How to Master The Deadlift, Plus 5 Variations to Add to Your Routine

Whether you’re a bodybuilder or a runner, you’ve likely heard of the deadlift. While this move is beneficial for all athletes—it’s a full-body exercise that strengthens your posterior chain—it can be tricky to master. 

Here, we’ll dive into all the benefits the deadlift can provide, the muscles worked, how to complete the move with proper form, walk through some deadlift variations, and show you how to include it into your next workout.

Meet The Experts

I asked two certified trainers exactly how to do a deadlift for maximum gains and minimal injury risk. Plus, they whipped up a full-body workout to help you incorporate deadlifts into your routine.

• Julian Devine, CFSC, PPSC, CPL, RKC, and Sweat with JD Founder.
• Ashley Boyer, REP Fitness Editor in Chief, ACE-CPT, and Sports Performance MS candidate.

What Is a Conventional Deadlift?

“A deadlift is a strength training exercise where you lift a weighted barbell, open trap bar, kettlebells, or dumbbells from the ground to a standing position, engaging multiple muscle groups,” says Julian Devine, CFSC, PPSC, CPL, RKC, and Sweat with JD Founder. This deadlift is considered to be a functional exercise, as the movement can build core strength and prep you to pick up heavy objects, like carrying suitcases or a load of groceries, according to the American Council on Exercise (ACE). “Deadlifts help enhance posture, grip strength, and functional movement, reducing the risk of injury in daily activities,” Devine says.

The great thing about this move is you can easily perform a deadlift at your home gym with dumbbells or a kettlebell. If you’re an athlete that competes, you may want to invest in a specialty barbell, like a deadlift bar, to help you prep for competition. 

How to Deadlift with Proper Form

If you’re brand-new to deadlifting, we’d suggest starting with a kettlebell or a set of dumbbells, as it can be easier to hone in on form and technique, especially if you aren’t used to barbell work. The below steps from Devine walk you through deadlifting with a barbell or specialty barbell.

• Start standing with feet hip-width apart, toes slightly under the bar and shins nearly touching it.

• Hinge at the hips and bend knees slightly to grip the bar just wider than your legs, keeping a flat back. Lower your butt down, making sure it's below your shoulders.

• Inhale and brace your core. Push through your legs to stand, engaging the lats and squeezing shoulder blades. (Some of Boyer's favorite coaching cues include "squeeze lemons under your armpits" and "squeeze a pen between your shoulder blades".)

• Make sure you're leading the pull with your head, not your low back or butt. Once the bar passes your knees, begin to stand upright by straightening your legs.

• Pause at the top, standing tall, then hinge at the hips and bend your knees to lower the weight back to starting position, keeping a flat back and core engaged throughout.

Deadlift Tips for Beginners

Start with a kettlebell

If you're a beginner, Devine suggests starting with 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps using a kettlebell. Once this feels comfortable and your form is locked in, try increasing the weight by 5 to 25 pounds, pending difficulty level. If form starts to break down, reset and lower the weight.

Incorporate good mornings

Good mornings are a hinge-based exercise that are ideal for training the movement pattern and muscle groups needed for the deadlift—without ever pulling a bar off the ground. "Many deadlift newbies don't have the hamstring flexibility to hinge correctly, and they end up performing more of a squat," says Boyer. "Practicing good mornings, whether with a band, a kettlebell in a goblet hold, or a barbell resting on the shoulders allows people to master the hinge and stretch out those hammies."

Here's how to do them:

• Rack a barbell on your shoulders (or rack a kettlebell or dumbbell in a goblet hold).
• Take a deep breath and brace your core. Push your hips back, as if you're trying to close a door with your butt.
• Keep your knees soft with legs mostly straight as you hinge. It may take time to work up to a full hinge, but aim to have your head and chest parallel with the floor. (Keep your eyes on the floor rather than looking up, which will protect your neck.)
• Driving through your feet, return to standing. Repeat for desired number of reps.

Elevate your barbell

Working your way into a full deadlift from the floor can take time and practice. Setting up your bar on an elevated surface, such as blocks or a short plyo box, reduces the range of motion of your deadlift, says Boyer.

"Start with 3-4 blocks underneath either side of your barbell," says Boyer. "Each week, remove a block until your are starting from the floor."

Don't add weight without a plan

Lifters love the deadlift because you can get relatively heavy with weight. "Deadlifts make you feel powerful," says Boyer. "But it's also so easy to chase weight before you're ready, which is a massive injury risk."

According to Devine, a good rule of thumb is to warm up with the bar (check out the REP Hades™ Deadlift Bar). When you're ready to add weight, aim for 20 percent less than your body weight. Make adjustments as needed based on effort level.

What Muscles Do Deadlifts Work?

Deadlifts strengthen multiple muscle groups, including the legs, back, and core, improving overall power and stability. You might hear that the move strengthens your posterior chain—the group of muscles up the back of your body that include your calves, hamstrings, glutes, and low back. The move also works your core, quads, traps, and forearms, adds Devine. Having a solid posterior chain can help you lift heavier and also reduce low-back injury risk, according to ACE.

Common Deadlift Mistakes

Mistakes happen, but if you slip up during heavy deadlifts, it's more than likely going to be a one-way ticket to injury town. Here are the most common mistakes to avoid:

A rounded spine

A hunched, rounded posture puts your low back at major risk. It's also usually a sign your core isn't braced. To correct this, roll those shoulders back and untuck your pelvis "kind of like a baby twerk," says Boyer. Then squeeze your core as if you were about to sneeze (or, if Fight Club resinates more, think about how you'd brace if you asked someone to punch you in the gut).

 “Deadlifts require patience and proper technique, so keep the bar close, stay engaged, and maintain a neutral back,” says Devine. 

