Barbell Stiff-Leg Deadlift
What Is the Barbell Stiff-Leg Deadlift?
Barbell Stiff-Leg Deadlift is a compound exercise that primarily targets the hamstrings and glutes and also engages the lower back, upper back and grip. It is an intermediate-level movement that pulls a loaded barbell from the floor with the knees held almost straight, so nearly all of the work comes from hinging at the hips.
The stiff-leg deadlift is easy to confuse with the Barbell Romanian Deadlift, and the difference comes down to where each rep starts and how much the knees bend. Here every rep starts with the plates on the floor and returns them there, the knees keep one slight bend that never changes, and the hips sit high, so the hamstrings are stretched hard at the bottom. The Romanian deadlift starts standing, lets the knees soften as the hips travel back, and turns around once the hamstrings reach their stretch, usually around mid-shin, without the bar touching down. Compared with the conventional Barbell Deadlift, the knees and quads contribute very little, which makes the lift lighter, more hip-dominant and more demanding on hamstring flexibility.
The lift is a posterior-chain accessory rather than a competition movement. It usually comes after the main squat or deadlift work of a session, with moderate loads and controlled reps, and bodybuilders and strength athletes both use it to build the hamstrings and glutes. In a nine-week trial in untrained adults, stiff-leg deadlift training raised one-rep max by about a third and grew the semimembranosus more than the other two hamstring muscles. Because it trains the hamstrings through hip extension, it pairs well with a knee-flexion exercise such as the Nordic Hamstring Curl or the Machine Lying Leg Curl.
It suits lifters who can already hinge with a flat back and want more hamstring and glute work than the conventional deadlift gives. If the plates cannot reach the floor without the lower back rounding, build the pattern first with the Barbell Romanian Deadlift or the Kettlebell Romanian Deadlift, or pull from plates or blocks set a few inches high. The Dumbbell Stiff-Leg Deadlift trains the same pattern with lighter, easier-to-handle loads.
Muscles Worked
- Biceps Femoris
- Primary
- Gluteus Maximus
- Primary
- Semimembranosus
- Primary
- Semitendinosus
- Primary
- Adductor Magnus
- High
- Erector Spinae
- High
- Upper Trapezius
- Medium
Instructions
- Load a barbell on the floor and stand with your feet about hip-width apart, the bar over the middle of your feet and about an inch from your shins.
- Hinge at the hips with only a slight bend in the knees and grip the bar overhand, hands about shoulder-width apart just outside your legs.
- Set your position: hips high, back flat, shoulders pulled down and back, and eyes on the floor a little ahead of you.
- Brace your core and drive your hips forward to lift the bar, keeping the knee bend exactly the same.
- Keep the bar close to your legs as it travels up your shins and thighs.
- Finish standing tall with your hips fully extended and the bar resting against your thighs, without leaning back.
- Push your hips back to lower the bar along your legs, keeping your back flat and your knee angle unchanged.
- Lower until the plates touch the floor lightly, or stop just before your lower back starts to round.
- Reset your brace and repeat for the prescribed reps.
Common Mistakes
Rounding to reach the floor
Letting the lower back round so the plates can touch down moves the load from the hips onto the spine, so stop where the back stays flat or raise the bar on blocks.
Locking the knees hard
Jamming the knees into full lockout loads the joint without adding any hamstring work, so keep one slight bend that stays fixed for the whole rep.
Bar drifting forward
A bar that swings out in front of the legs lengthens the lever on the lower back, so keep it close to the shins and thighs on the way up and down.
Turning it into a regular deadlift
Dropping the hips and bending the knees at the bottom hands the work to the quads and turns the lift into a conventional deadlift.
Bouncing off the floor
Rebounding the plates off the floor skips the hardest part of the rep and makes it harder to keep the back set, so touch down lightly before each pull.
Leaning back at the top
Pushing the hips through and leaning back at lockout compresses the lower back without working the glutes any harder.
Injuries
Barbell Stiff-Leg Deadlift is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. With the knees nearly straight, the hips do the lifting from a long lever, so the lower back and the hamstrings take most of the strain. The lower back is most exposed at the bottom, where chasing the floor with a rounding spine moves the load from the hips onto the spinal discs. The hamstrings are under the most stretch at the same point, and bouncing the plates or yanking the bar off the floor loads them suddenly.
Keep the lower back flat for every rep and let hamstring flexibility, not the floor, set the depth. If the back starts to round before the plates touch down, raise the bar on plates or blocks rather than forcing the range. Keep the bar close to the legs, hold a slight bend in the knees instead of locking them hard, and lower each rep under control. Choose a load you can move without changing knee angle or back position, since the lift is meant for moderate weights, not maximal ones.
To regress, switch to the Barbell Romanian Deadlift, which shortens the range and allows more knee bend, or train hip extension with less spinal load on the Hyperextension or the Barbell Hip Thrust. Progress by adding load gradually or by pausing just off the floor.
Stop the set if you feel sharp pain in the lower back, pain or tingling that travels down the leg, or a sudden pull or cramp high in the back of the thigh. Back stiffness that lasts beyond the usual training soreness is a reason to reduce load and range and have the technique checked.
- Primary Focus
- Hamstrings and glutes
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Alternative Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: What is the difference between a stiff-leg deadlift and a Romanian deadlift?
The barbell stiff-leg deadlift starts from the floor and returns the plates there each rep with an almost straight knee, while the Barbell Romanian Deadlift starts standing, bends the knees a little more and stops around mid-shin. A study of competitive bodybuilders lifting 80% of their one-rep max found the stiff-leg version excited the gluteus maximus more on the way up, while the Romanian deadlift excited the semitendinosus more.
- Q: Should my legs be completely straight?
No. Keep a slight bend in the knees and hold that exact angle for the whole rep, since "stiff" means the knees do not move, not that they are locked hard.
- Q: Does the bar have to touch the floor on every rep?
In the standard version it does, because each rep starts from a dead stop with the plates on the floor. If your lower back rounds before the plates touch, set the bar on plates or blocks a few inches high, or use the Romanian deadlift until your hamstring flexibility improves.
- Q: How much weight should I use compared to my regular deadlift?
Expect to use clearly less than your conventional deadlift, because the knees and quads barely help. Pick a load you can lift for every rep without bending the knees further or rounding the back.
- Q: Is the stiff-leg deadlift bad for your back?
Not when the lower back stays flat and the depth matches your hamstring flexibility. The risk comes from rounding the spine to reach the floor with a heavy load, which is avoided by raising the bar or reducing the weight.
- Q: Should I use a barbell or dumbbells?
The barbell lets you load the lift more heavily and keeps the weight on a fixed path in front of the shins. The Dumbbell Stiff-Leg Deadlift is easier to set up, needs less weight to start and works well when a barbell is not available.