Barbell Deadlift

Stand with feet hip-width apart, bar over midfoot. Hinge at the hips and grip the bar just outside your knees. Set your back flat, chest up, and brace your core. Drive through the floor, extending your hips and knees simultaneously. Stand tall at the top with hips fully locked out, then reverse the movement to lower the bar.

Pro Tips

• Keep the bar close to your body throughout the entire lift
• Think of pushing the floor away rather than pulling the bar up
• Do not round your lower back — maintain a neutral spine
• Reset your position between each rep for consistent form

Muscles worked

Primary: Gluteus maximus (hip extension — the primary driver of lockout), hamstrings (hip extension and knee stabilisation), and erector spinae (lumbar extension to maintain back angle under load).

Supporting: Quadriceps (knee extension at the floor — more active in the initial pull), latissimus dorsi (bar path control — keeps the bar close to the body), core (isometric bracing against spinal flexion), forearms and grip (supporting the load throughout), traps and upper back (maintaining neutral spine at the top).

Common mistakes

Bar drift from the body: The bar should remain in contact with or close to the shins and thighs throughout the pull. A bar that swings forward creates a moment arm that dramatically increases lower-back loading. Bar path must be vertical.

Rounding the lumbar spine: The lower back rounding under load is the most injury-relevant technical error in the deadlift. Some thoracic rounding is tolerated in experienced lifters; lumbar flexion under load is not. Brace hard before the pull begins.

Jerking the bar: Yanking the slack out of the bar with a jerk puts sudden spike loading on the lumbar spine and often results in a hitch or stall midway. Take the slack out of the bar slowly, then begin the drive.

Hyperextending at lockout: Standing up past neutral at the top — leaning back aggressively — loads the lumbar spine unnecessarily. Lockout is hips forward, glutes squeezed, standing tall — not a backbend.

Programming notes

The barbell deadlift is the most demanding compound exercise in most programmes by total muscle mass recruited, and for this reason it is typically trained at lower frequency and lower volume than the squat. In 5x5 and Starting Strength it is performed once per session as a single all-out set of five. In periodised programmes it runs 1–4 working sets.

Because of its high CNS demand, the deadlift is almost always placed at the end of lower body sessions rather than the beginning — except in programmes that specifically prioritise it (deadlift peaking blocks), where it takes the lead position and squats follow.

Frequently asked questions

Should I use straps or chalk on the deadlift?

Chalk is always preferable to straps for building grip strength alongside your pull. Your grip should be the limiting factor in the early stages — that is how it gets stronger. Use straps only when grip genuinely fails before your posterior chain does, such as on high-rep sets or during a dedicated deadlift peak where accumulated volume would otherwise compromise the training stimulus. If you train in a gym that bans chalk, liquid chalk is a legitimate substitute.

What is the difference between a conventional and sumo deadlift?

Conventional stance places your hands outside your legs and loads the hamstrings and lower back more heavily. Sumo stance widens the feet and turns toes out, allowing the torso to stay more upright and shifting more demand onto the hips and quads. Neither is universally superior — both are valid competition lifts in powerlifting. Your limb proportions, hip anatomy, and mobility will determine which feels stronger and more natural for you. It is worth spending time developing both before committing to one.

How often should I deadlift each week?

Most intermediate lifters progress well deadlifting once per week. The exercise has a high recovery cost due to the sheer volume of muscle mass involved and the isometric demand on the spinal erectors. If you are pulling twice per week, keep one session heavy and the other lighter — Romanian deadlifts, trap bar work, or deficit pulls at 60–70% of your conventional max. Beginners on linear programmes such as Starting Strength pull every session but at lower absolute loads, which the body tolerates while adaptation is rapid.