10 Best Smith Machine Stiff-legged Deadlift Alternatives for Hamstring Strength

Original Exercise: Smith Machine Stiff-legged Deadlift

Primary Muscle

Hamstrings

Equipment

Smith-machine

Difficulty

Intermediate

Type

Compound

Secondary Muscles: Glutes, Lower Back

How to Perform Smith Machine Stiff-legged Deadlift

1. To begin, set the bar on the smith machine to a height that is around the middle of your thighs. Once the correct height is chosen and the bar is loaded, grasp the bar using a pronated (palms forward) grip that is shoulder width apart. You may need some wrist wraps if using a significant amount of weight.
2. Lift the bar up by fully extending your arms while keeping your back straight. Stand with your torso straight and your legs spaced using a shoulder width or narrower stance. The knees should be slightly bent. This is your starting position.
3. Keeping the knees stationary, lower the barbell to over the top of your feet by bending at the waist while keeping your back straight. Keep moving forward as if you were going to pick something from the floor until you feel a stretch on the hamstrings. Exhale as you perform this movement
4. Start bringing your torso up straight again as soon as you feel the hamstrings stretch by extending your hips and waist until you are back at the starting position. Inhale as you perform this movement.
5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Pro Tips

• Category: Strength
• Force: Pull
• Movement type: Compound

Best Smith Machine Stiff-legged Deadlift Alternatives

Best Match

1. Clean Deadlift

82.6% Match

Hamstrings Barbell Intermediate Isolation

How to perform this exercise

1. Begin standing with a barbell close to your shins. Your feet should be directly under your hips with your feet turned out slightly. Grip the bar with a double overhand grip or hook grip, about shoulder width apart. Squat down to the bar. Your spine should be in full extension, with a back angle that places your shoulders in front of the bar and your back as vertical as possible.
2. Begin by driving through the floor through the front of your heels. As the bar travels upward, maintain a constant back angle. Flare your knees out to the side to help keep them out of the bar's path.
3. After the bar crosses the knees, complete the lift by driving the hips into the bar until your hips and knees are extended.

2. Cable Deadlifts

79.9% Match

Hamstrings Cable Intermediate Isolation

How to perform this exercise

1. Move the cables to the bottom of the towers and select an appropriate weight. Stand directly in between the uprights.
2. To begin, squat down be flexing your hips and knees until you can reach the handles.
3. After grasping them, begin your ascent. Driving through your heels extend your hips and knees keeping your hands hanging at your side. Keep your head and chest up throughout the movement.
4. After reaching a full standing position, Return to the starting position and repeat.

3. Band Straight Leg Deadlift

76.6% Match

Hamstrings Band Intermediate Isolation

How to perform this exercise

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and place the band around your feet.
2. Hold the band with both hands, palms facing your body, and keep your arms straight.
3. Engage your core and maintain a slight bend in your knees.
4. Slowly hinge forward at your hips, keeping your back straight and chest lifted.
5. Lower the band towards the ground while keeping your legs straight.

4. Band Good Morning

74.4% Match

Hamstrings Band Intermediate Isolation

How to perform this exercise

1. Using a 41 inch band, stand on one end, spreading your feet a small amount. Bend at the hips to loop the end of the band behind your neck. This will be your starting position.
2. Keeping your legs straight, extend through the hips to come to a near vertical position.
3. Ensure that you do not round your back as you go down back to the starting position.

5. Dumbbell Straight Leg Deadlift

71.6% Match

Glutes Dumbbell Intermediate Isolation

How to perform this exercise

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand with an overhand grip.
2. Keeping your back straight and your core engaged, hinge at the hips and lower the dumbbells towards the ground, allowing your torso to lean forward.
3. Continue lowering the dumbbells until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings, keeping your knees slightly bent.
4. Pause for a moment at the bottom, then engage your glutes and hamstrings to lift your torso back up to the starting position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

