How to do the stiff for glutes
Do you do the STIFF for glutes with your legs straight or bent? And what is your goal? Which is right? Which is wrong❓
🔉 The fact is: muscle contractions from a stretched position are more effective at causing tissue damage, so… with your legs straight, muscle damage will be greater (more hypertrophy!).
Fundamental detail
Range of motion is related to hamstring flexibility, and will obviously result in a smaller range of motion, but you should respect this limitation. With training and stretching over time, you will gradually be able to achieve your maximum range of motion.
Now for some very important information: with your knees straight, as mentioned, the hamstrings will be more heavily recruited, since they are in a position where they are not affected by active insufficiency.
Bending the knees
📌 When you slightly bend your knees, the hamstrings become a little less effective in the movement, causing the glutes to be much more heavily recruited.
Which is more appropriate for you? It depends on your training structure! For example, if you have already done a series of exercises focused on the glutes, you can use the stiff with more emphasis on the hamstrings.
The opposite is also true. The important thing is to know this and have a training plan that takes these differences into account.
How to progress with the stiff for glutes
The stiff is a viable training exercise for increasing muscle hypertrophy and strength, and improving hamstring range of motion for almost all athletes.
Due to the isolation provided by this exercise, most athletes and trainers should perform this movement with moderate weights to maximize hypertrophy before moving on to more advanced strength and/or speed techniques.
Whatever weight you use, know that the way you perform the exercise and its range of motion have a major influence on your results.
