Compound — full body

Deadlift

Barbell

The deadlift lets you move more total weight than any other lift and trains the entire posterior chain. Good technique is essential both to avoid injury and to get the full strength benefit.

The deadlift is the least forgiving of the big lifts because every rep starts from a dead stop with no stretch reflex to help. That is exactly why it builds so much strength, and also why technique matters more here than anywhere else. A sloppy squat costs you reps; a sloppy deadlift costs you weeks.

Technique

1. 1Start with the bar over mid-foot, about 2–3 cm from your shins
2. 2Grip just outside your legs, arms vertical when viewed from the front
3. 3Drop your hips, lift your chest and set tension in your back before you pull
4. 4Keep the bar in contact with your body the whole way up
5. 5Lock your hips out fully at the top — do not hyperextend your back

Common mistakes

• Hips rising before the bar moves

  Fix: You are set up too low and effectively converting the lift into a stiff-legged pull. Start with hips higher, and think of pushing the floor away rather than lifting the bar.

• Bar drifting away from your shins

  Fix: Every centimetre forward increases leverage against you. Engage your lats — imagine squeezing oranges in your armpits — and drag the bar up your legs.

• Rounding the lower back under load

  Fix: Brace before you pull, not during. Take a big breath into your stomach, brace as if about to be punched, then pull. If it still rounds, the weight is too heavy.

• Hyperextending at the top

  Fix: Leaning back at lockout puts the spine in a bad position for zero benefit. Finish standing tall with glutes squeezed, ribs down.

Sets and reps

How to progress

Deadlifts punish high frequency more than squats — most people do best pulling heavy once a week. Add weight in 5 kg jumps while it comes easily, then switch to adding reps at a fixed weight before you increase again. If your back is still tired 48 hours later, you are pulling too heavy too often, whatever the program says.

Variations

• Romanian deadlift

  Top-down, knees mostly fixed. Far more hamstring stretch and much easier to recover from.

• Sumo deadlift

  Wide stance, hands inside the knees. Shorter range of motion and a more upright torso — often better for long-femured lifters.

• Deficit deadlift

  Standing on a 2–5 cm plate increases range and strengthens the position off the floor.

Frequently asked questions