The Main Differences, Stiff-Legged Deadlift VS. Deadlift
Shortly, I’ll go over some of the main differences between these two movements, which are posterior closed-chain exercises. That’s just science’s way of saying, exercises that work the back part of your body. Primarily the hamstrings, glutes, and back. Now I understand that if you are truly starting from zero, we would not immediately begin with the barbell. We have a few different ways to regress and progress these movements, yet the main technical points will remain constant.
Main technical point #1: In general, when lifting something from the ground, we tend to bend at the hips and not at the knee level. That is not bad or wrong per se, but if the weight of the object is heavy enough, that could cause trouble with your back. No rounded back, and what does that mean? If your shoulders are slouched, and your chest tucked in then most likely your back is rounded. I like to cue this by telling clients “chest out”, and actively push their chest out. It can get a little tricky with pressing your chest out while engaging your core however, with practice, it becomes second nature.
Main technical point #2: To ensure that we receive the glute activation needed, remember to keep the knees from sinking or caving inwards toward one other. Not only does this point help prevent injuries, but it also enables you to lift more weight by engaging more muscle groups. Like with the “chest out” cue, pressing your knees outward, away from one other, is a good cue here.
Main technical point #3: It is important to note that these points are not in any particular order, more so general points to remember with mostly every exercise you would perform unless otherwise advised. There are a few more we could add to this list of points, but my coaches installed in me to work in threes. With that, the last point I’ll add is balanced, balance is essential when performing almost every exercise. Balance by making sure your weight isn’t too much toward the front of your feet and not shifting back on your heel either. Find that balance.
Here are the main differences between stiff-legged deadlifts and traditional deadlifts, one is a hip hinge exercise while the latter is a hip extension exercise. Hip-hinge exercise usually keeps your knees in a semi-fixed position. Whereas, with hip extension, the knees normally would extend as the hips extend.
The way you approach the bar is identical to the deadlift see, the “bend over to the floor and deadlift” post for specifics. However, one more glaring difference is the back will start parallel to the ground instead of the more upright position. Which, is used when executing the traditional deadlift. Also, the knees should remain slightly to moderately flexed throughout the entire movement.
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J’Nathan Bullock CSCS