Letting your butt lead

It's kind of basic physics here. When the bar gets real heavy, it acts like an anchor for your arms. Instinctively, your hips may try to lift to straighten your legs while the bar is still on the ground. This is why locking in your starting position and removing any slack from the bar is key. Keep that solid posture and lead with your head and shoulders.

Forgetting to keep the bar tight

It's imperitive that you keep the bar close to the body, so that the weight can be lifted and lowered in a straight line. If you let the bar creep away from you, you're more likely to pull a muscle or accidentally slam the bar into your knees when you stand up.

Performing a squat instead of a hinge

This one is big! While conventional deadlifts incorporate some squat elements—bending the knees and lowering the hips down to the floor—this is still a hinge. When setting up your starting position, aim to keep your torso at a 45 degree angle.

Overextension at the top

Your goal is to stand up perfectly straight at the top of a deadlift. If you find yourself leaning back, so the bar is almost balanced on your hips, you're taking your spine out of alignment and inadvertently placing that heavy load on your low back. Using an open trap bar or keeping your gaze straight ahead can help you stand nice and tall. Avoid looking up at the ceiling, which is a recipe for hyperextension, says Boyer.

Improper bracing

Mastering the core brace is your secret weapon for improving your deadlift. We're very passionate about it at REP, which is why we wrote this entire guide to help you get it right. A lifting belt can also be a helpful tool for proper bracing. We've got a guide on that, too.

Not watching your form

In this instance, Boyer wants you to check yourself out. If you don’t have a trainer to monitor your form, it can be helpful to use a mirror or film yourself from the side to spot and correct most of these common mistakes. It can also be helpful to work with a trainer, even for a few sessions, until you’ve gotten the form down so you can reduce your injury risk.

Other Types of Deadlifts

The conventional deadlift is just one of many variations you can do.

Romanian Deadlift or RDL

If you want to target your hamstrings and glutes, try an RDL or Romanian deadlift. When completing an RDL, you’ll keep your legs straighter than when performing a conventional deadlift and won’t return the bar all the way to the ground. 

• Stand in front of a loaded barbell with your shins pressed against the bar, knees slightly bent, and your feet set about hip-width apart.
• Get locked-and-loaded in a deadlift position. Squeeze your shoulder blades together so there’s no slack in your arms, brace your core, and then drive through your feet to pull the barbell off the ground
• Now it’s time to begin your set. Keep your shoulder blades squeezed together and engage your lats (coaches love to say “squeeze lemons under your armpits”). Once again lower your torso toward the floor while driving your hips back, as if you’re trying to close a door with your butt. Continue to lower the barbell until it reaches the middle of your shins. (You should feel tension in your hamstrings.)
• Pause in this hinged position for 1-2 seconds and then return to standing by pushing through your feet and driving your hips forward (careful not to over-extend and return to a neutral stance).

Open Trap Bar Deadlift

Remember when I said this was a good tool for training proper deadlift technique? An open trap bar is designed to reduce pressure on the lumbar spine and train the feeling of a neutral spine during lifts. Follow all the traditional deadlift cues when using one of these to perfect your deadlift.

Sumo Deadlift

The sumo deadlift is performed from a wider stance. It reduces the amount of distance the bar has to travel, which some lifters say allows them to lift heavier, while also recruiting more adductor (inner thigh) activation. Here's how to do them:

• Set your feet outside your hips (about three heel-toes past your normal squat stance). Toes can be pointed slightly outward, but avoid turning them out completely plie-style like a ballet dancer.
• Follow the same general cues for a conventional deadlift, however, when you set up to grab the bar your hands should be inside your legs directly in front of you.
• Breathe, brace, and drive through your feet to stand. Retrace the bar back down to the floor.

1.5 Stance or B-Stance Deadlift

• Find your B-stance. Boyer recommends taking the toe of one foot to your opposite foot's heel. Then step horizontally until your feet are about hip distance apart.
• Keep your forward foot fully grounded supporting the majority of your weight. Your back foot should serve as a kickstand for balance.
• Push your hips back and lower down until your butt cannot go back any further and you feel your hamstrings engage.
• Keeping a flat back, return to standing. Repeat for desired number of reps, then switch sides.

Single Leg Deadlift

Test your balance and stability with a single leg deadlift. 

• Grab a dumbbell or kettlebell and hold it in one hand.*
• Grounding one foot, extend the opposite leg behind you as you lower down into a hinged position.
• You want to make a straight line from the top of your head through the heel of your extended foot.
• Return to standing.
• Pro tip: If you find balance is difficult during this movement, grab a foam roller or use a wall for support.

*Note: There is some debate in the fitness community about how to properly rack this movement, but recent research suggests that contralateral loading is more effective for building strength and muscle in the glutes. Translation: If your right leg is in the grounded forward position, hold the weight in your left hand.

Deadlift Workouts

Now that you’re ready to add this move to your repertoire, Devine programmed a full-body workout to help you get started. You can also check out REP's YouTube channel for more ideas.

Warm-Up

• Foam Roll (5 minutes)
• Bodyweight Circuit (repeat twice)
• Leg swings (10 per leg)
• Hip circles (10 per direction)
• Good Morning (10 reps)
• High plank (30 to 60 seconds)
• Glute Bridges ( 20 to 40 reps)
• Conventional Barbell Deadlift (Empty Bar) – 5 reps

Main Workout (complete 8 to 10 reps of each move, repeat for 3 to 5 sets)

1. Conventional barbell deadlift

2. Barbell hip thrust

3. Kettlebell swings

Rest 3 to 5 minutes between sets. Focus on form and control.

Cooldown

• Complete these static stretches, holding each for 60 to 90 seconds
• Child’s Pose
• Half Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch
• Seated Hamstring Fold Over
• Figure-4 Stretch