Barbell Conventional Deadlift

How to do the Barbell Conventional Deadlift

The conventional deadlift lifts a loaded barbell from the floor to standing with your hands outside your legs. It trains the whole back of your body at once and is one of the heaviest lifts most people will ever perform.

Set up

1. 1Stand with your feet about hip width and the bar over the middle of your feet.
2. 2Hinge down and grip the bar a little outside your legs, overhand or with a mixed grip.
3. 3Bend your knees until your shins touch the bar, then lift your chest and pull your shoulders down so your back is flat.

The movement

1. 1Brace hard and pull the slack out of the bar until you hear the plates click against the collars.
2. 2Push the floor away with your legs, keeping the bar in contact with your shins and thighs.
3. 3Let your chest and hips rise together until the bar passes your knees.
4. 4Drive your hips forward to stand tall, finishing with your glutes and not by leaning back.
5. 5Lower by pushing your hips back, bending your knees once the bar passes them.

Cues

• Push the floor away
• Keep the bar close
• Lats tight
• Finish tall

Common mistakes

Bar drifting away from the legs.

Pull your shoulders down as if squeezing something in your armpits so the bar stays against you.

Hips rising before the bar moves.

Set your hips a little lower, brace, and think about leg drive off the floor.

Leaning back hard at lockout.

Stand straight with your glutes squeezed and stop there.

Also works: Quads, Adductors, Lats, Traps, Forearms, Core

End the set when you can no longer keep your back flat; a rounded rep under heavy load is the one to skip.

Sets and reps

• For strength: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 6 reps, resting 2 to 3 minutes between sets.
• For muscle: 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps (up to 15 on smaller lifts), resting 1 to 2 minutes, ending each set 1 to 3 reps short of failure (RPE 7 to 9).
• Add a rep or a small amount of weight once every set reaches the top of the range at the same effort.

General ranges, not medical advice. Stop if anything hurts.

In our free programs

• Glutes & Posterior Chain · Deadlift Focus4×5 @ RPE 8
• Linear Progression 5×5 · Workout BOne heavy set of five is the whole job.1×5 @ RPE 8
• Powerbuilding Hybrid · Deadlift + Pull4×3 @ RPE 8
• Upper / Lower Strength · Lower (volume)3×5 @ RPE 8

Alternatives

Other exercises for the glutes, for when the barbell is taken or you want a change.

• 45-Degree Hip ExtensionBodyweight
• 90-90 Hip StretchBodyweight
• Band Hip ThrustResistance band
• Band Monster WalkResistance band
• Band Pull-ThroughResistance band
• Bodyweight Glute BridgeBodyweight
• Cable Glute KickbackCable
• Cable Kneeling Hip ThrustCable

Questions

What muscles does the Barbell Conventional Deadlift work?

The Barbell Conventional Deadlift mainly works the glutes, hamstrings and lower back.

What equipment do you need for the Barbell Conventional Deadlift?

A barbell.

How many sets and reps of the Barbell Conventional Deadlift?

For strength: 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 6 reps, resting 2 to 3 minutes between sets. For muscle: 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 12 reps (up to 15 on smaller lifts), resting 1 to 2 minutes, ending each set 1 to 3 reps short of failure (RPE 7 to 9). Add a rep or a small amount of weight once every set reaches the top of the range at the same effort.

What can I do instead of the Barbell Conventional Deadlift?

45-Degree Hip Extension, 90-90 Hip Stretch, Band Hip Thrust and Band Monster Walk work the same main muscle.