Stiff-Legged Dumbbell Deadlift
Trains the Hamstrings.
- Equipment
- Dumbbells
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Beginner
How to do it
- Stand holding a dumbbell in each hand in front of your thighs, feet hip-width apart.
- Set your back flat, chest up, and straighten the knees almost fully.
- Push your hips back and lower the dumbbells down the front of your legs.
- Keep the legs nearly straight and the dumbbells close to the body.
- Go down until the hamstrings stop the movement with the back still flat.
- Drive the hips forward to stand back up, finishing tall rather than leaning back.
Common mistakes
- Bending the knees as it gets hard, which quietly turns it into a Romanian deadlift. The near-straight knee is what makes the hamstrings the limit.
- Letting the dumbbells drift away from the legs. Out in front, the load is held by the lower back rather than moved by the hips.
- Rounding the back to reach lower. The end of the range is set by the hamstrings, and pushing past it by rounding the spine changes what is being loaded.
- Expecting a barbell's depth. Dumbbells hang beside the legs rather than in front, so they reach the floor sooner, and standing on a low platform is the usual answer if more range is wanted.