Stiff leg deads

Brendon

New member
I'm currently on day 2 of post cycle therapy (pct). I was reading through Realgain's post on keeping gains when off and here's what he had to say about stiff leg deadlifts:

Stiff leg deadlifts....to just below knee height. Use straps. Back straight. PIVOT AT THE HIP. By far the best ham worker and a very good erector movement too. 2 warm ups of 5 and then 2 very hard sets of 10 SLDL not only work the hams very well but they also work the low back very well too.

Does a stiff leg deadlift require you to keep your legs straight throughout the movement?

When he says "pivot at the hips" does he mean that your power should be coming from the hip region (as opposed to coming from the legs)?

Thanks guys
 
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I think he just means bend at the hip.. and yes this is the best ham movement IMO and def. keep your legs straight
 
a stiff leg deadlift requres alot of flexibilit, it works the lower back alot more then a bent knee. unlike a bent knee where u can lower your whole body for easier lifting form, a stiff leg dead lift will be alot harder and all movement up and down will come from the hip joint
 
knees slightly bent. dont lock your legs. depending on how heavy you are going will determine the number of warm up sets. obviously if you going 495 for your work sets you would need more than 2 warm up sets. start at 135 and add plates each successive set until you get to your work sets. stiff legs is one of the better exercises for hams. good mornings, rack pulls, pull thrus, glute ham raises, reverse hyper are some others that are very effective as well. good luck.
 
If you do them right, you should hardly feel it at all in the low back.
 
Stiff leg deadlifts will put more stress on the lower back, that is probably why I prefer traditional bent leg deadlifts they put more stress on the legs and hips and I cannot lift as heavy as I would like when I do stiff leg deads. Regardless, it is good to hear that more people are incorporating deadlifts into their routine, they are an awesome exercise.
 
pullinbig said:
knees slightly bent. dont lock your legs.
Just the point I was about to raise. NEVER lock your knees imo.

I do tend to go lower than just below the knee though. Probably mid shin or just above plates hitting the platform.
Maybe I'm performing them incorrectly but I've never had any problems. Perhaps someone could clue me in if I am incorredt in doing this.
 
Yes bend your knees ever so slightly to take the strain off your back.
Make sure that the bar grazes your knees on both directions of the movement
 
70w30 said:
Yes bend your knees ever so slightly to take the strain off your back.
Make sure that the bar grazes your knees on both directions of the movement

No need to graze your knee.......Romanian SLDs are performed closer to the legs so there is less stress placed on the lower back. If any of you are bio-mechanical engineers ....it reduces the moment about your lower back (think of it as a pivot).

Regular SLDs are performed a little further up - greater perpendicular distance between the bar and your knees.........greater this distance the greater the stress on the back.

I do SLDs right after squats and start with 2 plates a side and go upto 4 a side for my workset ...... of 6 reps.
 
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BTW, I don't do regular DLs anymore .....I find my back is more vulnerable to regular DLs (I'm 6' 2" )and frankly I don't have the time for them.......... I'm doing an MBA and no one in my class (except yours truly) goes to the gym on a regular basis ! Have to say its worth every fuckin minute of my time.
 
Toranaga said:
BTW, I don't do regular DLs anymore .....I find my back is more vulnerable to regular DLs (I'm 6' 2" )and frankly I don't have the time for them.......... I'm doing an MBA and no one in my class (except yours truly) goes to the gym on a regular basis ! Have to say its worth every fuckin minute of my time.

doing the more compound movements is a time saver. if i can only get to the gym one time per week i make sure that i do deads and heavy back work that day. deads are the most complete body workout of any movement.
 
Toranaga said:
No need to graze your knee.......Romanian SLDs are performed closer to the legs so there is less stress placed on the lower back. If any of you are bio-mechanical engineers ....it reduces the moment about your lower back (think of it as a pivot).

Good call. These are great and I barely feel them in my back at all. Knees are just slightly bent, and from the bottom of the movement, just think of thrusting your hips forward.
 
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