Conventional Deadlift
A barbell lift from the floor to standing using a hip-width stance and hands just outside the legs. It builds total posterior-chain strength across the hamstrings, glutes and spinal erectors.
Primary muscles
- Hamstrings
- Glutes (Gluteus Maximus)
- Lower Back (Erector Spinae)
Secondary muscles
- Quadriceps
- Traps (Trapezius)
- Lats (Latissimus Dorsi)
- Forearm Flexors
- Adductors
- Sets
- 3–5
- Reps
- 3–6
- Rest
- 120–240s
How to perform
Main muscles working (thicker lines)
Starting position
Stand with feet hip-width apart and the bar over mid-foot. Hinge down and grip the bar just outside your shins, shins touching the bar, back flat and chest up.
Take a big breath and brace your trunk, pulling the slack out of the bar.
Push the floor away through your whole foot, keeping the bar in contact with your legs.
Once the bar passes your knees, drive your hips forward to stand tall.
Finish standing upright with glutes squeezed, without leaning back.
Lower the bar by pushing your hips back first, then bending the knees once it passes them.
Breathing: Inhale and brace before each pull, hold through the lift, and exhale at the top or after returning the bar to the floor.
Coaching tips
Push the floor away
Keep the bar close
Chest up, back flat
Hips and shoulders rise together
Common mistakes
Rounding the lower back off the floor
Letting the bar drift away from the legs
Jerking the bar instead of pulling the slack out
Hyperextending the back at lockout
Safety notes
Use a load you can lift with a neutral spine; stop the set when form breaks down.
Reset your position between reps rather than bouncing the bar.
This information is general fitness guidance, not medical advice. Stop if you feel pain and consult a qualified professional.