The Stiff-Legged Deadlift is one of THE best exercises for targeting the hamstrings.
It puts a great stretch on the hams and allows for heavy weight to be used, which the hamstrings THRIVE on (they're primarily fast-twitch muscle fibers and they respond best to heavy loads and lower rep ranges).
The Stiff-Legged Deadlift, however, is also one of the exercises most often done incorrectly...which at best, doesn't hit the hamstrings very well, but at WORST, can lead to massive injury to the lower back.
Right now, you're going to learn a little setup cue that will literally FORCE your lower back into the perfect position for performing the Stiff-Legged Deadlift. This will protect your lower back AND help you put greater stretch on the hamstrings at the start of the movement.
Basically, it's going to make everything about the SLDL better.
And all you have to do is deadlift like a Silverback Gorilla...
I'll explain...because yes, I fully realize this statement absolutely NEEDS explaining.
When you step up to the bar, your knees should be somewhat bent and stiff. And this is where people most often go wrong.
Because in attempt to "get a better stretch" on the hamstrings, they will quite often round the lower back over so they can reach down further. In fact, you'll often see people using smaller plates or standing on a platform or bench so they can lower the bar down further.
This is generally NOT a good thing to do to your lower back.
Aside from purposefully doing round-back lifting with light weight (which is an old Russian technique known as awkward position lifting) to strengthen the body in those "bad" positions, lifting heavy loads with a rounded lower back can put tremendous pressure on the discs in your spine.
As you can see in this picture, when the back is rounded, the lower back is taking the brunt of the upwards force when you do the lift in the incorrect position.
So what we're going to do is go "silverback" with our body position.
Grip the bar and PRETEND to start to pull...but DO NOT pull it off the ground. Use your grip on the bar to just develop upwards-pulling tension in your upper back and shoulders.
Now, once you have tension in the upper back, develop tension in your hamstrings by lifting your hips. You're going to DO this by pushing with your heels...imagine as though you're doing a leg press against the floor.
This will give you tension through the glutes and hamstrings and will tilt your pelvis forward (anterior tilt), automatically putting an arch into your lower back because it's the "low" point between the two areas of your body you're trying to push upwards!
This will put you in "Silverback" position.
Your lower back will be arched...now it's your job to maintain that arch as you fire the hamstrings and pull the bar off the floor.
So once you've got tension in the upper back and the hips, SQUEEZE the bar off the floor. DO NOT pop it off the floor. Imagine as though the bar is stuck in something sticky...if you try and pop it off the floor, it won't go anywhere. If you apply controlled power to the bar, it will come up.
This bottom phase is KEY to hamstring activation.
Here's the mental trick I like to use...DO NOT focus on lifting the bar. The bar is simply the means to an end...and that end is hamstring activation.
Instead I want you to try and visualize your hamstrings pulling DOWN, as though they're little men pulling downwards on pulleys in order to raise the load on the other side of the pulley. Your hips are the pulley and your muscles are the ropes.
Continue the movement to the top position, then lower back down slowly.
Personally, I prefer to set the bar back down on the floor in between every rep so that I can reset my back position into this "perfect" position on every single rep. This is absolutely CRITICAL when you start using very heavy weights...(to give you an idea, I've gone as high as 495 lbs with this exercise using this technique).
It's not wrong to continue immediately with the next rep with a light touch on the floor, or keeping the plates just off the floor...just be VERY sure you're strong enough to maintain that lower back arch while you do so. If you find your lower back starting to round over, use the floor-reset on each rep from there forward, if you want to continue the set.
This will help save your lower back and better work your hamstrings.
You can also perform this technique with "sumo" position Stiff-Legged Deadlifts...
This means your feet out wide and toes pointed out. This leg position focuses more on the glutes, specifically the gluteus medius and minimus. The outward turn of the feet puts them in a perfect line of pull.
The sequence of the setup is exactly the same. Grip the bar then pull tension into your upper back then push tension into the glutes/hips, letting the arch automatically happen in the lower back.
If you have a hard time feeling your hamstrings working when you perform Stiff-Legged Deadlifts and/or you want to protect your lower back, definitely put this technique to work. It'll instantly lock your body into the perfect position on every single rep.
Put this technique work with the Modified Romanian Stiff-Legged Deadlift.
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