technique library

How to
deadlift

The deadlift is the easiest lift to explain and the easiest to get wrong, usually in a hurry. This is the conventional barbell deadlift in six steps, three positions and the five faults we fix most often. Your back is not a crane.

  • MID-FOOTWhere the bar starts: over the middle of the foot, close enough to brush your shins on the way up.
  • FLAT BACKOne straight line from head to hips, set before the bar leaves the floor and held until lockout.
  • ~HIP WIDTHApproximate stance. Your build sets the exact number. A poster does not.

the picture

Three positions

Side view, facing right. The bar travels in a straight line over the middle of the foot. The back angle stays the same until the bar passes the knees.

  • 01 / setup

    Hinge and set

    Hips back, back flat, shoulders just in front of the bar and arms straight. The bar has not moved yet.

  • 02 / mid-pull

    Bar at the knee

    The legs have pushed the floor away, the back angle has not changed, and the bar is still hugging the legs.

  • 03 / lockout

    Stand tall

    Hips and knees finish together. Glutes squeezed, ribs down, no leaning back to look impressive.

  • bar path over mid-foot

the method

Six steps

Do them in this order, every rep, including the warm-up sets. Skipping steps is how a deadlift turns into a back workout you did not ask for.

  1. 01

    Set your stance

    Feet about hip width, toes turned out slightly. Stand with the bar over the middle of your foot, close enough that it will touch your shins when you reach it.

    cueBar over the middle of the foot.

  2. 02

    Hinge and grip

    Push your hips back and fold forward with a flat back, bending the knees only as much as you need to reach the bar. Grip just outside your knees. Overhand on both hands is fine until the bar starts to slip.

    cueReach down. Do not squat down.

  3. 03

    Set your shins and chest

    Let your knees move forward until your shins touch the bar. Lift your chest so your shoulders sit just in front of the bar with your arms straight, and keep your neck in line with your spine.

    cueShoulders over or just ahead of the bar.

  4. 04

    Take the slack out

    Pull gently on the bar until you feel it tighten against the plates, without moving it off the floor. Squeeze your armpits down, as if protecting a pair of oranges from being crushed.

    cuePull the slack out of the bar.

  5. 05

    Brace and push

    Big breath into the belly, brace in every direction, then push the floor away with your whole foot. The bar should travel straight up your legs, touching them the whole way.

    cuePush the floor away.

  6. 06

    Lock out and lower

    Finish with your hips and knees extending together, standing tall with your glutes squeezed. To lower, send your hips back first, slide the bar down your thighs, and bend your knees once it passes them. Reset your brace before the next rep.

    cueHips back, then knees.

troubleshooting

Five common faults

Most deadlift problems are one of these five. Film a set from the side, compare it with the diagrams above, then pick the closest match.

Bar drifts away from the legs

likely cause

The bar starts too far in front of the foot, or the upper back lets go during the pull.

what to try

Start with the bar over mid-foot and keep your armpits tight. Drag the bar up your shins and thighs.

Lower back rounds off the floor

likely cause

Hips set too high or too low, no brace before the pull, or a load beyond your current ability.

what to try

Brace before you pull and find the hip height where your back is flat. Lighten the bar or raise the start height on blocks.

Hips shoot up first

likely cause

The legs are not pushing, so the hips rise and the lift becomes a back extension.

what to try

Think push the floor away, not pull the bar up. Use a light pause deadlift, holding for about a second just off the floor.

Squatting the deadlift

likely cause

Hips start too low and the knees end up in the bar's way.

what to try

Raise your hips and hinge more. The deadlift setup is a hinge with a little knee bend, not a squat.

Leaning back at lockout

likely cause

Trying to finish the lift by hyperextending the lower back instead of driving the hips through.

what to try

Squeeze your glutes, keep your ribs down and stand tall. The rep ends when you are straight, not when you lean back.

progression

Earn the barbell

Skip rungs and the bar finds the weak link for you. Move up when every rep on the current rung looks like the diagrams.

  1. Hip hinge, dowel along the spinesets × reps3 × 10tempo3-1-1effortRPE 4
  2. Kettlebell deadliftsets × reps3 × 8tempo3-1-1effortRPE 6
  3. Barbell deadlift from blockssets × reps3 × 5tempo2-0-1effortRPE 6
  4. Barbell deadlift from the floorsets × repsper your programtempoper your programeffortRPE 7-8

Numbers are an illustration of how a coach writes a prescription, not a program for you. Tempo reads as seconds down, pause at the bottom, seconds up. RPE is effort on a 10-point scale, where 10 means no reps left.

before you load the bar

Pull safely

  • Warm up with progressively heavier sets before your working weight.
  • Stand on a flat, non-slip surface and use collars so plates cannot shift.
  • Standard full-size plates are about 450 mm across, which sets the starting height. If you cannot reach the bar with a flat back, raise it on blocks.
  • Only drop the bar from lockout where your gym allows it, with bumper plates on a floor built for it.
  • Effort burns and pinches. Sharp or lingering pain is a stop sign, not a challenge.
  • This page is general guidance and not medical advice. If you have an injury or a health condition, check with a qualified professional before you deadlift under load.

get it coached

Train like an athlete

A diagram shows you the positions. A coach watches your deadlift, catches the fault you cannot feel and fixes it in the session. 2 free – no obligation – sessions are available on request.

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