Barbell Deadlift

How to deadlift with proper form to build glutes, hamstrings, and lower back safely and efficiently

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How to perform

1. Stand with your feet hip to shoulder width apart and the bar over the middle of your feet.
2. Hinge at the hips and bend your knees to reach down, gripping the bar with an overhand or mixed hold just outside your legs.
3. Set your back flat, brace your core, and pull the slack out of the bar before you start the lift.
4. Exhale and drive through the whole foot, especially the heels, to lift the bar, extending your hips and knees together.
5. Stand fully upright and squeeze your glutes at the top, then lower the bar by pushing your hips back and bending your knees, keeping it close to your body.
6. Reset the bar on the floor and repeat for the desired number of reps.

Muscles worked

The deadlift is a hip-hinge compound lift that trains nearly the whole posterior chain. Your glutes and hamstrings extend the hips to stand up, your quads extend the knees off the floor, and your lower back and trapezius keep your torso and the bar stable.

• Glutes — drive the hip extension at the top of the lift
• Hamstrings — extend the hips and pull the body up
• Quadriceps — extend the knees during the first part of the pull
• Lower back — keeps the spine rigid under load
• Traps and forearms — hold the shoulders down and the bar in your hands

Make it easier

Start with a lighter barbell or a trap bar, where the handles sit closer to your center of mass. Practicing hip hinge patterns and glute bridges without weight builds the same technique with less demand on your grip and back.

Make it harder

Add load progressively, pause at the bottom or at knee height, or slow the lowering phase to a 3–5 second count to extend time under tension. Deficit deadlifts, standing on a low platform, lengthen the range of motion and add a serious challenge.

Common mistakes

Mistake: Rounding the lower back as you lift. Fix: brace your core and pull your chest up before the bar leaves the floor. Mistake: Pulling the bar away from your body. Fix: keep the bar brushing your shins and thighs on the way up and down. Mistake: Hyperextending at the top. Fix: stand tall and squeeze the glutes, but do not lean backward. Mistake: Starting with a jerky yank. Fix: pull the slack out of the bar first, then drive smoothly through your legs.