December 9, 2025
Learn step-by-step deadlift technique, the key cues that keep you safe and powerful, and the most common mistakes to avoid so you can pull more weight with confidence.
Great deadlifts start with a solid setup: stance, bar position, and brace matter more than load.
Think of pushing the floor away and keeping the bar close, instead of yanking the weight up.
Most injuries come from rounding the back, losing tension, or rushing reps—fixable with simple cues.
This guide breaks the deadlift into logical phases: setup, bracing, the pull, and the lockout, then adds specific coaching cues, variations, and movement corrections. The focus is on conventional barbell deadlifts, with principles that also apply to sumo, trap-bar, and Romanian deadlifts.
Deadlifting is one of the most effective exercises for strength, muscle, and longevity—but only if your technique is solid. Understanding exactly what to do, what to feel, and what to avoid lets you progress safely and consistently over years, not weeks.
Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, toes pointing mostly forward or slightly out. Place the barbell directly over your midfoot—if you looked from the side, the bar should bisect the foot, roughly an inch from your shins. This position gives you balance, room to bend your knees, and a straight bar path. Avoid starting with the bar too far away, which forces it to swing toward you and strains your lower back.
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Hinge your hips back and reach down for the bar without squatting straight down. Grab the bar just outside your legs so your arms hang straight, forming vertical lines from shoulder to hand. Use a double overhand grip when possible; switch to mixed grip or straps only when your grip limits the lift. Keep your hands even on the knurling to avoid rotating the bar and uneven loading on your back and hips.
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Start the lift by pushing the floor away rather than yanking the bar up with your back. Think of a leg press: drive through your midfoot and heel while maintaining your hip position. The bar should smoothly break off the floor without jerking. Your hips and shoulders should rise together for the first part of the lift—if your hips shoot up first, your back is taking over.
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As the bar rises, keep it close to your body—lightly brushing your shins and thighs. The ideal bar path is almost perfectly vertical. Letting the bar drift forward increases the moment arm on your lower back and wastes strength. Use the cue: ‘drag the bar up your legs’ while keeping your lats engaged so the bar stays under your center of mass.
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Use this to nail your starting geometry. First, place the bar over your midfoot. Then hinge down and bring your shins to lightly touch the bar without rolling it forward. This locks in balance and a clean bar path right from the start.
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‘Chest up’ encourages a neutral spine and avoids rounding, while imagining squeezing oranges in your armpits helps you engage your lats. Together, they create a tight upper back and connect the bar to your torso for a more powerful pull.
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Think of breathing into your belt—even if you’re not wearing one. Fill your belly and sides with air and lock it in. A 360-degree brace stiffens your torso and protects your spine. Repeat this brace before every single rep, not just your first.
Rounding usually comes from poor setup, lack of bracing, or trying to lift too heavy. Fix it by lightening the load, setting the bar over midfoot, taking time to lift your chest, and bracing hard before pulling. Filming yourself from the side helps you see if your spine stays neutral throughout the lift.
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When hips rise faster than shoulders, the lift turns into a stiff-leg deadlift, overloading your back. Often this happens because the weight is too heavy or you’re not thinking about leg drive. Use the cue ‘push the floor away’ and lower the weight until hips and shoulders rise together.
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If the bar drifts forward, you lose leverage and strain your lower back. Causes include starting with the bar too far from your shins or not using your lats. Fix by setting the bar over midfoot, bringing your shins to the bar, and using the cue ‘squeeze oranges in your armpits’ to keep the bar close.
Feet about hip-width, hands just outside the legs. Emphasizes posterior chain—glutes, hamstrings, and spinal erectors—with significant demand on grip. A great general strength builder for most people with no major mobility limitations.
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Wide stance, toes out, hands inside the legs. Torso more upright, shorter range of motion, and more emphasis on hips and quads. Often feels better for lifters with longer torsos or cranky lower backs, but requires good hip mobility.
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You stand inside the bar and hold handles by your sides. This keeps the load closer to your center of mass and typically allows a more upright torso. It’s often more comfortable for beginners and athletes and can be easier on the lower back.
Most lifters progress well deadlifting 1–2 times per week. Heavy deadlifts are taxing on the nervous system and lower back, so more isn’t always better. One heavier day and one lighter or variation day works well for strength and technique.
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For technique and strength, 3–6 reps per set are a sweet spot. Very high reps can cause form breakdown; very low reps (1–2) should be used for heavy tests, not all the time. Beginners can start with 3–4 sets of 5 with perfect form-focused reps.
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Increase weight slowly—2.5 to 5 kg (5–10 lb) at a time—and only when you can complete all reps with consistent form. Using RPE (rate of perceived exertion) 7–8 for most working sets keeps you progressing without constantly grinding maximal lifts.
Most deadlift errors trace back to the setup and lack of tension before the bar leaves the floor; slowing down and standardizing your setup often fixes multiple problems at once.
Thinking in cues and sensations—pushing the floor away, dragging the bar up your legs, bracing 360—translates complex biomechanics into simple habits you can apply under heavy load.
