Dvst8or

A friend of mine told me that when doing straight legged dealifts to only go up to about your knee caps. He said that 75% of a full straight legged deadlift is all lower back, that the hamstrings only work for the first 25%, hence only going up to the knee caps then back down. Does this theory hold much water? He has competed in several amateur bodybuilding competitions, so I would think he knows what he is talking about, but I am not sure. I have been doing them like he advised for the last 6 months or so and it seems that my hamstrings hurt just as much the day after, so I am not sure. Has anyone else heard this / do this?

Thanks,
Brian

geoffsherman

I am very hesitant to recommend partial ROM exercises because

(a) It heightens the risk of injury
(b) Each individual is so different that it is hard to prescribe something that works for all

There are some partial ROM exercises that can be beneficial to shore up a weak point, but it sounds like you are not looking to strengthen a weak point, but to grow a bodypart. Both forms of deadlifting hit the lower back. However, Hamstrings are more directly hit in the SLDL variety.

Trick D

My weeks can be hectic in the gym, and everything doesn't go in the same order. I can't do back and legs next to each other if I do stiff legged deadlifts from the floor. I instead take a weight bench which goes down just below my knee caps, and place a bar with all my weight on the bar. I use the bench as my boundary and place the bar on the bench after every rep. Make sure not to bounce. THis allows me to gain all the benefits from deadlifts for my back, and doesn't do much to my hamstrings which I could train the very next day if I wanted too.

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W8isGR8

It's more of a guidline to keep noobs from going too far and hurting themselves. Also, you're going to be limited be how flexible you are in the first place.

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A.FreeRadical

The magic of compound movement exercises is to get most or all of the body involved.

I am not a big fan of doing partial range of motion on compound movement exercises. Some of my buddies are powerlifters and they use various partial ROM exercises to improve sticking points on deads, benches and squats. They seem to benefit, but my goals are not the same as theirs.

As for me, the weakest muscle effected in a compound exercise is going to get the most benefit, so why not do the full ROM and get the other benefits (incorporation of stabilizer and synergistic muscles, as well as the stimulation of hormones that these exercises can produce).

All exercises have their place. Without knowing your weak points and goals, it is hard to give advice in this matter. I just offer my thoughts for your consideration.

*

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Dvst8or

Thanks, that makes sense. I think that I will incorporate the entire range to improve my lower back strength as well. No need to limit myself, and I am surely not in the postion to improve my sticking points nor be that specific.

Thanks for the help guys.