Deadlift
/ ˈdɛdˌlɪft / · noun
Also: conventional deadlift, sumo deadlift
A barbell movement in which the athlete lifts a loaded bar from the floor to a standing position with hips and knees fully extended. The deadlift trains the entire posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, erector spinae, lats) and is the strongest expression of hip extension under load. For hybrid athletes, it builds the trunk and posterior chain that survive sandbag lunges, sled pulls, and the late-race cumulative loading that crushes weaker athletes.
Variants
- Conventional: feet roughly hip width, hands outside the knees. Most common variant; demands more hip hinge and back work.
- Sumo: feet wide, hands inside the knees. Shorter range of motion, more quad and adductor involvement, friendlier to taller athletes.
- Trap-bar (hex-bar): athlete stands inside a hexagonal bar with parallel handles. The load sits in line with the body, reducing shear on the lower back. Swinton et al. (2011) measured higher peak force and power output in the hexagonal (trap) bar deadlift versus the straight barbell deadlift at matched submaximal loads.
- Romanian deadlift (RDL): hip-hinge accessory, knees soft, bar travels from mid-thigh to just below the knee. Trains the hamstrings and glutes without the full pull from the floor.
Standards by discipline
Deadlift standards diverge significantly across sports: be specific about the context when comparing numbers:
- Powerlifting (IPF): 1RM tested in competition. Bar must reach lockout with shoulders behind the bar, knees and hips fully extended. Hitching (resting the bar on the thighs to ratchet it up) is a no-lift.
- CrossFit RX: typical workout loads of 225 lb (102 kg) for men and 155 lb (70 kg) for women. Higher-rep deadlifts ("Diane": 21-15-9 at 225/155 lb) are common in benchmarks.
- HYROX: the barbell deadlift is not a station, but the sandbag lunge and sled push share the same posterior-chain demand. Strong deadlifters survive late-race loading.
- Hybrid programming: athletes often work in the 3–5 rep range at 80–90% 1RM, 1–2× per week, with an RDL or trap-bar variant on the second day to manage spinal loading.
Movement breakdown
- Setup: bar over the mid-foot. Hinge at the hips, grip the bar just outside the knees, drop the hips until shins touch the bar. Chest up, lats engaged, slack pulled out of the bar.
- Pull: drive the floor away with the legs. Bar tracks vertically, staying close to the body. Hips and shoulders rise at the same rate until the bar passes the knees.
- Lockout: drive the hips through to a fully extended position. Shoulders stack over the hips, knees locked, glutes engaged. Reverse the motion under control.
Common mistakes
- Rounded lower back at setup: loaded spinal flexion under maximal force is the most-cited mechanism behind lumbar injury in deadlift training. Engaging the lats, bracing the trunk, and loading only to the extent that a neutral spine is maintained mitigates this risk.
- Hips rising before the bar moves: turns the deadlift into a stiff-legged lift. Strengthen the quads and re-cue "push the floor away" rather than "pull with the back."
- Hyperextension at the top: leaning back at lockout loads the lumbar spine. Stop at full hip extension; do not arch backward.
- Bouncing or "dropping and catching" reps: losing tension between reps lets the spine settle into flexion. Reset every rep, especially under fatigue.
Programming
Suchomel and colleagues (2018) frame strength as the foundation underneath every other physical quality. The deadlift is the heaviest expression of that strength. A typical hybrid programming pattern:
- Strength block: 3–5 sets of 3–5 reps at 80–90% 1RM, 1× per week.
- Volume block: 4–6 sets of 5–8 reps at 70–80% 1RM. Trap-bar or RDL variants spare the lower back.
- In-season: reduce volume and intensity. Trap-bar deadlifts at moderate load preserve strength while leaving recovery for run and conditioning work. Heavy barbell deadlifts late in a race week tend to compromise running pace.
Equipment notes
A 45 lb (20 kg) calibrated Olympic barbell is the standard, though stiff power-bars with less whip are common in commercial gyms. Bumper plates allow the bar to be reset on the floor between reps without damage. A lifting belt becomes useful at loads above 80% 1RM. Lifting straps remove grip as the limiter for high-rep deadlifts but should not be used for testing or competition lifts where grip is part of the test.
Sources
- The Importance of Muscular Strength: Training Considerations
- A biomechanical analysis of straight and hexagonal barbell deadlifts using submaximal loads
- IPF Technical Rules Book
- Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 4th ed.