StrengthIn review

Dumbbell Stiff-Leg Deadlift

A nearly straight-knee hip hinge with two dumbbells.

This page is a working draft. A coach has not reviewed it, so read it as a starting point, not as checked instruction.

Pattern: Hinge
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Beginner
Mechanic: Unknown
Force: Unknown
Laterality: Bilateral
Impact: Low
Trains where: Gym, Home
At home: Yes

How to do it

Set up

Stand hip width apart with one dumbbell in each hand.
Keep the knees nearly straight with a small, fixed bend; do not lock them.

Do the rep

Push the hips back and lower the weights close to the legs.
Stop at the hamstring stretch before the back position changes.
Drive the hips forward to stand tall.

What counts as a rep

A rep counts when the hips hinge back to the hamstring-limited range with nearly straight, unlocked knees and a stable back, and you return to a full stand.

One rep starts standing with one dumbbell in each hand, lowers them close to the legs by hinging with nearly straight, unlocked knees and a small fixed bend until the hamstring stretch limits the range, and ends at a full stand; unlike the dumbbell Romanian deadlift, the knees stay nearly straight rather than softly bent, and floor contact is not required.

Breathing

Breathe in and brace before the hinge; exhale after you stand.

Cues

Push the hips back.
Keep the weight close.
Keep the small knee bend fixed.

Common mistakes

Squatting the movement
What you seeThe knees bend further as the weight lowers.
FixKeep the starting knee bend fixed and move the hips back.
The fixed knee bend defines the hinge.
Weight moves away
What you seeThe weight drifts forward away from the legs.
FixGuide the weight close to the legs.
A stable position keeps the load on the intended hip muscles.

Stop the set if

Stop if you feel sharp pain.
Stop if the grip slips or the back position changes.
End the set when you cannot return to standing under control.

General educational content, not individual coaching or medical advice.

Muscles worked

Prime movers

Glutes · moderate confidence
Hamstrings · moderate confidence

Assisting

Spinal erectors · moderate confidence
Deep core / trunk stabilizers · moderate confidence
Forearms and grip · moderate confidence

Equipment

Dumbbell

Use two dumbbells, with one in each hand.

In the app

You log this by hand. The camera coach does not watch this movement yet.

Tracking: Camera candidate

How this page was checked

Draft. A coach reviewer has not signed this off yet.

Draft text is original copy for Wave 2 batch 12, written from the blueprint CSV row and the owner rules approved 2026-10-12 in #340. No human review is complete.
Technique, cues, rep standard, breathing, stop cues, and error corrections need independent sources and the assigned review tier (blueprint two-source rule).
Programming roles, skill tier, failure cost, timed use, goal fit, and equipment follow the owner rules; the switch-on PR must confirm them.
Anatomy uses the CSV planning hints; the assigned review tier must confirm it.
Legacy relations and engine edges stay empty until the progression ladder lane and S2-CAT-005.
Timed use and goal fit copy ex_dumbbell_romanian_deadlift, the closest Wave 1 record. Its review evidence is not carried into this draft.
Rule 1 requires 2 dumbbells; setup and technique use that quantity. Load-and-reps uses kg. Load steps come from user equipment, so load_increment_constraints stays empty.
Failure cost moderate: the user must control the stop with a free weight (rule 3).
The CSV says home no. Rule 1 gives home yes because every required item is a home item; classification and engine environments include home.
The optional bench from the CSV is removed because the movement does not use it.
Rule 2 gives primary_hinge and secondary_lower, as ex_dumbbell_romanian_deadlift and ex_barbell_hip_thrust.
Skill tier beginner: a new user can do one clean rep with a suitable free weight in the first session (rule 3).
This is its own record, not a rule 4 alias. The draft rep keeps the knees nearly straight with a small unlocked bend, unlike the softer knee bend in ex_dumbbell_romanian_deadlift; review must confirm the knee angle and hamstring-limited range.

All instruction and editorial text in this record is original draft copy written for Allena. Planning metadata comes from the internal Wave-2 blueprint CSV.

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