Deadlift
A heavy pull from the floor for your glutes, hamstrings and back. It builds strength but costs a lot of recovery. It rates tier B, a solid option.
Tier for muscle growth
Tier B: Solid option
Excellent for whole-body strength, but it creates a lot of fatigue for the muscle it builds. For size alone, Romanian deadlifts give more stretch at a lower cost.
- Stretch under load
- 3 out of 5
- Stability
- 3 out of 5
- Easy to progress
- 5 out of 5
- Low fatigue cost
- 1 out of 5
Tiers are our own evidence-informed ratings, not a published standard. How tiers work
Muscles worked
Primary
- Glutes
- Hamstrings
- Lower back
Secondary
- Upper back
- Forearms
- Quads
For muscle growth
- Sets
- 3–4
- Reps
- 5–10
- RIR
- 1–3
- Rest
- 2–4 min
- Tempo
- 2-1-1-0
How to do it
- Stand with mid-foot under the bar, feet hip-width apart.
- Hinge down and grip the bar just outside your legs, shins touching it.
- Brace, pull the slack out of the bar, then push the floor away.
- Stand tall with hips and knees locking together, then lower along the same path.
Cues
- Keep the bar dragging up your legs
- Chest up, back flat
Avoid
- Rounding the lower back
- Jerking the bar off the floor
Track your deadlift.
Estimated 1RM, rep maxes and progression for every exercise you log.
On iPhone. Android later.
