deadlift

The deadlift is the best pound-for-pound movement across the board for building a resilient frame equipped with full-body strength and power. A primary staple exercise in every training program through various forms and progressions/regressions, the deadlift is a key component to human movement...

What Is the Trap-Bar Deadlift? The trap-bar deadlift, also known as the hex-bar deadlift, is the same as the conventional deadlift except it’s performed with a trap bar. Here’s what it looks like: The most obvious difference between deadlifting with a trap bar versus a conventional barbell...

Have you ever wondered why they call it the Romanian deadlift? It looks similar to the straight-leg deadlift but with a better name. Well, here’s why. It’s called the Romanian deadlift, or RDL for short, because it’s named after the Romanian weightlifter Nicu Vlad, an Olympic medalist in the...

Bending down to pick up a barbell in front of the body places great demands on your ankles, hips, and spine to get into the right position that's conducive to spinal integrity. I rarely have clients deadlift with a straight bar. There are plenty of safer alternatives for non-powerlifters that...

We've always preferred to read books written by (or about) strongmen and weightlifters from the early 1900s to the '60s. Back then, they didn't have the Internet or any pre-formed lifting dogma; everybody who trained with weights was basically left to themselves. They found out what worked and...

Let's face it, if I gave you the choice of either growing bigger muscles, or getting bigger and stronger, you'd choose the latter. Lucky for you, an essential component of getting bigger muscles is getting stronger. This is a universal law of training no matter what type of program you follow...

A deficit deadlift is a deadlift performed while standing on a weight plate or platform, usually around one to four inches high. It's used as assistance work for those that have trouble in the first stage of the deadlift. The increased range of motion also recruits more of the posterior chain...

USE A SMALL DEFICIT There's the belief that deadlifting from a big deficit (like 4 inches or so) will improve your strength off the floor in a standard deadlift. It won't. It's too dissimilar to transfer over to your conventional deadlift. But with a very small deficit – my go-to is standing on...

The deadlift is increasing in mainstream popularity. Today people outside of powerlifting and sports training are learning to love a big pull. But which type of deadlift is best for your goals: conventional, sumo, or trap bar? First, decide what you want to train. What's your priority? Are you...

The squat-stance deadlift combines the best elements of conventional and sumo. It basically has no sticking point. Unlike the other two styles of deadlift, it has even tension throughout. This deadlift style has incredible transfer– squat to deadlift and deadlift to squat. Each time you train...

The angled deadlift is for intermediate to advanced lifters who have enough experience with the basic pulling and pressing exercises that they're ready for a new challenge. This exercise hits the posterior-chain muscles you'd use in a traditional deadlift, along with the shoulder and arm...

There are some exercises, no matter how many times you do them, never get easier. One prime example is the single leg deadlift. The reduced stability and tension on one leg make this challenging for all lifters. It is easier to be strong on two legs but harder to be stronger on one leg. The...

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW... There's a lot more to getting strong than lifting heavy things for one rep. That will just lead to stagnation. Accumulate volume. Take your 3RM and train it until you can do 5 reps with that weight. Use supplemental lifts to add volume, fix weaknesses, and...

Even with a fantastic exercise like the deadlift, things can go wrong and a great movement can become a dumb training tool. Avoid these mistakes: 1 ▶️ Bouncing a Touch-and-Go Deadlift We've all seen it. Someone struggles mightily to complete a single rep on a heavy deadlift. The lifter's eyes...

Stubbornness goes hand in hand with competitiveness. This is why most of us will look for ways to keep squatting and deadlifting even when we're banged up. I get it. My father, a champion distance runner, ran with Achilles tendinitis for 20 years. How did it finally clear up? Ice and rest – he...

My deadlift has always been a struggle. In 2006 my best competition deadlift was 484 pounds at 198. I kept getting called for hitching or ramping. My thighs always seemed to get in the way at lockout when I pulled conventional. I just couldn't get my hips through. In 2007 I finally pulled my...

A deficit deadlift is a deadlift performed while standing on a weight plate or short platform, usually around one to four inches high. It's often used as assistance work for those that have trouble in the first stage of the deadlift. The increased range of motion also recruits more of the...

A TOOL FOR DEADLIFTS, ROWS, SHRUGS, AND CARRIES EVERY HOME GYM NEEDS ONE If you have a home gym, you probably have a bar, plates, a power rack, an adjustable bench, a pull-up rig, and some dumbbells. What’s missing? A trap bar 470. The trap bar is the best specialty bar. Certain exercises are...

There’s no question that the basics of strength training work despite what you may see from time to time on the Internet. The barbell is the ultimate tool for strength and muscle and will continue to work for all who take it seriously. Incorporating the Big 3exercises—the barbell squat, bench...

Consider two lifters who are both trying 500-pound deadlifts. Lifter A swiftly applies a lot of power to the ground, and the bar leaps off the ground. Lifter B applies the same amount of power to the ground, but not as rapidly, thus the bar comes off more slowly. Which lifter has a better chance...