While you are working your back it is also important that you focus on your lower back as well. Your muscles work on a lever and pulley system, so it is important to make sure that you get all of your muscles strengthened, as it will help to ward off muscle problems and postural conditions. The stiff leg dead-lift, also known as the Romanian dead-lift, will work your legs, especially the hamstrings, as well as your lower back.
In order to do a stiff leg dead lift, you will need to have a bar and weights. The common misconception with many people is that this is a body building exercise and people who just want to tone tend to stay away from this. However, this exercise can be done at any weight level, including just the bar. It can help to give you the rounded and toned butt that you want.
How to do the stiff leg dead-lift
1. With the bar on the floor, stand directly in the center of the bar with your body straight and your feet about hip width apart and your knees slightly bent so that you do not harm yourself.
2. Then bend at the hips and grab the bar, making sure that you stay straight and do not bend anything more than your torso forward at the hips. When you grab the bar you will want to make sure that your arms are shoulder width apart and you are holding the bar so that your palms are facing the ground.
3. Lift the bar to about hip level
4. Lower the bar back down, almost to the ground, but do not set it back down
5. Continue lifting the bar and lowering it until you have completed all of the reps in the set and then set the bar back on the ground
Tips for getting the best results with the stiff leg dead-lift
Just as with every other exercise, it is important to breathe. The easiest way to do this with this exercise is to inhale on your way down to grab the bar and exhale while you are lifting the bar.
It is also very important that you keep your eyes focused in front of you while you are doing this. You need to keep your back straight in order to keep from injuring yourself and if you look down at the floor, you will bend your back and you will find that you will end up getting hurt
You will also want to keep your arms slightly bent while you are doing this exercise as this will also help to keep you from hurting your arms
Make sure to keep your shoulders straight and do not let them round forward as this will take away from the full effect of the exercise
While you are lowering the bar to the floor, make sure your weight is in your hells and not in the balls of your feet
