Barbell Stiff Deadlift

Stand with the bar in front of your thighs and unlock your knees only slightly. Brace your back and abs to keep your torso fixed.

Send your hips back and lower the bar along your legs. Keep your knee angle nearly unchanged and lower slowly until your hamstrings are strongly stretched.

Drive your hips forward to stand again. Do not lean back; use your glutes to return your pelvis to neutral.

Make sure your hamstrings stretch more strongly than they do in a Romanian deadlift. If your lower back tires first, the bar may be too far away, so bring it closer.

Bending your knees continuously or holding the bar away reduces hamstring tension and increases lower-back stress. Shorten the range if needed, but keep the bar close as you send your hips back.

Inhale and brace your torso before lowering, then exhale as you rise. Rather than rushing reps together, reset your breathing at the top.

Lower the bar slowly so the hamstring stretch is easier to feel. Repeat the same point of strongest stretch instead of chasing the depth where the bar touches the floor.