Setup and loading
Bar over midfoot, about a finger's width from your shins. Grip just outside your legs.
How to do the conventional deadlift step by step
- Feet hip-width apart, bar over midfoot.
- Grip the bar, lower your hips until your shins touch the bar, and lift your chest.
- Tighten your lats as if trying to bend the bar and push the floor away with your legs.
- Once the bar passes your knees, drive your hips forward until you're standing tall. Lower along the same path.
Form cues
- The bar brushes your legs the whole way
- Neutral spine from start to finish
- Finish with your glutes, without leaning back
Common mistakes
- Rounding your back off the floor
- Shooting your hips up first, then your torso
- Hyperextending your lower back at the top
Sets and reps for your goal
Max Strength
3-5 x 2-5 · rest 3-4 min3-6 sets of 1-6 reps at 80-90% of your max (1RM). Rest 2 to 5 minutes.
Leave 1-3 reps in reserve. If your technique breaks down, lower the weight: strength is built with good reps.
Power
4-6 x 2-3 at 40-60% · explosive pull · rest 2-3 min3-6 sets of 1-5 reps with light or moderate loads (30-60% of your max on the main lifts), or with a ball or your bodyweight. Rest 2 to 3 minutes.
Every rep at the highest possible speed. As soon as you notice it moving slower (a 10-20% velocity loss), end the set. Train power fresh, never fatigued.
A guide for healthy adults. Adjust the load to your level and see a professional if you have an injury.
Check your form
Film yourself from the side or ask someone to watch, then tick what you get right.
Sports it suits
Gear for this exercise
- Olympic barbell and platesTo keep progressing on the big lifts with heavy loads.
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