Exercise guide · Back
Barbell Deadlift
The conventional barbell deadlift from the floor builds full-body strength with a hip hinge. Keep the bar close to your legs, brace your core, and drive through your feet to stand.
- Targets: Glutes
- Equipment: Barbell
- Type: Compound
Step by step
How to do the Barbell Deadlift
- Stand with mid-foot under the bar, feet hip-width apart. Hinge down and grip the bar just outside your legs—double overhand or mixed grip.
- Pull slack from the bar, set hips so shins touch the bar, shoulders slightly ahead of the bar, chest up, and core fully braced.
- Breathe in, hold your brace, and push the floor away while the bar slides up your shins and thighs.
- As the bar passes your knees, drive hips forward to stand tall—glutes squeezed, no excessive lean back.
- To lower, push hips back first, then bend knees once the bar passes them, keeping the bar close until plates rest on the floor.
- Reset brace and position between reps from the floor, or use touch-and-go only if your program specifies it.
Form cues
- Bar stays glued to your legs the whole rep
- Push the floor away—arms stay long, not yanking
- Chest up, lats engaged before the pull
- Hips and shoulders rise together off the floor
Common mistakes
- Bar drifting forward away from shins
- Hips rising before the bar leaves the floor
- Rounding lower back at setup or descent
- Snatching the bar up with bent arms
Muscles worked
Primary
Glutes
Secondary
Hamstrings, Lower back, Quads and Forearms
Safety: Start with an empty bar to practice setup and bracing. Use bar collars. Stop if you feel sharp lower back pain. A belt is optional while you learn the pattern.
Alternatives
