Romanian Deadlift Vs. Stiff Leg Deadlift

The Romanian deadlift and stiff-legged deadlift both work your lower back and hamstrings. Being very similar exercises, the differences in technique are minor, but the differences in application remain significant. In addition to building muscle, both exercises may improve your squat and deadlift. Consult a health care professional before beginning any exercise program.

Stiff-Legged Deadlift

The stiff-legged deadlift is performed while holding a barbell with an overhand grip, and your arms extended straight down. Bend your knees slightly, just enough so that your legs are not locked. Without allowing your knees to bend any further, lower the barbell to either the limit of your flexiblity or where your lower back starts to round. Stand up by reversing the path of the bar. This exercise may be done for up to 20 repetitions per set, but on high-repetition sets, take care to ensure that your technique does not suffer due to fatigue. Dumbbells can be used for this exercise, but this significantly reduces the weight you can use. Stiff-legged deadlifts display a high degree of hamstring activation, according to a 1999 study published in the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research."

Romanian Deadlift

The Romanian deadlift is a lift that was developed by Romanian weightlifter Nicu Vlad, to assist with the pull on the clean and jerk. This lift is performed in a similar manner to the stiff-legged deadlift, but there are differences. Unlike the stiff-legged deadlift, when you lower the bar on the Romanian deadlift, you push your hips back so the bar is closer to your body at all times. Your torso will approach parallel to the ground faster than in the stiff-legged deadlift, and when the bar is just past your knees, you straighten your legs quickly and explosively pull the weight back up. This lift is used to generate power on the clean -- and the clean pull generates more power than most other lifts, according to a 1980 study published in "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise."

Differences in Muscle Recruitment

Both exercises work your hamstrings and lower back, but by pushing your hips to the rear, you are increasing the rotation at your hip joint in the Romanian deadlift. This means your hips are flexing more, and you are working your gluteus maximus, or posterior, to a higher degree. Your torso angles more, so there is greater activation of your spinal erectors, or lower back in the Romanian deadlift. No research has been performed to determine if there is any difference in activation of your hamstrings when comparing the two lifts.

Application

If your only goal is to work the muscles of your lower back, hips and hamstrings, the stiff-legged deadlift works well. If your goal is to improve your pull in Olympic weightlifting, then not only does the Romanian deadlift work better, the mechanics of the lift are the same. The stiff-legged deadlift features a different bar path, which can disrupt the pattern of your pull. This is rather like a receiver running a pattern that is slightly off -- the quarterback will have to adjust his position and timing to compensate for the minor differences.