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legs

Barbell Stiff-Leg Deadlift

You push your hips back and slide a barbell down almost-straight legs, then stand up. The main exercise for the back of the thighs and buttocks.

intermediatebarbellplates

Barbell Stiff-Leg Deadlift, start position
START
Barbell Stiff-Leg Deadlift, end position
END
BEFORE YOU START1
  1. Load the bar and pick it up from the floor or a rack with a flat back.
HOW TO DO IT

Get into position

  1. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.
  2. Hold the bar against your thighs with your palms facing you, hands shoulder-width apart.
  3. Bend your knees very slightly and tighten your stomach.

Check: You are standing tall with the bar against your thighs and a slight bend in your knees.

Hinge down

  1. Push your hips back and let the bar slide down your legs, keeping your legs almost straight.
  2. Keep your back flat and your chest up the whole way down.
  3. Stop when you feel a strong stretch in the back of your thighs.

Check: Your back is flat, your knees are only slightly bent, and the weight is close to your shins with a stretch in the back of your thighs.

Stand up

  1. Drive your hips forward to stand back up, keeping the weight close.
  2. Squeeze your buttocks at the top.

Check: You are standing tall again with the bar against your thighs.

That is one rep. Repeat for your set, then set the bar down with a flat back.

Breathe in and brace before you lower; lower for 2 to 3 seconds; breathe out as you stand up.

MUSCLES WORKED
Barbell Stiff-Leg Deadlift: muscles worked, front view
Barbell Stiff-Leg Deadlift: muscles worked, back view

hamstringsgluteslower back

Red marks the muscles doing the work; amber the assisting ones. Same body for every exercise, so guides compare at a glance.

COMMON MISTAKES4
  • Rounding the back to get lower. Loads the spine. Fix: Stop where your back starts to round; flexibility improves over time.
  • Bending the knees a lot, turning it into a regular deadlift. Fix: Keep a slight, fixed bend in the knees.
  • Weight drifting away from the legs. Fix: Keep it brushing your thighs and shins.
  • Leaning back at the top. Fix: Stand tall and stop.
SAFETY2
  • Start light; the stretch position is easy to overdo.
  • Keep your back flat for every rep.
EQUIPMENT SETTINGS
  • plates Same weight on both sides, clipped on.
RELATED EXERCISES

easier: dumbbell stiff leg deadlift

variants: barbell deadlift, good morning

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