from vertical at the bottom | 90° (back parallel to the floor) | 80–95° | |
| Hip flexion at the bottom | 110° | ≤ 115° (hamstring end range with straight-ish knees) | |
| Bar at the bottom | lower shins, plates 10–13 cm off the floor | plates above the floor | |
| Bar distance from the legs | 0.8–1.0 cm (slides down them) | ≤ 3 cm | |
| Bar drift front to back | 5.5 cm | ≤ 6 cm | |
| Hips behind the ankle at the bottom | 12–15 cm | — |
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 Barbell 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 Stiff-Legged Deadlift" (knees slightly bent and held, lower the bar by bending the hips with a straight back until the hips can't flex further) and "Barbell Straight-Leg Deadlift" (the waist bends at the end)
- ACE Exercise Library, "Romanian / stiff-legged deadlift" (hinge at the hips, flat back, bar close to the legs)
- NSCA, Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 4th ed. (2016), ch. 15, stiff-leg deadlift