Choosing the right deadlift variation and sensible programming matters as much as perfect form; matching the lift to your body and recovery capacity makes strength gains sustainable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Deadlifting with proper technique and appropriate load is not bad for your back; in fact, it can strengthen your spine, hips, and core. Problems usually arise from poor form, fatigue, or loading too aggressively. Start with manageable weights, focus on a neutral spine and solid brace, and progress gradually.
There’s no single ‘should’—it depends on your training history, body size, and goals. As rough strength benchmarks, many healthy adults can work toward deadlifting their bodyweight for reps, then 1.5–2 times bodyweight over time. Focus on improving your own numbers steadily rather than chasing arbitrary standards.
A belt is optional. It can help you create a stronger brace, especially on heavy sets, but it doesn’t replace good technique. If you use one, position it around your midsection and breathe into it 360 degrees. Train some sets without a belt to keep your raw bracing skill sharp.
Perceived tightness can come from both true mobility limits and poor motor control. Start with variations like trap-bar deadlifts or RDLs with a reduced range of motion and focus on controlled hinging. Over time, strength and comfort in the hinge often improve your ‘flexibility’ more than stretching alone.
Use 5–10 minutes of general movement (light cardio or dynamic mobility) then do specific warm-up sets of deadlifts. Start with an empty bar or light load and perform 2–4 progressively heavier sets of 3–5 reps until you reach your working weight. Aim to groove your technique and build tension, not to fatigue yourself.
Perfect deadlift form comes from a consistent setup, solid bracing, and patient, controlled reps—not from chasing the heaviest possible weight each session. Start by mastering the cues and corrections here, progress your load gradually, and choose variations that fit your body so you can build strength, muscle, and confidence for the long term.
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Bring your shins gently to the bar by bending your knees slightly forward without dropping your hips too low. Your hips should end up between your knees and shoulders—not as low as a squat, not as high as a stiff-leg deadlift. From the side, your shoulders should be just slightly in front of the bar. If your hips are too low, you lose tension; too high, and your back does all the work.
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Take a big breath in, then lift your chest slightly and think about squeezing your armpits shut to engage your lats. This pulls slack out of your upper body and locks the bar to your torso. Imagine bending the bar toward you or toward your shins. Your spine should be neutral—flat, not rounded, and not hyperextended. This is your strong, safe pulling position.
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With your back set, take another deep breath into your belly and sides, not just your chest. Think about expanding 360 degrees around your midsection and then gently tightening as if preparing for a punch. This is your brace. Hold this tension as you start the lift. Bracing stabilizes your spine, keeps your torso rigid, and helps you transfer force from the legs to the bar.
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As the bar passes your knees, drive your hips forward while continuing to stand tall. Squeeze your glutes to bring your hips under you into a strong lockout. Your final position should be tall and stacked: hips fully extended, knees straight but not hyperlocked, ribs down, and head in line with your spine. Don’t lean back or overextend—this stresses your lower back and doesn’t add strength.
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To lower the bar, push your hips back first while keeping the bar close to your legs and your spine neutral. Once the bar reaches around knee level, bend your knees to return it to the floor. Think: ‘hips back, then knees.’ Avoid just dropping the bar or squatting it down, which can pull you out of position and increase injury risk. Reset your breath and brace before the next rep.
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Instead of thinking about pulling the bar up with your arms or back, imagine leg pressing the ground away from you. This keeps the focus on your legs and glutes and helps your hips and shoulders rise together instead of your hips shooting up.
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Keeping the bar close reduces stress on your lower back and improves leverage. Imagine there is a line of paint on your shins and thighs and you’re trying to smear it with the bar. This helps maintain a vertical bar path and consistent positioning.
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For the lockout, think ‘stand tall, squeeze your glutes’ rather than ‘lean back.’ This ensures a strong, neutral finish with your hips fully extended and prevents overextension of your lower back.
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Yanking the bar breaks your brace and pulls you out of position. Instead, build tension before the bar leaves the floor: set your back, engage your lats, take a breath, brace, then gradually increase force until the bar floats up. Think ‘tight, then smooth’ rather than ‘rip it.’
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Leaning back and aggressively throwing your hips forward at lockout stresses your spine without building more strength. Instead, focus on standing tall with ribs down and glutes squeezed. Your ears, shoulders, hips, and ankles should stack in a straight line.
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Bouncing the plates off the floor or rushing reps leads to sloppy form and higher injury risk. Reset each rep: let the bar come to a dead stop, rebrace, and pull again. Think ‘singles in a set’ for better technique and power.
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Starts from the top position, with a controlled hinge down to just below the knees or mid-shin while keeping a slight knee bend. Emphasizes hamstrings and glutes with constant tension and less load. Excellent for building posterior-chain muscle and reinforcing the hip hinge.
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Deficit deadlifts are performed standing on a small platform to increase the range of motion from the floor; block pulls or rack pulls start from an elevated height. Deficits build strength off the floor; block pulls strengthen the mid-range and lockout.
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On days when you’re tired or your back feels sensitive, swap heavy conventional deadlifts for RDLs, trap-bar pulls, or tempo deadlifts. Variations let you train the pattern and muscles without always loading your heaviest max from the floor.
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Stop sets when your form meaningfully degrades, even if you planned more reps. Recording your lifts from the side is one of the best tools for honest feedback. Over time, consistently clean reps will beat occasional sloppy PR attempts.
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