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Exercise guide

Wide Stance Stiff Legs

How to do the Wide Stance Stiff Legs with correct form, the muscles it works, and where it fits a training plan you actually stick to.

CompoundBarbellIntermediatePull
Primary muscles

Hamstrings

Secondary

Adductors, Glutes, Lower Back

Equipment

Barbell

Step by step

How to do the Wide Stance Stiff Legs

  1. 1

    Begin with a barbell loaded on the floor. Adopt a wide stance, and then bend at the hips to grab the bar. Your hips should be as far back as possible, and your legs nearly straight. Keep your back straight, and your head and chest up. This will be your starting position.

  2. 2

    Begin the movement be engaging the hips, driving them forward as you allow the arms to hang straight. Continue until you are standing straight up, and then slowly return the weight to the starting position. For successive reps, the weight need not touch the floor.

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Every Wide Stance Stiff Legs set you log feeds Ascend's anatomy heatmap, so your hamstrings volume is visible at a glance, and counts toward your bodyweight-strength tier.

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Where the Wide Stance Stiff Legs fits

The Wide Stance Stiff Legs shows up in training built around a specific goal. See how it fits:

Related

More hamstrings exercises

FAQ

Wide Stance Stiff Legs: common questions

What muscles does the Wide Stance Stiff Legs work?

The Wide Stance Stiff Legs primarily works the Hamstrings. It also recruits the Adductors, Glutes and Lower Back as supporting muscles.

Is the Wide Stance Stiff Legs suitable for beginners?

The Wide Stance Stiff Legs is an intermediate-level exercise. It's best once you've built a base of general strength and movement control, beginners can work up to it.

What equipment do I need for the Wide Stance Stiff Legs?

To do the Wide Stance Stiff Legs you'll need a barbell.

Is the Wide Stance Stiff Legs a compound or isolation exercise?

The Wide Stance Stiff Legs is a compound exercise, it moves multiple joints and works several muscle groups at once, which makes it efficient for building overall strength.

How do I do the Wide Stance Stiff Legs with correct form?

Begin with a barbell loaded on the floor. Adopt a wide stance, and then bend at the hips to grab the bar. Your hips should be as far back as possible, and your legs nearly straight. Keep your back straight, and your head and chest up. This will be your starting position. Follow the full step-by-step above for the complete movement.

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