deadlift

People aren’t quick to admit that like many competitive sports, there’s an “ideal body type” for weight training success. Anyone can get a training effect from lifting weights, but leverages and skeletal build can help (or hurt) an individual tremendously when it comes to having a mechanical...

Some exercises never get easier no matter how often you do them, and exhibit A is the single-leg deadlift. The balance demands and tension on one leg make this challenging for all lifters the same goes for its variations such as the rack single-leg deadlift. There are various methods to make...

Exercises with Eastern European names not only sound cool but are also challenging to do. The Bulgarian split squat is exhibit A, the exercise everyone loves to hate. A few months back, I called it by its other name, The rear-foot-elevated split squat, and the internet lost its marbles. It...

by Andreas Abelsson Your lower back takes center stage in almost everything you do. Think of it as the command center for power and movement. From running to jumping, lifting to twisting, a strong lower back helps you perform these actions safely and with as much power as possible. This article...

FAQ #1: Stiff legged deadlift vs. Romanian deadlift: What’s the difference? The stiff-leg deadlift closely resembles the Romanian deadlift, the difference being the bar starts and finishes each rep on the floor and your legs remain straighter in the stiff leg deadlift vs. the Romanian deadlift...

Deadlift vs. Romanian Deadlift: What’s the Difference? There are five main differences between the deadlift and Romanian deadlift: Starting Position The starting positions of the conventional and Romanian deadlifts differ significantly. The deadlift begins with the bar on the floor, while the...

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW... To build the deadlift, prioritize the squat for 6 weeks while not pulling heavy at all. Powerlifter Dan Green's number one deadlift tip is to regularly perform the stiff-leg deadlift. Mike Tuchscherer recommends building the deadlift by pausing at the bottom of...

The safest way to deadlift is with a neutral spine, right? Ask anyone with an ounce of sense who's spent time in the gym and they'll tell you that the incidence of lifters who injure themselves through rounded-back deadlifting grossly outnumber that of lifters who injure themselves with...

YOU HAVE TO WORK TO KNOW WHAT WORKS Most lifters float aimlessly in and out of gyms without a plan, goal, or strategy. Most haven’t experimented nearly enough with their training in order to have the slightest clue as to what works best for them. They stick to the same routine year round...

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW... There is no "best training program" for everyone. What works great for others in the gym may work terribly for you. Likewise, what has worked very well for you may not do jack for someone else. You must develop the confidence to abandon the training programs that...

This article is a follow-up to an older article on the site: Should you Deadlift Conventional or Sumo? If you haven’t read it already, you should at least give it a quick skim before reading this article – this article is written with the assumption that readers are already familiar with the...

There are not many more satisfying things in the gym than pulling a heavy barbell deadlift from the floor. It’s you versus the barbell, and you win. The regular barbell deadlift is not the greatest exercise to build muscle due to a lack of eccentric contraction, but it sets the table for muscle...

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...