Stiff-Leg Deadlift - JP Fitness Forums

MAXX · 03-03-2008, 08:56 PM

Thoughts on this article and the form shown in the photos? I used to do SLDL myself like this because if felt good. But I stopped using that technique and refrain from teaching it to any athletes because too many of them complain about back-pain. I teach them the flat back and to push the hips back--RDL's. Just wanted to hear opinions.

http://www.biggerfasterstronger.com/...anFeb_SLDL.pdf

Alcoholiday · 03-03-2008, 09:03 PM

ugggg...

that made my back scream. There is no reason why anyone should perform a lift like that. The risk/reward benefit is small. Just do deadlifts off the floor, maybe trap bar for athletes because of the reduced lower back stress. If you're going to do deadlifts standing on blocks, you need to squat down to get to the bar. There's going to be some rounding if the box is high enough, but nothing like that.

I must also add that the idea of using that lift to improve flexibility is not a good one. If an athlete lacks the flexibility to get down to the bar, then work on flexibility. You don't throw them into a lift that they can't perform. That's where injuries happen. The idea is to keep athletes healthy while getting them stronger, not do movements that increase the risk of injury.

MAXX · 03-03-2008, 09:29 PM

My thoughts also Alco....thing is, the BFS program is extremely popular with high school football coaches throughout the country.

MAXX · 03-03-2008, 09:30 PM

Here's the anti-RDL article from the same issue:

http://www.biggerfasterstronger.com/...anDeadlift.pdf

Chrisatc · 03-03-2008, 11:36 PM

Well, at least I now know where our football players get that horrible form from when i see them doing this...not to mention the 5-6 guys I see in August with back pain when football starts.

Frank.S · 03-03-2008, 11:53 PM

If you can keep your back in a decent position then i think its a good movement for increasing your conventional deadlift.

Cynic · 03-04-2008, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAXX

Here's the anti-RDL article from the same issue:

http://www.biggerfasterstronger.com/...anDeadlift.pdf

As soon as they got to the series of pics of the woman demoing the RDL, I stopped reading. She is in great shape, but her arms are angled toward her at the bottom. I don't know about any of y'all, but I don't have the strength to defy gravity like that. My shoulder girdle is not that strong.

Regardless, that's definitely NSFW Pin-up/down Friday material.

Simon C · 03-04-2008, 12:09 AM

Wow yeah, haha. Thanks for pointing that out, I wasn't going to bother clicking on it before that

And that didn't do anything to convince me not to do RDL's haha...

UConnJulie · 03-04-2008, 10:56 AM

I think they got it backwards personally ... the RDL doesn't recruit/stress the lower back more, it would be the Stiff-Leg DL that does that. Of course your lift may be limited by lower back weakness (weakest link), but RDLs are great for teaching proper spinal positioning and weight shift to activate glutes properly.

That first picture in the first article makes me cringe. That guy will blow out a disk someday if he continues to do that movement loaded to that degree. It's not a bad stretch necessarily, but certainly not loaded.

Pretty scary that this kind of info is out there for coaches/trainers to read!!

ninja · 03-04-2008, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank.S

If you can keep your back in a decent position then i think its a good movement for increasing your conventional deadlift.

Umm... don't you think that's a rather big if?

Hell, if I didn't have fat around my stomach I'd have a six pack.

Chrisatc · 03-04-2008, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UConnJulie

I think they got it backwards personally ... the RDL doesn't recruit/stress the lower back more, it would be the Stiff-Leg DL that does that. Of course your lift may be limited by lower back weakness (weakest link), but RDLs are great for teaching proper spinal positioning and weight shift to activate glutes properly.

That first picture in the first article makes me cringe. That guy will blow out a disk someday if he continues to do that movement loaded to that degree. It's not a bad stretch necessarily, but certainly not loaded.

Pretty scary that this kind of info is out there for coaches/trainers to read!!

I agree with Julie, but I do prefer to do RDL's with a weight vest and DB's or MB's to the translational stress on the spine is reduced.

I don't like the first link to SLDL's...I don't mind good mornings as much as the spine is held in neutral, but again, load used is key there as well.

MAXX · 03-04-2008, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UConnJulie

Pretty scary that this kind of info is out there for coaches/trainers to read!!

Not just to read........BFS is a major marketing machine targeting high school coaches and athletes. They go all over the country putting on clinics for the coaches and kids. I would guess that there are more high school football progams using BFS training programs than any other type of training program out there.

Cynic · 03-04-2008, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAXX

Not just to read........BFS is a major marketing machine targeting high school coaches and athletes. They go all over the country putting on clinics for the coaches and kids. I would guess that there are more high school football programs using BFS training programs than any other type of training program out there.

I saw that huge e-store of theirs. Their prices are pretty...exhorbetant. Certainly not priced for residential consumption.

UConnJulie · 03-05-2008, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAXX

Not just to read........BFS is a major marketing machine targeting high school coaches and athletes. They go all over the country putting on clinics for the coaches and kids. I would guess that there are more high school football progams using BFS training programs than any other type of training program out there.

Yikes.

MAXX · 03-05-2008, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cynic

I saw that huge e-store of theirs. Their prices are pretty...exhorbetant. Certainly not priced for residential consumption.

I do buy a lot of equipment from them--they have pretty good stuff at reasonable prices......

PowerManDL · 03-05-2008, 09:12 AM

Nothing necessarily wrong with it per se. A lot of heavy pullers will end up pulling semi-stiff leg style for max attempts. It's really more a function of individual leverages and how trained the core (along with use in the program) is than it is "exercise X is bad".

karky · 03-05-2008, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ninja

Umm... don't you think that's a rather big if?

Hell, if I didn't have fat around my stomach I'd have a six pack.

If you can't keep your back in a decent position squats and conventional deadlifts are also dangerous.

I do stiff legged deads with my knees straight, they aren't locked, but there is no real visual bend in them either. I don't get a lot of ROM this way without bending my back, but I feel they hit my hamstrings way more than anything else I've tried. Is there anything dangerous with this approach?

Also, I do feel my lower back is a bigger limiting factor in the RDL than the SLDL, but that could be because I get a much better stretch in my hams with the SLDL and use way more weight on my RDL

Alcoholiday · 03-05-2008, 08:50 PM

yes, but do you guys do SLDLs standing on a box like the guy in the first picture? Because i don't.

Whenever i did them/do them, i do them like the ones in the second article. I think they're an awesome exercise if you do them from the floor, not standing on a box or anything like that, and keep a good back position.