Deadlift form: setup, bar path and lockout
The deadlift has fewer moving parts than the squat. You pick a heavy thing up and put it down. Almost everything that goes wrong happens before the bar leaves the floor, which is good news, because that part is completely under your control.
Barbell Deadlift
- Target
- glutes
- Sets and reps
- 4 × 5
- Rest
- 180s
Push the floor away rather than thinking of pulling up. Keep the bar close to your shins throughout.
The setup, in four steps
Do these in the same order every time. A deadlift setup should be boring and identical. The moment you improvise, your back angle changes.
- Feet under the bar
Hip width, toes turned out slightly. The bar sits over the middle of your foot, which usually means it is nearly touching your shins. If you can see daylight between the bar and your legs, you are too far away.
- Hinge and grab the bar
Push your hips back and reach down without moving the bar. Grip just outside your legs. Do not squat down to the bar. The bar position sets your hip height, not the other way round.
- Pull the slack out
Take the tension without lifting. You will hear a small click as the bar meets the collars. Chest up, armpits tight, hips settle into place.
- Push the floor away
Stop thinking about pulling. Drive your feet through the floor and let the bar come up with you. It changes the first few centimetres more than any other cue.
Straight up, brushing your shins and thighs the whole way. A bar that swings out in front of your knees has just got much heavier, and the extra load goes to your lower back.
The lockout
Stand up, squeeze your glutes, done. Shoulders over hips, knees straight, chest up. That is a finished rep.
Leaning back at the top adds nothing and bends your spine backwards under load. Shrugging adds nothing either. The lockout is the dullest part of the lift and it should stay that way.
Every rep starts from a dead stop on the floor. Bouncing the plates is a different exercise, and it makes your numbers look better than they are while you are still learning.
About the rounded back
The internet is confused about this one. A rounded lower back under a heavy load is the thing to avoid. Upper back rounding is common in strong lifters and much less of a worry.
What matters is that your spine keeps the same shape through the whole rep. Set your position, then hold it. A lower back that starts flat and rounds more as the bar comes up means the weight is too heavy today.
The four things that go wrong
Hips shoot up first
The bar barely moves while your hips rise, and now you are doing a Romanian deadlift from a bad position. Usually the weight is too heavy for your legs, so your back takes over. Sometimes your hips just started too low. Try starting a bit higher and driving with your legs.
The bar drifts away from you
Your lats are not doing their job. Before you pull, think about pulling the bar into your shins, not only upwards.
Your grip gives out before your back does
Normal past a certain weight. Use a mixed grip or hook grip on your top sets, and straps for the lighter sets. Losing sets to your fingers builds nothing.
Sore lower back the next day
A bit of soreness after heavy pulling is normal. Sharp pain, pain running down a leg, or pain that lasts more than a few days is not. Stop and get it looked at by a doctor or a physiotherapist.
Sumo, and whether to switch
Barbell Sumo Deadlift
- Target
- glutes
- Sets and reps
- 4 × 5
- Rest
- 180s
Point your toes out in line with your knees. The wide stance reduces range of motion and allows heavier loads.
Sumo is not cheating and it is not easier. It is different. It suits people with a long torso, shorter arms, or a lower back that gives out first. Conventional suits long arms and strong backs.
Try each one for a month with the same reps and keep the one where the weight goes up faster. That beats any diagram of limb lengths.
Two variations worth doing
Barbell Romanian Deadlift
- Target
- glutes
- Sets and reps
- 4 × 10
- Rest
- 90s
Push your hips back, not down. Feel the hamstring stretch before returning. Keep a neutral spine throughout.
The Romanian deadlift is the best hamstring exercise most people never do. Soft knees, hips back, let the bar slide down your thighs until you feel a strong stretch, usually just below the knee. Then stand up. It is a hinge, not a squat with a straight back.
Barbell Rack Pull
- Target
- glutes
- Sets and reps
- 4 × 5
- Rest
- 180s
Set the pins just below your knee. This trains the lockout portion of the deadlift and allows heavier loads.
Rack pulls suit a weak lockout, or heavy back work without the fatigue of full pulls. They are also easy to abuse. Setting the pins at hip height so you can move 200 kg proves nothing.
| Lift | What it trains | Typical work |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional deadlift | Whole back and legs, most weight | 3 to 4 sets of 3 to 5 |
| Sumo deadlift | Quads and glutes, shorter range | 3 to 4 sets of 3 to 5 |
| Romanian deadlift | Hamstrings and glutes | 3 sets of 8 |
| Rack pull | Lockout and upper back | 3 sets of 5 |
How often, and how much
One heavy conventional session a week is plenty, plus a set of Romanian deadlifts on another day. Deadlifts cost more recovery per set than anything else in the gym, which is why heavy pulls three times a week usually end in a bad week.
The set that teaches you most is the one you stop at nine reps instead of grinding out a tenth.
Because you only pull heavy once a week, a stall is easy to miss. Panko charts your deadlift session by session, so six flat weeks looks flat on screen instead of just feeling disappointing.
One-rep max calculator
Estimate your deadlift one-rep max from a set you have already done, without loading a bar you have never tried.
The short version
- Bar over the middle of your foot, hinge down to it, pull the slack out, then push the floor away.
- The bar goes straight up your shins. Any forward drift makes it heavier.
- Set your spine position and hold it. Rounding more as the bar comes up means too much weight.
- Grip failing first is normal. Mixed or hook grip on top sets, straps for the lighter ones.
- One heavy pulling session a week, plus Romanian deadlifts on another day, suits most people.
Questions
Is deadlifting bad for your back?
Done well it is one of the better things you can do for it, and there is decent evidence that loaded hinging helps with general lower back pain. Done with a rounding spine and weights you have not earned, it is a good way to get hurt. The lift is not the problem. The weight you pick is.
Should I use a mixed grip?
On top sets, yes, and swap which hand is turned over between sets so you are not always loading the same biceps. Hook grip is better long term and hurts for the first few months. Straps are fine for everything except your heaviest single.
Do I need to touch the floor every rep?
For a conventional deadlift, yes. It starts from a dead stop, which is where the name comes from. Rest the plates for a beat between reps. Romanian deadlifts are the opposite and should not touch the floor at all.
Why does my grip give out before my back?
Because your back can move more weight than your fingers can hold, which is true for everyone eventually. Use straps for your lighter sets and let your grip catch up from the rest of your training.
Can I deadlift with dumbbells?
Yes, and Romanian deadlifts work particularly well that way. Conventional dumbbell deadlifts get awkward once the weight is serious, because the dumbbells hang beside you rather than in front, but they are a fine place to start.
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Let Panko keep score
Last time's weight on every set. A rest timer that starts on its own. Meals logged from a photo or a sentence. And a chart that shows you whether it is working.