JFIFC    $ &%# #"(-90(*6+"#2D26;=@@@&0FKE>J9?@=C  =)#)==================================================v" }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?<V:am3W7Hpko ZG,QptQ.O51?@k$k&lr-!t{/l:r XZuVgѧߵ2 Nۛx&F}\^IgKOeq GWy4efVSR9ּؙ2LgnT}-o]xYY-!E I$Zj~87;m3\%\;D]>Xíu`V(of8qI]ަ֛iqClP7rjZt[_+ۦ$kȪBv ?sG>\ּZǹ(20P:f:hLMcqvFT)e^wLyn|ʇhyys+Ťq>}a t(l+ֽ O.q}#,qoykswgIYQm2:ʩskt@cO&*r@%*g&3FDkOƫ< @9kRWfHlV-B|޳>,Ci<%#8;?ifXX:kcm|I}vn#g95ȕj3Ӡo8 E%n˩kQĢb58b!b$H6w z t/4=>O1 Z=QI;hqo|0|D#pNϛo ::[{96ޣ+ݯt dcog+. hس5d|8OfF(qpO{4pYzٹnH/(Xa1QiX>w(u&*1lφDZprڻ?xY/Ħг,=JmXvA6ֶԢ|\lc𭏜VkW^qEn]݉I?}-mg>5b&ܩ{lIlaityomt]u8^OAhd+gF:K&͒$j<-&+5ڦ}ymnw|ں"k\:C,$7~ʲu Y4=Aڡt=OZ;jYN^I]g yė s|UDc8Zf.H(qr\0*q-4Şݱ4O'`0A#ѐ=ZUހ Ta'֢JːOa(JY`B= z6Ū ${JIh3e($vZ„R=~YG8XYpA$40Qrr"qS*nYcoڠIXFw9; `My@kռoody~Q5Q2]01U!&z[Ii3)= , ̤`8fV6/< )!#J(2=i y)\VT+9ң+y3S1 5g}E !2;[>PSqTQv+:8fqEҎaS[ Jm*K 3)ފ({ nz]mb0ڞ{Ƅ/-W/SNj#[nG<¹RRvaQ[Gc)=ۚ(3,Z]cpZѸ<C^iLDh,>E,nm 4 8=sE sV5i;x_Jv!D<(pER@.(legs straight with the knees locked (not hyperextended) at all times. When you do a hamstring stretch, you can t bend the knee in the slightest. If you do, you take out the stretch and defeat the whole purpose. Same thing with the BFS Straight-Leg Dead Lift. If you bend the knees, you defeat the purpose. Go as deep as you possibly can (see Figure Five). You can even pause at the bottom before coming back up. Always remain slow and controlled. It is not uncommon to see the hamstrings shake. This is good. It is a tough exercise when done this way. <br><br> <br>Why do some criticize the locked knee approach? If you lift with a heavy weight with locked knees, there is a lot of stress on the back of the knees, which is not good. However, since we are lifting with such a light weight, this criticism is totally unwarranted. <br> <br>Why do some criticize the rounded back approach? You can do the straight-leg dead lift with a straight back, but I feel you can also stretch the lower back with our technique and get a better hamstring stretch because you can go deeper with a rounded back. Criticism comes from the perceived danger, but that too is an unwarranted criticism because we are lifting with such a light weight. Look, it s like bending down and touching your toes, but you just have a little bit of weight in your hands to help you get a deeper stretch. It s not that big a deal.<br><br>An advanced technique<br><br>When you have brought the bar down as far as possible, pause and breathe out. As you do this, you may be able to stretch another inch or so before coming up. Remember, the more you improve your hamstring flexibility, the faster you should be able to sprint and the higher you should be able to jump. <br><br>A Powerlifting <br>SLDL Approach:<br><br>When I was lifting in powerlifting competition, I would do sets of five reps with 505 pounds. I found out about the pressure on the back of the knees and learned to bend them just slightly. My objective was to build a powerful lower back in order to withstand the tremendous stress of going for a big number on the dead lift in competition. I noticed that others who did not train for the dead lift in this manner would have a greater chance of having a sore back for a while. Figure Six shows a heavy straight-leg dead lift, which should be done with the knees slightly bent. <br><br>Another SLDL Athletic Approach:<br><br>The Romanian dead lift (Figure Seven) is a popular alternative as shown in Figure Six. Olympic lifters use this to aid their efforts in competition. Some strength coaches have adopted this lif