The stretched legs deadlift is an ideal bodybuilding exercise to strengthen your hamstrings, but also your glutes and lower back. Its practice remains timid in weight rooms, due to an essential technical learning to avoid injuring the back.
This exercise requires a mastered technique, like the other deadlifts, and it is not recommended for beginners and for people with back problems. The deadlift straight legs involves performing a very demanding movement for the lower back and the back of the thighs.
It is therefore recommended to practice it with loads much lower than those used for a classic deadlift. This article gives you the best tips for performing the straight leg deadlift without injury.
Performing the straight leg deadlift
Starting position
To start this exercise, follow these steps:
- Stand in front of a straight bar once it's equipped with the desired charge.
- Position the feet under the bar, toes forward, with a distance between them slightly less than shoulder width.
- While keeping your back straight, grab the bar. The palms of the hands should be facing down in an overhand grip, with a spacing equal to the width of the shoulders.
- Extend your arms and keep your legs bent.
Raise the bar
For the lifting step of the bar, follow these steps:
- Gaze straight ahead, pull your rib cage out, shoulders back, and core your abs.
- Contract your glutes and raise the bar.
- To achieve this, push your hips forward, making sure to keep your back straight, legs and arms straight.
- Once in the high position, the legs should be extended.
Lower the bar
It's called stretched leg deadlift as opposed to the classic deadlift, but the name is not to be taken literally, because the tension supported by the hamstrings and lower back in this movement can quickly become extreme. Here's how:
- Keeping your torso perfectly straight, as well as your abs and back muscles well engaged, lean your torso forward, that is, push backwards with your buttocks, maintaining the knees very slightly bent.
- Continue, as if picking up an object from the ground, without increasing the bend in the knees, until the bar is halfway up the shins, or just to the point that your current flexibility and mobility allows .
- Always direct your gaze ahead of you, without breaking your neck too much. The buttocks should be pulled out and the back should retain the natural curve in the lower back.
- Come back up by pulling up on the bar with your back, making sure to engage your glutes as well.
Repeat the movement until the end of your series.
Breathing
During the deadlift with straight legs, inhale in the starting position then hold your breath during the ascent to facilitate the sheathing of the abdominals and the contraction of the back. Then exhale in the up position.
Hold your breath again during the descent phase, then inhale in the low position
Also read: Bungee leg curl: the complete guide to strengthening your glutes
Muscles solicited by the straight leg deadlift
The main muscles used during the straight leg deadlift are:
To a lesser extent, the calves, adductors and forearms are also involved in the execution of this exercise.
The hamstrings are accompanied by the glutes in order to straighten the bust and therefore extend the hips, by what is called extension.
It is also worth noting the strong use of the back muscles as a whole in order to keep the back straight, as well as to bring the arms along the body.
The calves intervene because the hamstrings by stretching raise them and also stretch them.
The forearm muscles are used to hold the bar. There are several solutions to improve its hold: you can use straps or different grips such as the reverse grip.
Find out more: Best hamstring exercises with rubber band
Tips for performing the straight leg deadlift safely
Back positioning
During the entire execution of the movement of the deadlift with straight legs, your back should never be rounded. Keeping your back straight or slightly arched will help you be safe.
If you have any doubts about your movement, do not hesitate to call on a professional coach who can correct you in real time. The integrity of your back depends on it.
Hamstring Stretch
The movement of deadlift straight legs stops at mid-shin, but if your flexibility does not allow it, do not force it. Go down to your possibilities by concentrating your effort on the hamstrings and the glutes. You will see that over the sessions, progress will be felt.
If you are stiff, practice parallel stretches targeting the lats and hamstrings. This will help reduce the risk of injury and improve your amplitude in the deadlift straight legs.
Light Load
The spine can be put to the test in the event of poor positioning during the deadlift with straight legs. So be sure to look ahead so you don't round your back, and start by lifting light weights.
A lack of flexibility in your hamstrings will make you compensate with your back to raise the bar. By very gradually increasing the loads, you will allow your hamstrings to gain flexibility and gradually acquire the optimal technique.
Raising the bar to the starting position
At the beginning of the movement, it may be interesting to rest the bar on a cage at squat at mid-height. This way, you won't have to bend down at the start of each series.
If you have no choice, raise the bar like in the classic deadlift in order to place yourself correctly to attack your straight leg deadlift.
Find out more: All the benefits of bungee deadlift
Stretched leg deadlift with rubber bands
The variation with elastic is quite beneficial for your body. It is a good training to master the movement, because you will not have the same load as with a barbell or dumbbells.
Here are the steps to follow to achieve it:
- Standing, pass the elastic under your feet, spreading them hip-width apart.
- Grasp the rubber band with both hands, arms extended along the body.
- Bend your torso forward keeping your legs slightly bent and inhale during this step.
- Come back to the initial position by doing the reverse movement and exhale during this step.
Keep your trunk straight throughout the movement and your neck in line with your forehead.
Also read: 5 criteria for choosing the best weight lifting elastic
Benefits of Bungee Hip Extensions
You will understand, the deadlift legs stretched with elastic is a very complete weight training exercise that is very beneficial for the body since it stimulates almost every muscle in your anatomy.
From a physical point of view, the deadliftis a very engaging movement, which requires great strength, but also impeccable execution. When all of these factors come together, it brings many benefits such as:
- strengthening virtually every muscle in the body,
- the great development of sheathing and strength.
These are all good reasons to add a few sets of stretched leg deadlifts with the elastic during your workouts at home or in the gym.
To know: How to do strength training with a rubber band for mass gain?
Fit Superhuman rubber bands for deadlifts with straight legs
Another advantage of the stretched legs deadlift with elastic is that you don't need anything bulky to be able to perform your repetitions. All you need are resistance bands and a little space.
To provide the best support for bodybuilders who want to gain muscle or lose weight, we have developed theFit-Superhuman elastic resistance bands. These are resistance elastics which offer you the best quality/price ratio on the French market.
If you don't want to go to the gym, this equipment will be perfect for your daily workouts, and can be stored in the blink of an eye in a drawer and in its carrying bag. This material offers you many other possibilities to strengthen your whole body and refine your silhouette, you will not be confined to deadlifts with straight legs!
Our Fit-Superhuman resistance bands allow you to modulate the resistance between 5 and 75 kg so that you can adapt the difficulty to your level and take it step by step.
The five bands are entirely made of tear-proof natural latex and have particularly resistant handles at each end. These are very pleasant to the touch and ideally protect your joints.
For more information: Sport with a rubber band is possible!
In summary on the straight leg deadlift
This bodybuilding exercise is a variation of the classic deadlift However, you have to master the movement well so as not to cause injury, especially to the back. This is why it is recommended to charge little to get used to it.
Resistance Bands are also a good option for practicing the straight leg deadlift. The resistance is less strong than with a barbell or dumbbells, and you can learn the movement from home. So ready for the straight leg deadlift?
.