6. Clean

71.1% Match

Hamstrings Barbell Advanced Isolation

How to perform this exercise

1. With a barbell on the floor close to the shins, take an overhand (or hook) grip just outside the legs. Lower your hips with the weight focused on the heels, back straight, head facing forward, chest up, with your shoulders just in front of the bar. This will be your starting position.
3. Begin the first pull by driving through the heels, extending your knees. Your back angle should stay the same, and your arms should remain straight. Move the weight with control as you continue to above the knees.
4. Next comes the second pull, the main source of acceleration for the clean. As the bar approaches the mid-thigh position, begin extending through the hips. In a jumping motion, accelerate by extending the hips, knees, and ankles, using speed to move the bar upward. There should be no need to actively pull through the arms to accelerate the weight; at the end of the second pull, the body should be fully extended, leaning slightly back, with the arms still extended.
5. As full extension is achieved, transition into the third pull by aggressively shrugging and flexing the arms with the elbows up and out. At peak extension, aggressively pull yourself down, rotating your elbows under the bar as you do so. Receive the bar in a front squat position, the depth of which is dependent upon the height of the bar at the end of the third pull. The bar should be racked onto the protracted shoulders, lightly touching the throat with the hands relaxed. Continue to descend to the bottom squat position, which will help in the recovery.

7. Barbell Straight Leg Deadlift

70.2% Match

Hamstrings Barbell Intermediate Isolation

How to perform this exercise

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing forward.
2. Hold the barbell with an overhand grip, hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
3. Bend at your hips and lower the barbell towards the ground, keeping your back straight and your knees slightly bent.
4. Lower the barbell until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
5. Engage your hamstrings and glutes to lift the barbell back up to the starting position.

8. Barbell Good Morning

69.4% Match

Hamstrings Barbell Advanced Isolation

How to perform this exercise

1. Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and the barbell resting on your upper back.
2. Keeping your back straight and your core engaged, hinge forward at the hips, pushing your buttocks back as if you were trying to touch the wall behind you with your glutes.
3. Lower your torso until it is parallel to the ground, feeling a stretch in your hamstrings.
4. Pause for a moment, then return to the starting position by squeezing your glutes and pushing your hips forward.
5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

9. Band Good Morning (Pull Through)

69.1% Match

Hamstrings Band Intermediate Isolation

How to perform this exercise

1. Loop the band around a post. Standing a little ways away, loop the opposite end around the neck. Your hands can help hold the band in position.
2. Begin by bending at the hips, getting your butt back as far as possible. Keep your back flat and bend forward to about 90 degrees. Your knees should be only slightly bent.
3. Return to the starting position be driving through with the hips to come back to a standing position.

10. Assisted Prone Hamstring

68.4% Match

Hamstrings Machine Beginner Isolation

How to perform this exercise

1. Lie face down on a mat or bench with your legs fully extended.
2. Have a partner or use a resistance band to secure your ankles.
3. Engage your hamstrings and lift your legs towards your glutes, keeping your knees straight.
4. Pause for a moment at the top, then slowly lower your legs back down to the starting position.
5. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Why You Might Need a Smith Machine Stiff-legged Deadlift Alternative

You may swap the Smith Machine stiff-legged deadlift because of back pain, lack of equipment, or to use a more natural bar path that increases hamstring and glute recruitment. The fixed bar in a Smith machine constrains the hip hinge and can increase lumbar shear if you force a straight path; free-weight RDLs and single-leg variations allow hips and shoulders to track naturally, improving glute-ham symmetry and spinal loading. For rehab or lower-back risk, reduce lumbar stress by hinging from the hips with a slight knee bend and bracing the core. Technique cue: push hips back until you feel an eccentric stretch in the hamstrings, then drive hips forward to finish the rep.

How to Choose the Right Substitute

Decide based on your goal, equipment, and injury history. For maximal hamstring hypertrophy use heavy RDLs and slow eccentrics (3–4 seconds down) to maximize time under tension; cue yourself to hinge from the hips and maintain a neutral spine. If you lack heavy equipment, pick kettlebell RDLs or single-leg RDLs to preserve hip-hinge mechanics while improving unilateral strength and balance. For rehab prioritize glute-ham raises or controlled Nordic curls with reduced range; keep knees softly bent (~15°) and focus on eccentric control to limit lumbar shear. Always choose the variation that lets you progressively overload while maintaining clean hip hinge mechanics.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Exercise Alternatives

Find Alternatives for Any Exercise

Use our free tool to discover the best substitute exercises based on your available equipment and goals.