The Stiff-Legged Deadlift is
one of my very favorite hamstring exercises - it can be tricky
to learn but the results are worth it.
I've got an advanced version
of the SLDL here for you today. This one should only be done
by people who are experienced with the SLDL - it's NOT a beginner
type of exercise.
That being said, you're basically
doing negatives with this exercise. The hamstrings are actually
DESIGNED for this type of thing (heavy eccentric loading)
- when you run, every impact your foot makes on the ground,
the eccentric load is absorbed in your hamstring.
Not training the hamstrings
eccentrically can theoretically lead to them being more prone
to hamstring pulls. If you train the hams to absorb and deal
with this impact, you'll have a lot fewer injuries.
So for this exercise, you're
going to up with both legs, then step one foot back a little,
then lower the weight with all the tension going on the forward
leg. The back toe remains on the ground for balance.
Here's what it looks like:
That's the 2 up part...now for
the one down part...
Notice how my right foot is
back a bit - there is basically no tension on that back leg.
It's all on the front leg.
Go all the way to the ground
then set your feet together again and go back up with TWO
legs.
Then put the other leg back
on the way down.
You can also try setting your
feet a little further back.
This one is VERY tough. You'll
have to experiment a bit with loads to see how much weight
you can handle on one leg - I'm using 225 lbs on the bar and
I can do normal SLDL's with 400+ lbs pretty easily.
Remember to keep your lower
back arched and your core tight as you're lowering the bar.
Definitely watch the video to see how it's done.
If you're an athlete or coach
any athletes who do a lot of sprinting or fast running, this
exercise is EXCELLENT for helping to injury-proof the hams.