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I′ve been reading some Arthur Jones material and noticed that he recommends Stiff-Leg Deadlifts. I think that they would hit the back, hamstrings, and calves better than regular deads due to the increased ROM. The only drawback I can see is that the quads aren′t worked very hard, but I′m on a more traditional HIT routine (still split, but I might try full body soon) and work legs every week. What do you guys think?

I′ve done Stiff-Legged Deadlifts before and got some good results from them, especially in the lower-back and hamstrings area.

However, this is a VERY risky exercise and when you′re form is not-quite perfect, it can set you up with a SERIOUS lower-back injury for months (especially when doing the ′traditional′ Stiff-Legged Deadlift on a platform to go for a deep stretch)! Besides, you can′t use as much weight as with the Regular, i.e., Bent-Legged, Deadlift. Therefore, I believe, it′s a less efficient exercise, at least for overall growth.

I would like to recommend you to stick to the Regular Deadlift, because it′s a more productive AND safer exercise.

Just my opinion.

I have been bodybuilding for close to 25 years and have done stiff leg deads on and off over that period.I stopped doing them a few years back and since then i haven′t had any lower back pain like i had when i included these in my training.I don′t even do regular deadlifts anymore,in place i hit all the back muscles with shrugs,bent over rows with my head supported on an incline bench,chins,and pulldowns.For lower back i do hyperextensions,which in my opinion hits the spinal erectors as well if not better than deads.Everyone is built differently,i am 6 feet tall and 195 pounds with long legs and torso so i guess you could call me a hard gainer.I would like to add some info on belts.I used a belt for years on every exercise and i believe that this weakend my back.I stopped using one about 5 months ago and cannot believe the difference in how great my lower back feels and also my weights have increased .In 5 months my squat has gone up by 40 pounds.I believe the belt over the years actually made my lower back weaker.

I prefer trap bar deadlifts. If those cannot be performed, I prefer stiff-legged over regular deadlifts. Those just feel more natural to me. They all probably do about the same thing if you keep good form and don′t get injured.

Darrell

I agree dafortae, trap/shrug bar deadlifts are the way to go. I used to do sumo deadlifts, but after trying them with a trap bar, they have become my favorite exercise. If you are doing a heavy duty workout, trap bar deadlifts are all you really need. However, stiff-legged do not do about the same as regular deadlifts. Nothing compares to regular deadlifts! Absolutely nothing! 🙂 Yes…..not even squats 🙂