Barbell Straight Leg Deadlift

Setup

1. 01Stand over the bar with feet hip width apart and the bar over the mid-foot.
2. 02Set a very slight knee bend that stays fixed throughout the set.
3. 03Hinge at the hips and grip the bar just outside the legs.
4. 04Pull the slack out of the bar, set a flat back, and engage the lats.

Execution

1. 01Drive the hips forward to stand, keeping the bar close to the legs.
2. 02Lock out tall with glutes squeezed, without leaning back.
3. 03Push the hips back to lower the bar down the thighs.
4. 04Descend until the hamstrings stop the range, then start the next rep.

Checkpoints

• -Knees stay nearly straight from the first inch to lockout.
• -Bar stays in contact with or very close to the legs.
• -Back stays flat; the stretch is felt in the hamstrings, not the spine.
• -Hips and shoulders rise together on the way up.

Common mistakes

• -Rounding the back to reach the floor beyond available hamstring flexibility.
• -Letting the bar drift forward away from the body.
• -Turning it into a Romanian deadlift by bending the knees more each rep.
• -Jerking the bar off the floor instead of tensioning first.