Straight legged/Romanian Deadlifts

grapaj

I'm a big fan of the sumo but am looking at starting Simply Shredded and it has stiff legged in there. I sometimes do a Romanian dl when warming up for my deadlifts but have never really felt like they are doing anything. I def. don't feel it in my legs.

Question a) any *problem* with subbing sumo in for straight legged?
Question b) if I really shouldn't sub it, what can I do to feel like the straight legged is actually working??

Thx!

35dollars

When I do SLDL, I don't feel it in my legs at the time, but I can definitely feel afterwards that my hamstrings have been worked

musclegood_fatbad

No problem doing the Romanian or Sumo deadlift instead of the stiff legged DL but the stiff legged is designed to work your hamstrings and glutes a bit more. If the program doesn't have any other deadlifts in there excpet for stiff legged, I would do the romanian or sumo instead as I feel they are much more beneficial overall.

If you want, a good substitute for stiff legged DL is good mornings. I like SLDL better but both are there to work hammies and glutes.

jemhh

I am wondering if your form is off for RDLs. Many people don't feel them because either their form is off or they are trying to use too heavy of a weight starting out (which, again, can cause form issues.) I like this form video from Bret Contreras.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CleNQoKSb0

JoRocka

I would not substitute those.

A Romanian DL is an accessory DL.

SUMO is just one or the two ways to pull an actual dead lift.

If it says do stiff- do stiff.
it's not for your legs- it's more like the opposite side of a good morning- it's for your low back and hamstrings and low glutes.

Don't f**k with peoples programing unless you're A. a professional/experienced lifter and know what to sub out for one or B. have an injury that means one of the accessory lifts do the work for you.

Tighten up form for stiff leg-make sure you're doing it right to target the right muscles. And make sure you're using the appropriate weight.
I usually pull around half my max weight for effective stiff leg (depending on rep range).

You want to make sure the "bend" comes from the hip -not your back- so - no rounding your back. so where you land in your depth and where I land will be different- because we have different mobility.

grapaj

jemhh -- that video was great, thanks!

Wheelhouse15

I prefer RDL to SLDL, I just don't like the idea of the back in the SLDL and if I want more of a stiff leg then I will do good mornings instead. I don't like the pre-exhaustion idea of doing a DL accessory prior to a DL here, however. As Jo mentioned, sumo is not a DL accessory it's an actual DL.

BoxerBrawler

JoRocka wrote: »

I would not substitute those.

A Romanian DL is an accessory DL.

SUMO is just one or the two ways to pull an actual dead lift.

If it says do stiff- do stiff.
it's not for your legs- it's more like the opposite side of a good morning- it's for your low back and hamstrings and low glutes.

Don't f**k with peoples programing unless you're A. a professional/experienced lifter and know what to sub out for one or B. have an injury that means one of the accessory lifts do the work for you.

Tighten up form for stiff leg-make sure you're doing it right to target the right muscles. And make sure you're using the appropriate weight.
I usually pull around half my max weight for effective stiff leg (depending on rep range).

You want to make sure the "bend" comes from the hip -not your back- so - no rounding your back. so where you land in your depth and where I land will be different- because we have different mobility.

Yeah, what she said.

Leadfoot_Lewis

jemhh wrote: »

I am wondering if your form is off for RDLs. Many people don't feel them because either their form is off or they are trying to use too heavy of a weight starting out (which, again, can cause form issues.)

I would agree - check your form on RDLs. I do mine so I hold the bar below the knees- basically you want to bring the barbell down the leg as low as your flexibility allows WITHOUT rounding your back You should feel a nice stretch in the Hamstrings at the bottom of the lift. I personally don't like SLDLs as they annoy my back, but either lift will work the back side nicely.

grapaj

Leadfoot_Lewis wrote: »

jemhh wrote: »

I am wondering if your form is off for RDLs. Many people don't feel them because either their form is off or they are trying to use too heavy of a weight starting out (which, again, can cause form issues.)

I would agree - check your form on RDLs. I do mine so I hold the bar below the knees- basically you want to bring the barbell down the leg as low as your flexibility allows WITHOUT rounding your back You should feel a nice stretch in the Hamstrings at the bottom of the lift. I personally don't like SLDLs as they annoy my back, but either lift will work the back side nicely.

I do feel stretch but....that's it. I will fiddle around with it tomorrow with a light load and see what I can change. Thanks all for the input, I won't *eff with the programming